The crowds may now have departed Cannes as MIPIM 2016 wraps up, but attention will continue to focus on discussing the challenges and opportunities that come hand-in-hand with this year’s theme, “housing the world”.
With the UN estimating that the world’s urban population will rise by 2.5bn by 2050, at which point it will account for two-thirds of all people, urban centres across the world are facing significant challenges to ensure they can not only house their citizens, but also provide strong communities and first-class living and working spaces for all.
Smart design
Three years ago, we set up the Future Spaces Foundation to understand how smart design can enable just that. Our work has previously focused on the UK, and in our last report, Vital Cities not Garden Cities, we argued in favour of dense – or vital – cities rather than sprawling, low-density ones that promote car use over more sustainable forms of transport.
This year, for the first time, we are taking the FSF global, using a unique scorecard approach to analyse how 12 global metropolises stack up against each other on one of the most important aspects of vitality: how connected they are.
We believe that connected cities – those with well-networked, efficient and sustainable transport systems – are better equipped to meet the needs of growing populations, thereby helping limit a city’s environmental impact.
Well-connected cities also enhance the ability of people and enterprises to interact, exchange and innovate.
Using our Vital Cities scorecard, we can make direct comparisons between a dozen global powerhouses across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
The scorecard – which awards a score to each of the 12 cities based on 35 individual measures – not only helps us to understand the challenges facing global cities when it comes to improving connectivity, but also showcases examples of successfully implemented strategies and initiatives linked to making cities more vital.
Scorecard findings
Over the coming months, we will release the findings from the scorecard to help governments, developers and businesses learn from the successes of initiatives developed by cities across the world to address challenges ranging from data and technology to affordability.
MIPIM saw the unveiling of our first set of insights from the scorecard. As the London mayoral election looms, we are proposing reforms to the capital’s bike-sharing scheme to encourage debate about London’s cycling infrastructure.
Cycling and cycle infrastructure are an integral part of a city’s vital network, and our research suggests that London falls well behind its global counterparts when it comes to encouraging Londoners and tourists to get on their bikes.
In response to the findings, we are recommending a range of reforms to London’s cycling infrastructure, including the introduction of more incentives to use the Santander bike-sharing scheme and a redistribution of the sharing scheme to reach more commuters.
Safer cycling
Ultimately, we want to make cycling in London so safe and accessible that, as in other cities around the world, it is seen as an efficient and practical way of getting around every day.
Existing initiatives are well-intentioned, but the fact is that it will take more to encourage Londoners to see cycling as an all-inclusive and genuinely viable transport option.
Ken Shuttleworth is founder of Make Architects
