Introduction: changing cultures of speed

This chapter outlines the widespread acceptance of speed as a positive aspect of urban transport during the 20th century, along with a growing recognition in recent decades that speed may not provide the advantages that have long been assumed. In 21st century urban planning, no longer are higher speeds always seen as the main objective. New goals are increasingly recognised as being more important: accessibility, liveability, economic vitality, child-friendliness, sustainability and health. The concept of ‘health’ in this book applies to human health, as well as economic health and environmental health. We explain how all of these types of health can be enhanced using the simple strategy of slowing city transport. A brief history of increases in transport speed is followed by a discussion of the evolution of the culture of speed in modern societies, to a level that can be compared to an addiction. An important aspect of the culture of speed is the story of motordom, the grouping of automobile clubs, car dealers and car manufacturers that began in the United States in the 1920s. A concerted campaign by motordom comprehensively dismissed the public’s negative views on speed. We then outline how, from the 1980s onwards, new thinking began to emerge about motorised city transport, in which the value of slowing it down became more widely discussed. We provide examples of various slow movements that have emerged since the 1980s. While some citizens and policy-makers may question (or even ridicule) the idea of slow movements, we reflect on where the ‘fast movement’ has taken us over the last 100 years. This chapter concludes with a preview of the chapters and parts of the book.