For good measure

IN THE last issue, I argued that a large-scale reduction in the roadspace devoted to car ownership (a different matter to car access, note) could release pent-up demand for cycling, regenerate urban biodiversity and defend against heatwaves. As anticipated, some people sniffed at my Panglossian tendencies, but others welcomed this attempt at ‘systems thinking’.

For what it’s worth, a recent, landmark study by former LCC trustee Professor Rachel Aldred and her team at the University of Westminster showed that average motor traffic was cut by almost 50% across 46 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, with previous research showing a clear link between traffic reduction and more cycling. And a recent Lancet study claimed that doubling tree cover in European cities could cut summer heat-related deaths by 40%. So, what’s not to like about reprioritising even a moderate fraction of streetspace for living things, including those perambulating and pedalling?

Quite a lot, it would seem, judging by some of the truculent reactions to traffic-reduction measures almost wherever they are introduced. Which is why the GLA’s new Wellbeing & Sustainability

Measure is so interesting and potentially important. Billed as a direct challenge to the sanctified status of GDP (you can’t fault the hutzpah), this measure is designed to do a better job of capturing what truly is of value to Londoners, with the intention of increasing it. The time is ripe for such thinking. Academics like Professor Mariana Mazzucato at UCL have been challenging us to reimagine economic value since, well, forever, but you know the sands are shifting when the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, does the same (Reith Lectures, 2020).

A tool and indicator

Cycling — that is to say more of it by more people — is both a tool and an indicator. It’s a tool to deliver specific benefits to the individual (eg increased health) or to the environment (eg reduced pollutant emissions). It’s an indicator because the level of cycling in an area signals how healthy, green and attractive that area is in a general sense.

Ashok Sinha Chief Executive of London Cycling Campaign

So, what exactly is the GLA’s new measure? In essence it’s a rich combination of quantitative and qualitative data under these headings: Accessible services & safe neighbourhoods; Having a decent home; Belonging to communities; Being healthy; A clean & sustainable environment; Good employment & opportunities to succeed; Feeling financially secure. These baskets of data would then be refined into indicators and used to measure the effectiveness of public policy.

The problem with dealing with multiple indices like these, versus a single, money-based metric such as GDP, are obvious. But that’s no reason to sniff at it. Life is complex, and having enough money (essential as that is) is not the only thing that makes it worth living.

So well done to the Mayor for asking the GLA machine to set off in this direction. To be sure there is a long way to go before this measure has a noticeable impact on public life. I’m not holding out much hope for the contenders in next year’s mayoral election competing on the territory of wellbeing. But I hope everyone will eventually recognise that cycling delivers on multiple fronts: social, environmental and economic. Few things contribute better to wellbeing and sustainability overall, than being on a bike.