Soft mobility and inclusive mobility

The notion of mobility touches on needs (a wide spectrum from essential to less or non-essential needs); psychological aspects (freedom feeling; social integration feeling; mobility behaviour); transport of people (social functions: going to work, seeing one’s family, leisure, etc) and goods (in the sense that the transport of goods is linked to our consumption). The nature and constraints of this mobility differ according to the situation (geographical, economic, social, physical, etc.).

The one solution – involving individual combustion engine vehicles on a daily basis – has devastating consequences : environmental, social, economic, on urban planning, on individual and collective well-being (stress, health, noise), concretisation of soils, waste managements, and many more.

It is therefore necessary to move towards a :

• soft mobility (walking, cycling) ;
• some people talk about demobility (reducing the imposed mobility and increasing the chosen mobility) ;
• More friendly mobility (carpooling) ;
• More inclusive (collective response to the mobility needs of vulnerable groups in urban and rural areas) ;
• Low-tech versus industrial expensive and not so environmental-friendly high-tech solutions ;
• More collective (public transport) ;
• More low-carbon (cargo sailing ships) ;

All in all, more solidarity-based : SSE is very present in all these citizen solutions, sometimes supported by public authorities: The Régies de quartier !: associative garages, support to fight against isolation, provision of means of transport, etc.; cooperative or associative mobility platforms, Railcoop (giving back meaning to rail freight); Windcoop (giving back meaning to maritime freight), cargobike coop, etc.

Equivalent concepts

Sustainable mobility, low-carbon mobility, solidarity-based mobility, Low-tech mobility, ecomobility

Links

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