Integrate, integrate, integrate. Cities need to consider transport, urban planning, business, public services, energy and food supply as part of the same integrated system. They should offer people choice and easy connections. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has prototyped stackable electric cars which fit three to a parking space. They are designed for instant hire at train stations and other key points, like city bike rental schemes in London and Paris.

Make the poor a priority. Urban mobility systems must ensure that goods, services and job opportunities are open to all. Medellin, Columbia, has installed an electric cable car system linking poor barrios on hillsides too steep for buses directly to the city and its metro.

Go beyond the car. Cities need to be designed for people, not cars, and promote alternative forms of transport. Vancouver’s Downtown Travel plan looked at all aspects of its urban travel system as a whole. More than 80 coordinated initiatives have created a massive shift from driving to walking and cycling.

Switch on to IT networks. Information technology can create more efficient vehicles, better integrated transport systems, and can offer online and telepresence solutions which avoid the need for travel altogether. High-end telepresence systems such as the DVE Immersion Room are now good enough for people to feel like they are in the same room, thanks to 3D high-definition live video.

Refuel our vehicles. Climate change and rising prices mean we need to focus on energy efficiency and shift the way we power our vehicles from petrol to renewable, low-carbon fuel sources. Better Place and Renault are launching commercial services in Denmark and Israel in 2011, which will allow drivers of electric cars to swap used batteries for recharged ones at a network of switching stations.

Change people’s behaviour. Infrastructure and technology are not enough, we need to create new social norms that encourage more sustainable, low-carbon lifestyles. Whip car is the world’s first peer-to-peer car rental service, which allows owners to rent out their own vehicles when they aren’t using them.

Source: Forum for the Future