"Last One Mile" is Too Far: The Wisdom of the "Half-Mile" for an Aging Society
- 5 日前
- 読了時間: 2分
In the context of transportation and
logistics, we often hear the term "Last
One Mile" to describe the final leg of
a journey from the nearest station to
one's home. But for those of us
walking through the city every day, is
this distance of 1.6 kilometers (one
mile) truly an appropriate standard?
Walking one mile (1.6 km) typically
takes over twenty minutes. For healthy
young people, this might be
manageable, but for the elderly or
those carrying heavy luggage, a walk
exceeding 20 minutes is no longer
mere movement—it is "labor". The
psychological hurdle of heading
toward a distant station while feeling
the strain on one's knees or shortness
of breath is significant.
In contrast, consider the standard
station interval for AGT (Automated
Guideway Transit), which is
approximately 800 meters. This is
exactly half of a mile—a "half-mile".
At just over a 10-minute walk, this
distance stays within the range of a
"pleasant stroll," allowing one to feel
the station's presence nearby and
enjoy the city scenery without
overexertion.
In fact, AGT’s long-standing design
standard of 800-meter intervals has
unintentionally anticipated the
"optimal solution" for a future super
-aging society.
While there are many discussions
about introducing bicycles or personal
mobility devices to bridge the one
-mile gap, perhaps the most
fundamental solution is for the
infrastructure itself to bridge the gap
to a "walkable distance". Having a
station every half-mile (800m) forms
the backbone of a "gentle city"—a
place where the elderly can continue
to walk on their own feet without
giving up their connection to society.
Looking toward our future society, I
believe we need to reconsider the
placement of existing stations based
on this physical sensation of the "half
-mile". By shifting our focus from the
"Last One Mile" to the "Half-Mile,"
we can transform our cities into
places where everyone truly wants to
walk.
Stay tuned for the next AGT Blog!