Housing and mobility:
indivisibility and paradigm shift
John Whitelegg
Oslo, 14th March 2018

Known Knowns (Mr Rumsfeld)
• Vauban
• Hammarby Sojstad, Stockholm
• Gehl, Cities for people
• Halton, Lancaster, UK

Key messages (1)
• Space matters so why should we base
planning on the worst performers in terms of
space
• Social interaction matters (Appleyard)
• Accessibility matters (Vauban and Stockholm)
• High quality housing matters and this requires
a fusion of housing, accessibility and safety
(Elberfeld)

Key messages (2)
• Fiscal responsibility matters
• Equity and social justice are fundamental
• Public Health must not be ignored

Was ist Effizienz?
Nebst Energie vor allem Komponente Raum!

Wuppertal Institute

Fiscal Responsibility

Housing, Mobility and Finance
• Both exhibit similar regressive tendencies and
deepen inequality
• UK Cabinet Office, 12% of transport spend
goes to “bottom quintile” and 38% to top
• A new fiscal model shifting funds to integrated
housing and mobility outcomes is smarter
• The cash for housing is released by increases
in modal share (UITP data)

Co-Benefits of integration
• Reduction in costs of death and injury in the
road traffic environment
• Health gains amongst older residents from
enhanced social interaction
• Decline of NCDs (Obesity, CVD and Diabetes
type 2) and recognition that NCDs go up as we
promote cars (inc EVs and AVs)

Integration with Public Health
• We have been here before (Liverpool in 1850-
1870)
• Promote and go public on zero air pollution, zero
death and injury and zero carbon
• Actively support the recommendations in full of
the WHO global action plan on increasing levels
of physical activity to reduce NCDs
• http://www.who.int/ncds/governance/physical_a
ctivity_plan/en/

Paradigm Shift
• Transformative Science (Goepel, 2016)
• Design spatial and temporal equity solutions
• Maximise democratic participation
• Maximise gains to public health (NCDs)
• Zero carbon, zero air pollution, Vision Zero
• Affordable mobility and affordable housing
totally integrated

But what about next Monday?
• Vision Zero (total safe systems)
• Convert car parks to high quality Passiv Haus
new homes
• Housing and mobility are indivisible, e.g.
Lancaster)
• Car-free streets +car-free housing
• Public spending must deliver accessibility
• Create the city of short distances

New use of a
parking garage
for flats in
dense urban
areas
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helmut Holzapfel
And by creating a
new urban culture

Halton Co-Housing Project, Lancaster
• 36 dwellings
• 11 car parking places
• Passiv haus standards
• Cycle path, e-bike and cycle storage
• Car club and owner-based car share

Halton, Lancaster

Halton