Paradigm Shifts in Transportation in the New Normal

At the time of writing, the whole world is experiencing a disruption so sudden and drastic that it has challenged our way of life, work, and socializing. We are of course talking about the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2019 that has mostly spilled over into 2020.

Among the chief questions this has raised is: how do we work and move around when there's a highly contagious, potentially deadly virus floating around? This video from the Wall Street Journal discusses exactly this question. 


Here are some of my thoughts on the issue in the context of Metro Manila and the Philippines in general:
-Re-arranging work: nature has forced us to consider the possibility of shifting work from being office building-centric to people and connection-centric. We have the technology now to enable this. Businesses that can but do not embrace this new work arrangement will be vulnerable in the next high-impact event. 
-Re-imagining cities: experts float the idea of local economies and 15-minute cities where everything a town needs is just within reach. Maybe it's time to move away from the idea of megacities? 
-Re-evaluating public transportation: with the need for social distancing present more than ever, people are pushed to use private cars more and more. Planners need to reshape their thinking from moving cars to moving people by treating transportation as a public good rather than a business. Bikes also hold a lot of promise. 

All these work together to get people off the roads and move quickly those who need to. An important consideration as well is making sure elders and PWD's do not get left behind with these new shifts. (MMDA, are you listening?) What are your thoughts on how we should tackle movement in the new normal?

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