Restoring the Health of the Environment

Mobility restrictions gave us a glimpse of what is possible

As stay-at-home measures were implemented around the world in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the internet was populated with startling pictures of pristine skies over Los Angeles, suddenly-apparent Himalayan mountain peaks in India, and satellite images of declining pollution over China. While fleeting, these scenes provided a glimpse of what could be possible with changes in transportation habits, and investment in public infrastructure that can get people where they need to go without polluting the air and hastening the climate catastrophe. The pandemic did not actually provide relief from the incessant danger posed to the natural environment - and instead threatens to magnify many existing problems. For example, the economic fallout from the pandemic means that many people who have lost grey-economy jobs in cities will likely return to areas where they must cut down trees for food and fuel, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. That will come on top of the estimated 10 million hectares of forest lost per year between 2015 and 2020, according to the FAO.

One concrete way to rebuild in a more sustainable direction could be to better facilitate cycling as a transportation option in cities. European cities including Berlin, Paris, and Brussels developed plans during the crisis to support cycling with both temporary and permanent infrastructure. In France, for example, government officials unveiled a $22 million plan intended to help people easily get bicycle repairs, and to obtain temporary parking spaces. Officials in Paris also closed one of the city’s main streets, the Rue de Rivoli, to private cars - in hopes of creating more space for cyclists. The emphasis on cycling will be important not least because many people, following months of warnings to keep their distance from others, will likely be wary of resuming daily trips on public transportation. According to survey results published by mobility consulting and engineering firm SYSTRA in May 2020, one-fifth of the bus commuters in the United Kingdom felt they would use public transportation less after lockdown, and more than half planned to reduce their use of public transportation due to fear of illness.

World Economic Forum