Kendall Ogin, Raya Young, Mo Moritz

The story of a city often lies in the manner by which its citizens move, commute, and travel. As individuals ride the bus, take the train, bike, or walk, these different transportation methods swiftly become ingrained in their routines and way of life. During a journey, one may listen to music, scour the news, call a parent, or eat a croissant. Other times, one may find themselves laughing uncontrollably with friends in the London underground, standing outside in the pouring rain for a train running late, offering a hand to an elderly lady getting off the bus, or sitting next to someone new, exchanging words, and becoming friends. The dull, repetitive moments spent while commuting shaped our experiences in monumental ways. The photos below offer appreciation for the sustainability of public transportation and seek to understand how the day-to-day experience of commuting during our abroad journey can have profound effects on an individual. 

In the wake of a changing climate, individuals must seek out more sustainable methods to explore the world and journey to new places. Europe offers more sustainable opportunities for travel than any other continent in the world, from high-speed rail connecting faraway countries, charming trams that bustle through a dense city center, or clean buses that offer safe, reliable transportation. Navigating these public transportation options grants one an unmatched sense of independence: the ability to travel wherever one’s heart desires. 

In most American cities and rural areas, the only reliable option for transportation is by driving a car—an option that is both more restrictive and expensive. Burning gasoline when driving road vehicles harms our planet by emitting greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide. Furthermore, driving a vehicle is an isolating experience, often underscoring the social and economic inequalities that exist regarding the freedom to travel anywhere. However, as examined below, public transport is cost-effective, sustainable, and can uplift individuals by allowing them to share such journeys together. As cities continue to expand and develop, they must implement secure public transportation options in line with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal for Sustainable Cities and Communities. 

 

Trains offer a reliable, robust, and sustainable mode of transport. In the mountains of Norway, the Flam Railroad connects the small town of Flam to the Oslo-Bergen transport line, one of the most scenic railroads in the whole world. Trains offer the ability to sit, reflect, and enjoy the scenery. The pleasant experience of riding a train begs the question of how a country such as the United States would look different with an interconnected, sprawling high-speed rail system as the primary means of transportation across states.

 

In Copenhagen, there is a vast harbor system that was important to the shipping needs of the Scandinavian countries from the 12th-19th centuries. While small boats certainly emit less carbon emissions and greenhouse gases than planes or trucks, the boats in the Copenhagen harbor are not used for shipping or travel anymore. Instead, they are often converted into single-family homes where residents reside and create neighborhoods of all different shapes, sizes, and modalities!! Learning about how many single adults or couples live full-time in their houseboats signifies unique sustainability-driven housing solutions in Copenhagen.

 

This photo was taken in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and it does its best to capture the importance of biking in the culture of the city. The sidewalks and even the canals are littered with unlocked bikes, as each resident has a bike or two to spare; around 15,000 bicycles are dredged from the canals each year and bikes are said to outnumber permanent residents. The streets are swarmed with bikers of all ages coming from every direction. Make sure to look both ways and walk with conviction when attempting to cross the street. Here we see a son riding comfortably on the back of his chauffeur’s (his mom’s) bike. In Amsterdam, it is clear that neither the car nor the pedestrian is the dominant being: the bike reigns supreme. The reliance on bicycles as a mode of transportation has many benefits, from physical fitness to environmental consciousness. With these advantages in mind, European countries have invested in cycling infrastructure like bike lanes, trails, parking, and sharing systems to encourage their citizens to get active and travel sustainably. 

 

This photo was taken in a crowded metro car in Barcelona on the way to El Clásico, the famous soccer match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The Metro offers a cheap, fast, and easy way to traverse the city whilst escaping from the elements up above. On the way to a popular event like this or the city center the Metro is the best way to avoid traffic and a taxi’s steep rates. In Madrid, I used the Metro or the bus nearly every day. I had an Abono Transporte card that I used to board every mode of public transport, and as a student, I only had to pay 8 euros a month. In addition to saving me countless hours and metro, the Metro prevents cold and rain above ground all whilst decreasing pollution from cars. Taking the metro results in almost a 50% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. It is the most effective system of carpooling, and every time I took the Metro, I met someone new, learned something new, and practiced my Spanish.

 

One does not typically associate tradition and conservation with sustainability, seeing as how the current sustainability movement (particularly in the United States) is aimed towards innovation and progressiveness.  In Italy though, sustainability through transportation is expressed in a variety of very unconventional ways. Traveling solely by fuel-propelled boats is an environmentally harmful mode of transportation in Italy— which is a byproduct of severe over-tourism. Venice, however, is a city that is entirely void of cars and other mechanical vehicles.  Visitors and residents get around the city either on foot or by boat.  While Venice is a city with an incredibly unique transportation system, being rooted in tradition that spans back to its creation, Venice is one of Italy’s most environmentally friendly cities in terms of transportation, as shown in the photo above.

 

The final picture was taken in Florence, outside of the Piazza Signoria.  The old man, driving down the millennia-old Florentine streets is surrounded by tourists on foot, engaging with the synonymous ideas of sustainable transportation in tourism and maintaining traditional Italian ways of life.