WHY INCLUSIVE MOBILITY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Businesses exist within an ecosystem that is partly physical, and this environment impacts how ventures start and grow. For instance, creating hubs to nurture entrepreneurs goes a long way in making sure that bright and innovative ideas come to life.

In Singapore, for example, an old industrial building complex that was slated to be demolished back in 2010 was instead refurbished into a hub that brought together start-ups, incubators, and venture capitalists, promoting collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and effectively giving Singapore’s start-up community a boost.

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And it’s not just by creating spaces for entrepreneurs that businesses thrive. When mobility is improved for citizens, businesses win, too. This, apart from the more obvious benefits of making mobility more inclusive and sustainable: less environmental pollution, greater social inclusion, and a healthier population with a more active lifestyle.

Walkability brings more customers to your door

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Gary Hack, professor of Urban Design at the University of Pennsylvania, looked at case studies from five cities across the United States and found that shops and other small businesses get more traffic and do far better in cities that are more “walkable,” that is, those with narrower streets, wider sidewalks, and good mass transit services. The 2013 report is part of the Active Living Research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

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Amy Leung, Director of Urban Development and Water Division in Southeast Asia at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), likewise writes in an article on the Asian Development Blog, “While increasing the number of clean, safe parks, sustainable public transport, recreational facilities, shops, and services have proven to increase daily walking and, consequently, healthier lifestyles, walkability serves businesses a great deal of good too. Businesses can take advantage of increased pedestrian traffic. Providing clean, safe sidewalks increases the number of pedestrians in a business district, encourages leisurely browsing, and leads to unplanned purchases which are good for local merchants.”

Leung cites the case of Pune, India. The usually congested Mahatma Ghandi Road was provided with more streetlamps and better footpaths, and closed off to vehicles between four to six in the evening on weekends. The initiative attracted between 10,000-20,000 pedestrians per weekend and businesses received traffic higher than pre-closure levels. On top of this, sound and air pollution dropped. 

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The tyranny of cars in most of Southeast Asia

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Improving mobility for all is especially important in Asia, which is home to 53% of the world’s urban population and, along with Africa, is one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world, according to the 2014 World Urbanization Prospects report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 

However, pedestrian facilities and public transport have received scant attention in many Southeast Asian cities, and cars remain king. 

Jakarta was named the world’s worst for traffic jams in an index by oil company Castrol, and two other Southeast Asian cities are on the list: Surabaya in Indonesia is at number four, while Bangkok took the eighth spot. In an ADB survey of 13 Asian cities including Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and Cebu, Davao, and Manila in the Philippines, 41% of respondents rated pedestrian facilities in their countries as “bad” or “very bad,” and 67% who walk said they would take motorized transport instead if their cities do not become more walkable. In the Philippines, writes Leung, about 2 million people own private vehicles and the remaining 98 million endure unreliable and inconvenient public transport, as well as a lack of proper sidewalks.

But change may be coming, no matter how gradual: in October last year, all 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) backed the Philippines’ proposal to craft a framework to push for inclusive mobility in the region. The transport ministers recognize that such an initiative would increase productivity and boost economic growth, reports The Philippine Star.

Leung and fellow advocates of inclusive mobility argue for a change in mindset: move people, not cars. “People are a city’s principal raison d'etre. Cities therefore should be designed or redesigned to address one aspect that is at a more personal level for residents to make it greener: walkability.”