Skip to content

How Cities Should Frame the Way They Think About Mobility

The evidence that our transportation systems are producing less-than-optimal results speaks for itself -- whether it's grinding congestion, obscene traffic fatality rates, or the greenhouse gases we're spewing into the atmosphere at catastrophic rates.
Image: Copenhagenize
Image: Copenhagenize

The evidence that our transportation systems are producing less-than-optimal results speaks for itself — whether it’s grinding congestion, obscene traffic fatality rates, or the greenhouse gases we’re spewing into the atmosphere at catastrophic rates.

The situation warrants a new take on how cities approach mobility, writes Mikael Colville-Andersen today at Copenhagenize:

For almost a century we have been asking the same question in our cities.

“How many cars can we move down a street?”

It’s time to change the question.

If you ask “How many PEOPLE can we move down a street?”, the answer becomes much more modern and visionary. And simple. Oh, and cheaper.

With urbanisation on the rapid rise, we need to think big. Think modern. We need to travel Back to the Future for the solutions that will serve our growing populations best. Cycle tracks. Trams. Wider sidewalks. It’s all right there for the taking if we dare to take it.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Strong Towns explains how Memphis is trying to fix its sprawl problem by increasing street connectivity. Streets.mn goes into the practical limitations of Nice Ride bike-share in the Twin Cities. And The Black Urbanist ponders how “urban” and “suburban” are often misapplied as racial euphemisms.

Photo of Angie Schmitt
Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.

Read More:

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog New York City

To Protect And Swerve: NYPD Cop Has 547 Speeding Tickets Yet Remains On The Force

April 23, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines: Having a Cow Edition

April 23, 2026

Two Little Too Late: Mamdani Shifts Private Carting Reforms Toward Safety for Last Two Contracts

April 22, 2026

Keep New York Moving: Antonio Reynoso’s Six-Point Plan for Transit That Matches Our Reality 

April 22, 2026

Exclusive: Mamdani Picks Construction Chief Eager to Speed Up Street Redesigns

April 22, 2026
See all posts