When Communities Get Connected

Part of the Marketday story is about being part of the community - being more visible, active and connected.  So I'm interested in how cities around the world live a more communal and connected life.

For me a communal and connected life is about having choices about how you do the things you do, every day. Having the right tools to actually have a choice (Public transport, a bike, a cart). 

It's also about the pace of life - slowing down and taking time to smell the roses, the coffee, the  freshly mowed grass. The time pressures we have on us and how these can be reduced, is something I think about a lot.

Connection is also about having places close by that are meeting your work, education, social and play needs. This focus on better infrastructure, cleaner air and a will to participate in my community is also on my mind.

Like many, I subscribe to a few climate action newsletters, keen to see stories from around the world.  One in particular called 'Reasons to be Cheerful,' highlights the good, slow and steady work being done across the globe to make change to our environment, our health and our collective wellbeing. 

This is where I learned about 15 minute cities. 

Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm are just some of the cities creating spaces for people to walk & ride while limiting vehicular traffic in specific areas.  Imagine priority being given to active travellers on bicycles and on foot!  Policy change like this is ensuring that people have the things they need with 15 minutes of their home.  These cities aren't the only ones, with many more local municipalities encouraging active and healthy lifestyles by making it easier to get places on foot or by bike. 

I also saw a show recently that was highlighting a bicycle bus.  Our kids went to school for a little while with a walking bus, but it never on the scale of this!

The footage showed literally hundreds of children joining a mass of other kids on bikes enroute to the local school. It was led by a group of parents and community members with a passion for making it happen. 

It blew my mind that this simple act took a heap of cars off the road and got kids to school safely, amongst lots of happy noise and encouragement along the way.

That image is so joyful and in many ways sums up how I feel about communities  coming together to do their little bit. Once you start, others will join and you can't help but be part of it. There is a cascade affect of doing something at an individual level that leads to more people joining in until there is a laughing, yahooing mob reducing CO2 emissions for a better tomorrow..

One step, one thoughtful act, one walk to the shops, one conversation and one bike ride at a time has to be the place to start. Small steps, big impact and a better future for us and the planet.
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