What if cities could be designed to be… y'know, better? Here's how Europeans want to transform their cities.
The cities of the 21st century have adapted to cars just as much as they have to humans. But a new international survey by Ipsos for the mobility brand Lynk & Co shows that the common wish amongst Europeans is to use vehicles more efficiently and free up urban space for more greenery. With the average car in use for only 4% of the time, Lynk & Co is challenging the industry to take a new approach to disruptive mobility.
The current landscape? A lot of parking lots
Stockholm, for instance, is covered by 550 000m2 worth of permanent parking space. That is more than 77 football fields. Lynk & Co wants to disrupt the car industry and challenge the idea that cars are possessions rather than a shared mode of transportation. Their flexible month-to-month membership model means you only have a car when you actually need it, and you can seamlessly share it with others. With fewer cars, cities could be built for humans and not cars. Citizens could enjoy greener, more vibrant, and inspiring urban environments.
A new survey with over 8000 respondents in eight European capital cities; London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Brussels was conducted by Ipsos for Lynk & Co. With the report “Cities Reimagined by Lynk & Co”, the mobility company set out to learn how Europeans enjoy their cities today and how they would like to shape their cities for tomorrow. Turns out, the views differ.
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Young Europeans are at the forefront
In Rome, 70 percent of all respondents answered that traffic is a huge hassle, while in Stockholm 44 percent recognize how beautiful their city is while traveling in it. In Madrid, 26 percent consider their daily commute the peak of their day, and Londoners are the most likely to have a nice and polite experience with their fellow commuters (19 percent).
The attitude towards car-sharing is similar throughout the eight markets but varies when it comes to the respondents' age. Here, the younger generation stand out. Amongst respondents aged 25-34 years, 66 percent feel positively towards car sharing. In contrast, only 35 percent of respondents aged 55-65 years felt the same.
With cars parked 96 percent of the time, our cities have a lot of unused potentials. I feel motivated by the results of the survey, and I'm excited that the people of Europe agree with our mission of more accessible, open, and green cities. It’s time to reclaim our human space.
Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co
Fewer parking spaces, more living spaces
The most common wish across the eight cities is to replace parking spaces with more greenery (57 percent), followed by places to rest (32 percent), and wider sidewalks (28 percent). But there are a few more surprising findings. Brussels, which is one of the least green cities in this survey, is the least keen to introduce more greenery into their city. Londoners are the most art-hungry citizens and are most likely to vote for more public art, street art, and graffiti to replace parking. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the people of Amsterdam want wider bicycle lanes.
The data has shown: better cities aren't just a distant dream, they're possible. Lynk & Co is leading a revolution in attitudes towards car ownership. By re-imagining cars to be flexible, shareable, and adapted to modern life, we create space in our cities for people.
About the survey
The ”Cities Reimagined by Lynk & Co” report is based on an international survey conducted by Ipsos, a global research firm with 18,000 employees in 90 countries, on behalf of Lynk & Co. The survey consisted of 8003 interviews with women and men aged 18-65 in eight European cities: London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Brussels. The interviews were conducted in July – August 2022.
