If Only…
city transportation systems explained themselves intuitively
Says Tim fendley, principal and founder, applied information group
THE WORLD is speeding up. We are travelling further than ever before, with easier access to the world’s four million cities. But new places can feel confusing and overwhelming, so frequently we only ever get to experience and understand a small part of every place. The future for our crowded cities will see a new generation of trams, buses and trains, making everywhere easy and safe to walk and cycle. If only cities and their transport systems explained themselves intuitively to us. I would like to see a new generation of navigation AI that could help everyone walk, cycle and ride whenever and wherever they want, with confidence they would arrive at their chosen destination in the shortest time. This would be a joy to use, and so much better than relying on a sat nav, stuck in a traffic jam. These will become the only way to travel in the city. And let’s give the road-space back to nature, people and experiences.
Tim Fendley is a principal and founder of the London, Vancouver and San Francisco basedApplied Information Group. Tim works around the world on projects to make places more legible. He designed London’s walking system, Toronto’s transit system and is currently working with Princeton, Nike and Google. His latest challenge is to make sense of the San Francisco Bay Area’s transit network. www.appliedinformation.group.
