Inspired by the findings of Sweden's 2020 study on men and women's mobility patterns, the city of Umeå launched a project to tackle car use in its industrial district, Västerslätt. Some cities are already taking steps to change those dynamics - but it isn’t easy. “But there are actually a lot of emotions caught up in that car.” Flipping the script “When we talk about the car’s place in urban planning and transport planning we talk about it as a rational thing,” said Malene Freudendal-Pedersen, professor of urban planning at Aalborg University. Car ownership has also long been a symbol of material wealth, social status and independence - and tightly bound up in ideas of masculinity, said Ana Drăguțescu, coordinator for sustainable mobility and transport at ICLEI Europe, a network of local authorities that promote sustainability. Most cities were designed by men and designed to accommodate cars in many places, taking the car is still the easiest option. But doing so is more easily said than done. With women already more likely to opt for sustainable mobility options, the real challenge is to convince men to change their mobility habits. Another recent poll found that women cycle more often than men in cities with safe cycling infrastructure, like in the Netherlands and Denmark. Other studies point in a similar direction: A 2019 Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament found that, while the car is the preferred mobility option regardless of gender, women are more likely than men to walk or use public transport. If men traveled like women, the study suggested, Sweden’s emissions from passenger transport would decrease by nearly 20 percent. Women tend to include more stops into their journeys - to combine family, work and social responsibilities - and are more likely to choose alternatives to cars when they're available. Of course, some men favor public transport and some women prefer to travel by gas-guzzler, but research shows that on average men and women do tend to travel differently.Ī 2020 study commissioned by Sweden’s innovation agency found that while women and men make roughly the same number of trips in a day, men travel longer distances and tend to favor their cars. "Men drive cars to a higher extent, while women use public transportation or bike or walk." "Men and women travel in different ways - and this is true throughout Europe," said Linda Gustafsson, gender equality officer for the Swedish city of Umeå.
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