written by Vishesh Ranglani (Conference Lead / Navigate Mobility)

We like to tell ourselves we’re making progress.

adding a bike lane here, a crosswalk there but what we’re really doing is sprinkling “human touches” onto a system still built for machines. Walkability gets framed as an amenity instead of a necessity.

Here’s the thing: every time we treat these modes as optional, we’re choosing congestion as the default outcome. You can’t “solve traffic” with more asphalt any more than you can solve overeating by loosening your belt. I iterate from my previous post > the problem isn’t the number of cars; it’s the assumption that every trip should require one.

Designing for life means reordering the hierarchy. Sidewalks, trams and buses aren’t afterthoughts but more like the backbone. Cars should fit into the system we build for people, not the other way around. That shift won’t come from better slogans or clever urban branding. It comes from the courage to say: this street is more for everyone to live in than it is for everyone to drive through.

When do we know we’ve gotten it right? I guess when a kid can ride to school, an elder can cross the street, and no one has to think twice about it.