The future of Mobility and Urban Planning

Before we even talk about Mobility, let us understand the factors that give rise to it. Modernisation, Urban Development, Digital Innovation, Technological Advancements are few of the key factors those contribute to Mobility in the present day world. Modernisation – a process of systematic and progressive transition of human race from an existing culture to a modern culture. It can also be defined as the movement of individuals or groups from one socio-economic level to another. If there is one thing on which Modernisation has a direct impact on – it has to be Mobility. Mobility can be termed as a quality or capability of an individual or a group which permits them to move from place to place while retaining the ability to fulfil their primary objective. The most commonly associated field with Mobility in real-time is the Technological World. For instance, in enterprise mobility, an individual or a group may upload a presentation from their desktop PC to a cloud storage service, and then access it from any of their personal devices at a location which is different than the source. It can often be said that Mobility is the result of Urban Planning and vice-versa. This means that, both these paradigms are inter-dependent on one another. Richard Carson, an American author famously quoted planning as “A plan that everyone dislikes for different reasons is a success; A plan everyone dislikes for the same reason is a failure; A plan that everyone likes for the same reason is an act of God!” Urban Planning refers to the study or analysis of the built environment of a city, town, or an urban area. This is closely related to environmental studies, conservation, and land-use planning and is often offered within the school of architecture. Urban planning concerns itself with both the development of open land i.e. Greenfield Sites and the revitalisation of existing parts of the city, As per a recent statistical analysis, it has been observed that the present-day urban population would multiply itself by three-quarters of a ratio in the next three to four decades. One could always argue that there are several reasons contributing to this phenomenon; one thing that stands out from everything is increased mobility of population. With Mobility, it means that there has been a significant change in people’s lifestyle from one sphere to another without compromising on the quality and efficiency; with progressive movement from rural to semi-urban areas and then ultimately to the urban areas. To conclude, Mobility and Urban Planning are in correlation with one another; and with Digital Innovation influencing Urban Planning and the subsequent Mobility, one has many a positive to look forward to in terms of a better and an improvised lifestyle.