By Meyha Camara for 2050
Our 5th investment, the largest one!
Smoove and Zoov, two frontrunners of the active mobility revolution that teamed up in 2021, are now united as Fifteen: a reference to the fifteen-minute city, a concept whereby cities are designed so that all essential services are accessible in less than fifteen minutes, on foot or by bike.
An alarming urban ultra-concentration
The official demographic projections predict a population of 10 billion inhabitants on Earth by 2050. We must add to this projection the “concentration” data: more than 50% of the population is located within less of 5% of the territories.
The city has become the place of residence of the majority of humanity with consequences of this urban concentration on global warming but also the quality of life of its citizens.
These consequences include “hostility” factors such as pollution, transport congestion, cramped housing (due to rising property prices), social tensions, air quality, urban stress and a number of other physiological and mental pathologies (breathing difficulties, fatigue, obesity, cardiovascular disease…)
A key investment for 2050
Beyond the investment in a future world leader of sustainable mobility, 2050 has identified Fifteen to address three challenges of the future of our cities. They can have an immediate impact on the decarbonisation of transport. They also bring an inclusive dimension to the urban landscape with competitive and connected bikes, reaching far beyond the centers of large cities,into suburban areas and smaller towns. Finally, their positive effects extends to health, by ‘getting us moving’, improving air quality, reducing noise pollution, stress factors and more.
The investment in Fifteen is an important strategic move for 2050 because it allows us to explore a new axis of the essential “live and explore sustainably”, which is mobility. The challenge for 2050 is to build a truly fertile ecosystem bringing together entrepreneurs, experts, the world of research and associations to facilitate a profound, ambitious, sustainable and aligned transformation of the sector.
