there is no lack of fuel to move cars, but today we realize that the way cities have been growing in the second half of the 20th century, centered on the car, is not the valid model for this first half of the 21st century, in which the beginning of all action must be centered on people.
There is a clear need to initiate an urban transformation that allows us, person by person, neighborhood by neighborhood and each city contributing one by one, to improve the quality of life we deserve in our cities. In this plays a fundamental role not only our behavior as protagonists of these, but the strategies of those who lead the urban future, whose vision must materialize in short- and medium-term actions with great determination, because the legislative cycles of four years pass quickly, and projects do not take off. Lack of determination can take its toll not only at the political level: the health of citizens is at stake.
A city that works is a city that you want to be in, enjoy, make use of, and live in, but do our cities work for everyone’ s needs? The vision of a city in which not all citizens’ rights are put into operation becomes evident when we analyze the role of urban mobility. Public space in cities has been invested for decades in generating space for rapid and efficient transit of motor vehicles. However, a good part of that public space can be reverted to be used again not only for commuting, but for simple actions such as being, walking, entertainment, children’ s play or to generate more shaded spaces, with more vegetation and for public transport, for cycling, or to move differently. The result is that the space that is finally reduced for the car is only a small percentage of the space generated.
Cities where change has already taken place today enhance the relationships that citizens have with the streets, with the city, and their relationships with others. They are divergent cities. Their path has gone differently towards the development of such important values as equity, inclusion and opportunities for all.
We find abundant examples of cities of different sizes such as Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, Groningen, Paris, Vitoria or Barcelona transforming themselves and preparing their future for the goals of reducing emissions and adapting their functioning to impro-
34 OTWO 33 / APRIL 2022