Moving forward

Mobility, the way we get from A to B, has become a source of surprising friction. Fisticuffs even. Some of the biggest confrontations are taking place in our cities, where moves to pedestrianise streets and encourage more people to cycle have been met with unusual responses. Politicians have waded into the urbanism debate to depict such seemingly innocent transport shifts as left-wing plots or middle-class conspiracies to deny working folk access to their cars. How did it come to this? And how do you find a way through the politicking and barracking to find a consensus? 

These were some of the questions that our foreign editor, Alexis Self, had in mind as he headed to Brussels, a city that’s become a veritable urbanism battleground. After a period that has seen cars removed from much of the downtown area and the creation of numerous new green spaces, most visitors to the city would be impressed by its transformation – the city with a rap for being a bit dull and home to far too many EU bureaucrats is actually a rather splendid cultural capital. Who could be opposed to any of this, one might wonder?

Well, as Alexis discovered, the creation of this walkable, cycle-friendly city was enough to dethrone many politicians in June’s regional parliamentary elections, as parties that had spoken out in favour of car owners over cyclists took the majority of votes. It’s a fascinating report that reveals the complexities and compromises at play in the urban-mobility conversation.

Luckily not all mobility tales end up with ballot-box battles. In our global survey, we also take time to ride Sydney’s new metro line, visit the Detroit of the Balkans and discover how an automobile touring club became a major player catering to Austrian cyclists and running medevac services across the country. Then, in our Design pages, Nic Monisse oversees the assembly of our ideal train set-up, from carriages to stations. (We knew that train set was a good ‘secret Santa’ gift.)

But none of these stories unfold in a vacuum. Every sector of the mobility industry is being shaped by social and legislative pressures. That’s particularly true in the auto trade, where the demand for environmentally cleaner vehicles that don’t cost a fortune and can be driven nippily around congested cities has given rise to a cavalcade of tiny, often electric, options. It’s a similar story when you look at the cargo-bike boom in places such as Switzerland, where people want to get themselves and their shopping home affordably under their own steam. So while this is monocle’s Mobility Special, it’s also a report on how we want to live – and the innovators making it possible.

But it’s not all horn-honking and bell-ringing. There are also a few stories that unpack very different aspects of what makes a country harmonious. In the Affairs pages, our Bangkok bureau chief, James Chambers, attends Thailand’s school for diplomats and meets the nation’s foreign minister as he investigates how the country keeps its admirable engaged neutrality with the region’s many powers. James even learns how to lay a table for a state banquet. Meanwhile, Ed Stocker visits Lithuania to attend its quadrennial Song Celebration, which this year  featured 37,000 people chorusing the nation’s most treasured tunes – a coming together that has delivered an epic and mellifluous Expo. 

As ever, though, there’s much more afoot at monocle than merely making magazines. We are in full planning mode for this year’s Quality of Life Conference, which will take place in Istanbul from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 October. It’s a moment in the calendar where we bring readers together for a day of talks and debates, peerless hospitality and a deep dive into our host city. You can find all the details at monocle.com/conference or by emailing our head of events, Hannah Grundy, at hg@monocle.com. Whether you arrive via Turkish Airlines or Bosphorus ferry, you will be well looked after.

Finally, if you’d like to send thoughts or clever mobility tips to me or the team, you reach me on at@monocle.com. Safe travels. –– L