Professor Tyler looked at what the current covid-19 pandemic has changed about the way we use and view transport and the future implications of this for the highways and transportation sector.

Professor Nick Tyler, UCL said:

“Public design, including the public transport systems actually are the leaders of the creation of quality of life, because they can create the environment in which health happens, both physical and mental, and they can enable people to access the opportunities that they need like employment and so on and to be able to get good quality food and all of those kinds of things that make us all healthier, they are actually fundamental to it.”

This webinar will be subsequently made available for CIHT members to view in our resources section.

Key points highlighted at this session included:

• The future for the way we work - We should learn from COVID-19 and not go back to where we were. The pandemic has taught many that you do not have to be in an office to do a lot of types of work. If there is a significant change and continuation of this move to remote working post-pandemic, the transport system will have to fundamentally change to facilitate this.
• The future for the way we live - We should be thinking in terms of creating local ‘neighbourhoods’ that have all the necessary facilities for daily life and the transport system should accommodate that. Currently, the transport system is very radial, it goes from outside of the city centre into the city centre. In the future it might have to change and become more orbital.  
• Suburbs can change from being ‘dormitory’ type places to becoming more thriving communities if some of the activity such as work is moved from city centres. The economy of a city is unlikely to decrease from doing this, it might grow but it will not get smaller. Doing this will increase quality of life, in terms of health and well-being and so on.
• Transport is crucial to creating a healthier UK. – how we use transport can form part of creating healthier lifestyles either by incorporating active travel into our everyday routine and / or improving the integration between transport and planning.

You can gain access to the recording of the webinar and the two other webinars in the series here