Abstract
Advances in technology, new modes of communication, and megatrends such as aging societies and collective consumption call for new perspectives on planning and design of cities to foster economic development, social equality, and environmental sustainability. Accordingly, planning priorities need to change to satisfy the needs of the twenty-first century. Beyond Mobility: Planning Cities for People and Places is “about reordering priorities” (1). The three authors of the volume, Robert Cervero, Erick Guerra, and Stefan Al, state that historically, planning and design of cities focused on the efficiency of motorized vehicles to increase mobility instead of people-oriented practices. They propose an urban recalibration for city building, centered on people and the place. Throughout the book, the authors present a variety of experiences and statistics on a range of cities and countries in Europe, North America, Asia, and to a certain extent, Africa to support their arguments. As indicated by the authors, the goal of the volume is not to start a war against the car but instead to designate its role together with the other tools of city building and mobility of the twenty-first–century city. The authors state that “the work is more illustrative (and we hope inspirational at some level) than encyclopedic” (14). In this sense, this volume can be considered a vital source for researchers, planners, and policymakers, thinking about the contemporary issues of city building.
The authors make their case in three parts and eleven chapters. Chapter one introduces the background, the purpose, and the theme of the book. Part one, “Making the Case,” which includes chapters two through four, covers topics on the needs for a change in the understanding of urban planning and the potential impacts of this new planning approach on populations and their environments. Part two, “Contexts and Cases,” consists of chapters five to eight. This part details case studies from around the world to emphasize some of the common planning practices, including urban transformation, transit-oriented development, and land reclamation. Part three, “Looking Forward,” which comprises chapters nine through eleven, discusses a number of experiences and policies from around the world within this new century of rapid changes and offer an optimistic perspective on the future of urban planning.
In part one, “Making the Case,” the authors provide a theoretical justification on the necessity of a new urban calibration, moving from mobility to place-making to create better communities, environments, and economies. The authors state that this urban recalibration may attract knowledge-based industries as well as workers that are the pioneers of innovation.
Chapter two, “Better Communities,” starts with a brief history of car-oriented city development and its impacts on personal interactions. The authors then provide evidence that connecting people to places rather than increasing mobility is a better option to create better communities, and they define better communities as “safe, walkable, healthy places that promote sustainable and equitable access to a wealth of destinations by multiple modes and strengthen interpersonal connections and community interactions” (18).
The focus of chapter three, “Better Environments,” discusses the possible impacts of better connected and more livable place-making on decarbonizing urban environments. The authors suggest that decarbonizing cities and their environments calls for a more developed perspective for sustainable city building as the transportation sector has one of the largest impacts on climate change. In chapter four, “Better Economies,” the authors state that “[d]ecades of research convincingly shows that transport infrastructure is among the most powerful tools available for growing local and regional economies and enhancing quality of life” (47). The authors claim that cities of the future need to attract skilled workers and knowledge-based industries to ensure economic growth and that only cities with advanced sustainable transport practices will be able to accomplish this goal. The authors’ arguments are particularly strong in this chapter, given the global competition in the high-tech industry.
In part two, “Contexts and Cases,” the authors “review different contexts for moving beyond mobility through urban recalibration” (65). Chapter five, “Urban Transformation,” delves into the physical, social, and economic transformations and their impacts on personal interactions in European and Northern American cities following post industrialization. The authors present a variety of urban transformation case studies from these cities, including docklands, warehouse districts, and freight rails. As underlined by the authors, transportation improvements directly affect the level of accessibility and are at the very center of these urban transformation projects. Chapter six, “Suburban Transformations,” explores experiences with edge city transformations and office park retrofits in diverse settings. This chapter covers the preconditions that lead to successful transformations of outdated suburban developments. The authors base this discussion on preconditions that were identified by the Urban Land Institute in 2012 and include public-private partnerships, investments in supportive infrastructures such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and improved connectivity through investment in pedestrian and trail networks.
Chapter seven, “Transit-Oriented Development,” presents case studies from a variety of international contexts to emphasize transit-oriented development (TOD) typologies, planning and design of TODs, and the connection of TODs and place-making. The emphasis on the relationship between neighborhoods and transit stations leads to a rich discussion on the importance of successfully designed high-quality transit hubs. The challenges and methods of creating attractive and successful TODs are explained in detail. The authors also introduce their views on creating successful TODs in the developing world. The last chapter of the second part, chapter eight, “Road Contraction,” discusses “shrinking the footprint of channel-ways given over to private cars and trucks and reassigning this space to other, less disruptive, more people-oriented uses, such as greenways, pedestrian zones, bike lanes, and public parks” (143). The authors argue that by using contraction (a form of land reclamation), it is possible to reassign land for place-making and people-oriented uses. The emphasis in this chapter is on the reprioritization of public infrastructure and community living for creating places for all walks of life.
Part three, “Looking Forward,” consists of three chapters. The authors note that “[t]he final three chapters of this book consider what planning beyond mobility means in a world of rapid geographic, technological, social, and demographic change” (165). Chapter nine, “The Global South,” provides a broad perspective on the cities of the Global South and elaborates on the challenges that socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable city building perspectives face in these contexts. Considering the increasing urban population in many developing world cities, the authors present future problems and follow-up with discussions on the potential benefits of transit investments and the opportunities they bring to reshape urban forms while achieving higher quality environments and access.
Chapter ten, “Emerging Technologies,” examines how technology will reestablish the relationship between mobility and place while reducing local pollution and traffic accidents. The authors explore rapid technological changes such as smartphone-enabled ridesharing, self-driving cars, and their impacts on cities and transportation systems. They stress the need for a new perspective on mobility and place-making, which will consider new technologies in a comprehensive way. Even if the significant impacts of these technological changes are yet to come, the authors’ discussion on the future of the cities is valuable for policymakers and urban planners.
In chapter eleven, “Toward Sustainable Urban Futures,” the authors exhibit the challenges and the opportunities created by technological development, economic trends, sociodemographic changes, and shifting preferences in society. Additionally, they underline that technological innovations, contemporary challenges, and the fast-growing urban population in the Global South necessitate a novel discussion beyond mobility. The authors note the importance of developing a novel vision to reevaluate city planning and design tools and relate to the mobility of private vehicles and people-oriented urban designs.
Overall, Beyond Mobility: Planning Cities for People and Places is a remarkable contribution to the literature that establishes a comprehensive perspective on community building, built environment design, and economic development. The chapters in this volume establish a new urban planning and design framework to meet the needs of the new century. By devoting much attention to a variety of valuable case studies in different contexts, the authors strengthen their arguments on the changing needs of the urban population across the world. The book will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of urban studies, public policy, architecture, and transportation engineering and planning.