Turning City Parking into Green Spaces

Mobility provider Lynk & Co calls for city mobility to be reimagined following a survey suggesting most Europeans want fewer vehicles and more open spaces in their cities.

FREMONT, CA: In a survey that suggested most Europeans desire fewer vehicles and more open spaces in their cities, mobility provider Lynk & Co is urging for city mobility to be reimagined. According to an Ipsos international study, Europeans want to use cars more wisely so that more greenery can be planted in cities. Since the average vehicle is only used four per cent of the time, Lynk & Co. is pressuring the sector to adopt a fresh strategy for disruptive mobility.

It refers to Stockholm, which has 550,000 square metres of covered, year-round parking. More than 77 football fields' worth of space. The business claims it intends to upend the auto sector and disprove the notion that automobiles are personal property rather than a shared form of transportation. Cities could be more human-centred, greener, livelier, and more inspiring metropolitan settings if fewer cars were on the road.

More than 8,000 people participated in the study, conducted in eight major European cities: London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Brussels. Londoners are the most likely to have a pleasant and friendly experience with their fellow commuters, with 19 per cent agreeing. In comparison, 26 per cent of Madrid residents consider their daily commute to be the highlight of their day. In Stockholm, 44 per cent of respondents say they notice how lovely their city is when travelling there, compared to 70 per cent of respondents in Rome who said that traffic is a major inconvenience.

Even though opinions on car sharing vary depending on the respondents' ages, they are generally consistent across the eight markets. Sixty-six per cent of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34 have favourable attitudes toward automobile sharing. Only 35 per cent of respondents were aged 55 to 65 years.

In all eight cities, 57 per cent of respondents said they would like to view more vegetation in place of parking spots. Thirty-two per cent said they would want additional rest areas, and 28 per cent said they would like broader sidewalks. Brussels, one of the least environmentally friendly cities in this survey, is the least eager to add extra greenery to their city. Londoners are the most passionate about art and are more likely to support street art, graffiti, and public art over parking. The residents of Amsterdam want more bicycle lanes, which is perhaps not surprising.