Chapter 4 - The ‘slow paradox’: how speed steals our time
Abstract
Conventional transport planning in the past assumed that travel time should be kept to a minimum, and the way to achieve this was to increase the speed of travel, particularly by car. Increasing speed was assumed to make individuals and economies more productive. According to this logic, travelling by private motorised transport is more efficient than travelling via the slower modes. In this chapter, we question this logic. We explore the ‘slow paradox’ that ‘slow cities’ ‘save time’ in several ways. This is demonstrated using the concept of effective speed, which considers all the time costs of transport, not simply the time spent moving. Even when only trip speeds are examined, surprising findings emerge about the benefits of slowing city transport. In some circumstances, slowing traffic may reduce the overall journey time for all drivers. Also, cities with higher levels of walking, cycling and public transport spend less time travelling each day than cities dominated by private motor cars. This chapter ends with a caveat: we are not arguing that increasing speed or saving time is a useful policy goal. The promotion of health should be the primary goal, and any focus on increasing speed (even effective speed) may be counterproductive.
