A relationship between Transit Oriented Development and bicycles, in the world’s most transit-rich city, Tokyo.
The substantial differences in obesity statistics from Japan to Australia can be attributed to significant variances in urban form. The bicycle is an intrinsic component of the Tokyo lifestyle, fundamental to the upbringing of children and the ability for people to age in place.
Notable in the Tokyo context is the intimate and seamless relationship between cycles and pedestrians.
Fundamentally different to the long-haul lycra cycling, and the politics of cycle ways that dominates Australian thinking, “Ultralocal” cycling engages virtually everybody, in everyday movement around neighbourhoods. This results in a radical reinvention of urban form with streetscapes that are served by architectural, retail and civic amenity that is tactile, safer and more culturally productive than our current suburban model in Australia.
A new agenda needs to be embraced into the urban design debate in Australia that focuses on the immense consequences of tiny trips taken by children, mothers, commuters, the elderly, and the fashion-conscious as we inevitably adapt Australian cities to a less energy-consumptive future.
Leave a Comment