You really needed to have a car to have a ‚functional life’ so if you didn’t have a car and rode the bus it indicates that something ‚went wrong’. You’re on the fringes of society. A society planned, designed and set up to require that one has a car to be ‚functional’.
Is public transportation in your community widely stigmatized?
Is public transportation in your community pretty mainstream but you yourself carry some stigmas about it or specific modes?
I grew up in an area where public transportation was very stigmatized. Why? Well mainly because it was slow – much slower than using a vehicle – and thus pretty inefficient. The area was very car-centric. You really needed to have a car to have a ‚functional life’ so if you didn’t have a car and rode the bus it indicates that something ‚went wrong’. You’re on the fringes of society. A society planned, designed and set up to require that one has a car to be ‚functional’.
It would take many years and chapters living in different places where I could easily walk and use public transportation as my primary mode, to be able to clearly understand how mobility is a core value for me in my life, daily habits and relationship to community space.
How has mobility as a value shown up in your life?
📷 I snapped the above photo inside the urban rapid rail in Warsaw. This was mid-day and lots of seating space was available, but this can be very busy during rush hour. The urban rapid rail also connects to suburbs. I remember the first time I rode it, I had just given an urban mobility workshop for a group of retirees in a deep & distant suburb and rode it back to the city center and was blown away by how quick, comfortable, clean and efficient the ride and experience was. 🚆