When the pandemic hit in early 2020, a rapid decrease in urban private car use was seen globally. Satellite navigation company TomTom reported that 387 cities across the world experienced a decrease in congestion. Similarly, a decrease in public transport usage was seen as governments across the world imposed lockdown restrictions. Many millions of people began to work remotely and the decades of technological advances in communications played a vital role in enabling our societies to continue to operate. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, a rapid decrease in urban private...

London is moving to a largely car-free future. With ULEZ, LTNs, Streetspace and Liveable Neighbourhoods encouraging rapid change in business operations, many are searching for car-free solutions to satisfy their delivery and servicing needs. Luckily, with an expected 50-60% annual market growth over the coming years, the cargo bike industry is growing rapidly to fill the demand from businesses for zero-emission delivery methods that navigate modal filters with ease.

The announcement this week of the Government’s intention to press ahead with all the draft changes to the Highway Code contained in its July 2020 consultation draft have been warmly welcomed by active travel and road safety campaigners.  DfT committed in November 2018 to revising the Highway Code, including introducing a ‘hierarchy of users’ (with active travellers at the top) and clearer priority for cyclists and pedestrians at junctions.

“Gigafactories” could one day be churning out millions of electric vehicle batteries in the UK. The government has already committed the country to a ban on selling new petrol- and diesel-engined cars by 2030, so it seems that electric vehicles (or EVs, as they’re often abbreviated) are likely to replace much of today’s fleet.

Low traffic neighbourhoods have had a rough press over the last few months. Tales of congestion, controversy and cultural conflict. LTNs provoke strong reactions.

The publication of ‘Buses Back Better’ in March – setting out a bus strategy for England - marked the biggest shift in policy since deregulation in 1986. In place of competition between bus operators as a major policy objective, and most services determined commercially, there is a very strong emphasis on a co-ordinated approach.

Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020, and one in 14 in the UK. Sounds impressive, but even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world’s fossil fuel car fleet.

We all know the theory, we should be using our cars less and travelling more actively, to improve or health (mental and physical), to save money, to save time and to tackle the climate crisis.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, communities living in cities need cleaner air to breathe and outdoor public space to be social yet physically distanced.

Recognition of these issues has led public health experts, architects and urban planners to discuss how to design cities to respond to the pandemic.

he roll out of vaccines provides hope for a partial restoration of normality in cities. However, the impact of COVID-19 could last much longer. In particular, the pandemic has shown how damaging congestion, pollution and lack of green space can be – including how these factors have contributed to the severity of suffering for city dwellers. We have an opportunity to change city living for the better.