Roely Rijpkema,
Marti Valero Gispert
To have a self-sufficient on Texel by 2065 different concepts can be introduced. The focus of this paragraph is on the mobility of Texel, so different objectives are made for the ways people move on Texel. The objectives we want to achieve are as follow:
• Objective 1: No polluting cars in 2065
This is the objective we want to have in 2065, but it would be better to achieve this objective much earlier, like in less than 20 years from now on. The disturbance on local environment from the mobility system should be gradually minimized in the coming years.
• Objective 2: Increasing the collective transport
The new system should fulfil the goal of complementing social presence. Not only moving individual, but more together. For this the well-being of different groups of people is notable. The transport has to be easily assessable so people will faster make use of it. Travelling on the island will change and people need to be open for this.
• Objective 3: Engagement of tourists and locals
Texel has a lot of tourist in the summer. Both locals and tourist will make us of the mobility system and to get them more engaged in the system is an objective. When they are more engaged, they will be more aware of the sustainable mobility. People have to trust the system and this will be more present when they are commit to it.
• Objective 4: The creation of a strong vision that will inspire and motivate the stakeholders to develop the current socio-technical system to a sustainable direction.
It is of a great importance for the design of the sub-system to be driven by an inspiring vision for mobility in 2065. In the end of the first chapter, inspiring cases of other islands that are working towards a sustainable mobility system have been presented. Research in relation with the future of mobility worldwide is being executed. The aim is to observe which ideas could apply for Texel and to integrate them, in order to shape the best possible vision for Texel.
To achieve these objectives, we developed some concepts which contribute to a sustainable mobility on Texel. The YUTPA Analysis, of the former paragraph, resulted with the environmental impact of the mobility system on Texel island as a given fact that has to be improved. The main outcome of our brainstorming process is three different concepts that represent the three different focuses we picked from the YUTPA analysis, with the objective of making mobility in Texel sustainable. The concepts introduce new approaches for using the transportation system in Texel with the purpose of influencing, in depth, the way people think about sustainability. The desirable change will be to develop at the same time the society, together with the mobility, bringing both the locals and the tourists closer to each other and also to the beautiful Texel natural environment.
Three concepts for a self-sufficient on Texel by 2065.
• Concept 1: Make cycling part of the everyday life
The need is for people to become more active and understand that the lifestyle is not just something that you do but it has impact on the earth in the long term. Mobility is a sector where for decades and decades a huge misuse of the available vehicles there has been done. A very good example is the statement that the brand of the car that someone drives shows the power, or the quality of the person. This is way so many people have bought expensive, unsustainable cars. If we start from the fact that so many cars have been designed and produced without any realistic need, then it is clear that at some point, even if it is profitable, it is not sustainable.
Therefore, it is really important to change the way people think and to increase their sense of engagement with the environment and with the Texel as a place in general. In addition to this, in the long term, all the environmental benefits achieved with the mobility system development will be being published there. As it is logical, through time, measurements will be being executed to check, for example, the carbon emission levels. These results will be uploaded, as a proof for the beneficial function of all the changes done.
The increase of bicycles’ popularity is important within this context. Short distances in Texel can be travelled by bike. In addition to this, as there is a cycle path along the coastline, bicycle can be used also for long distances. The improvement of the existing cycle paths infrastructure and the concept of leading cycling to the best possible comfort levels are the guidelines for making cycling a part of everyday life for the locals and the tourists.
• Concept2: increase Collective Transport and introduce new concepts for it.
By collective transport we mean on a first level the use of bus. As it is well known, using the bus instead of your private car, especially someone is planning of travelling by himself is definitely more sustainable.
On a second level, the approach of collective transport could include car-sharing concepts, where people will be collected together to be transported by one private car. This action would not only bring a decrease in the use of private car, but would also make travelling cheaper and possibly more pleasant as people will have the chance to socialize.
For this concept it is important to collect supporters, people that are willing to become a part of this, so that a car-sharing reality can start being created. If this happens, then people will realized that owning a private car is not necessary and the number of cars can potentially decrease.
• Concept 3: Create Incentives to motivate people.
The municipality should integrate within the sociotechnical system the idea of rewarding the positive behaviour towards public mobility and making the private car usage less effective for the user. For example, you can gain money if you provide your free sits to people that are willing to travel with you.
Imagining how human social relationships will be developed the next decades, or how we would like them to be, communication and openness should be the direction to move to. As it is well known, depression and unsocial behaviour are only a part of the negative impact that modern life has on people. Additionally, the use of technology for communication has decreased the physical contact. Therefore, the municipality should call the people to become more open and to trust each other and at the same time control the factor of safety within all this. Such money incentives can initiate a change.
• Concept 4: Developing the “Real-time transport” system.
This concept is focused on the synchronizing performance of the mobility system, in terms of its optimized use by the users and aims in raising creativity and entrepreneurship in Texel, so that people and especially young professionals will get interested in transitions for a sustainable future for mobility. Moreover, the goal is to develop a system where the newly addressed transport concepts will be successfully integrated in the current system.
Real time transport so far includes buses, trains, walking and driving by car. A conceptual example about an innovative approach in real-time transport in Texel could be: How can the car-sharing concept be developed so that it will function efficiently together with the aforementioned parts that are already integrated in real-time transport? Next to this, how can the bicycle become a part of this?
• Additional ideas/ notes to keep in mind.
As addition to these concepts, there are some other subjects we want to keep in mind. People move and think unconsciously. The different concepts have to be easily accessible, so people make faster us of it. Besides this, the concepts are not focused on all kinds of people, for example not the youth and the aged people. These group of people do maybe make use of mobility in a different way. They cannot use the devices used in the different concepts or need a special transport not included in the concepts.