New Metropolitan Mobility

The selection of cities highlights worldwide showcases of certain forms of mobility such as cycling in Amsterdam, the measures to regulate traffic in London and the use of public transport in Tokyo. It also looks at the comparable surface areas of cities such as New York City (778 km² excluding the sea), the State of Berlin (892 km²), the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (636 km²) and the Greater Paris - Grand Paris - 814 km² in order to be able to compare better, travel behaviour and the measures put in place.

Although climates, geography, behaviour patterns and infrastructures may vary, there is a common ground of shared goals motivated by issues linked to health, urban adaptation and taking into account the evolution of the population. The measures put in place differ according to geographic and climatic conditions, lifestyles, and technologies thus offering a range of possible action and solutions.

7 points are particularly noteworthy:

1 — Promote active modes of transport, walking and cycling.
All major metropolises are experiencing a significant shift in the ways their residents travel, towards an increased use of soft mobility, reflecting the desire to decarbonise means of transport. They all agree on the importance of promoting walking and cycling. The intensification of journeys and their different speeds have triggered thinking on how to manage the conflicts of use. Walking is the leading means of transport for people living in Paris and Barcelona (56% of journeys in Paris +9 points in 20 years and 55% in Barcelona +10 points in 6 years). Walking has also increased by 4 points since Covid in both Berlin and London. Cycling is the first means of transport for residents of Amsterdam and accounts for one in four journeys made in central Berlin.

2 — Improve public transport provision by coordinated development of networks, maintenance of those existing and the quality of services.
The second mode of transport, after walking, the most used by inhabitants of Grand Paris Metropolis is public transport (27% of weekday journeys). It is used as much as by Londoners (29% in Greater London) and Berliners (26% on the scale of the State of Berlin) but less than in the metropolis of Tokyo where 49% of residents' daily journeys are made by public transport. In London, half of these journeys are made by bus, so the fluidity of bus traffic is a priority.

3 — Reduce the impact of cars
All the metropolises have put in place measures to regulate car traffic. Six of the seven have low carbon emission zones to improve the air quality with varying methods of implementation, monitoring and fining. Road tolls have been introduced in 2 of the 7 metropolises, within limited areas to reduce traffic congestion in the hyper-centre of London since 2003 and in south Manhattan in New York since the 1st January 2025. The most restrictive parking policy is in Tokyo, where even the possession of a vehicle is prohibited unless a parking space is specifically designated and practically no street level parking spaces exist. Speed limits such as the 50 km/h speed limit on the Périphrique ring road around Paris and the 30 km/h limit in Amsterdam, London and Paris are used more and more frequently as a leverage tool. They enable infrastructures to be better integrated into the urban fabric as well as encouraging a different approach to sharing road space.

4 — Adapt public space to these changes, with tactical approaches included
The development of mobility is bringing about urban transformations of varying scales. The conversion of motorways and express-ways into urban boulevards, as seen in Paris' La Défence and along the banks of the River Seine and the Hudson River in South Manhattan. The adaptation of major avenues to integrate tramways, and fast flowing bus and cycle lanes, similar to Barcelona's metropolitan avenues, already seen in the transformation of the Avenida de la Meridiana. This together with temporary road closures, of, for example Oxford street in London or Ginza in Tokyo as well as the redevelopment of more local roads, such as Barcelona's Superblocks. These projects, aimed at developing walking, public transport and cycling are sometimes introduced using progressive or temporary implementation based on experimentation and public participation, like the school roads "Rues des Ecoles" in Paris or the New York "Open Streets". All the projects give an increasingly large place to vegetation.

5 — Respond to contemporary lifestyles.
Metropolises are facing societal changes which have an impact on travel behaviour and more generally on urban development. The study particularly shows a decrease in the number of daily journeys made by inhabitants in Berlin, London, Tokyo and Grand Paris. Among the contributing factors, which remain to be quantified - is the impact of technology on lifestyles and consequently on travelling, whether it be for work reasons with meetings via video conference, telework or shopping through e-commerce. Also, the long-standing model organised around the working week and weekends, rush hours and off-peak hours is now less repetitive on weekdays and more flexible over a 24 hour period.

6 — Foresee and prepare for demographic changes and an ageing population.
In twenty years, the overall population of the metropolises analysed have increased but at varying rhythms. It grew only slightly in New York (+2% between 2006 and 2023), moderately in the metropolis of Tokyo (+11%) contrasting with the decrease of the populations in the rest of the country, considerably in Greater London (+18% between 2006 et 2023) and in the State of Berlin (+16%) and Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (+18%) led mainly by Amsterdam. While the populations in London, Berlin and Amsterdam are predicted to continue growing, only a moderate growth is expected in Grand Paris with a slight reduction in Paris itself, one of the two most densely populated cities alongside Manhattan. The ageing of the population is also a major consideration for metropolitan areas. It raises questions about travelling conditions for senior citizens and their helpers, access to public transport, urban design and safety.

7 — Set ambitious objectives to develop mobility
Mobility development strategies now need to address a wide range of issues: climatic, economic, environmental, health, well-being and equality.  The objectives concerning modes of transport are expressed differently from one metropolis to another but all aim to increase the proportion of journeys made on foot, by bicycle and by public transport. In Berlin, the aim is that each inhabitant live within 400 metres from a cycling network. London is targetting for 80% of journeys in Greater London to be made on foot, by bicycle or public transport by 2041 while Berlin aims for 82% of journeys made within the State of Berlin by 2030.
These objectives take different forms from one city to another with measures like the generalised 30 km/h in Amsterdam and London, the extension of metro lines in Grand Paris and the roll-out of the Grand Paris Express lines, including line 18 partially opening this year, following Line 14 being already in service since 2014...