AS ONE OF THE BUSIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD LONDON HAS ONE OF THE MOST OVERSTRETCHED MOBILITY SYSTEMS. LONDON HAS GROWN BY ALMOST A MILLION PEOPLE IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND EVEN IF THESE PEOPLE AREN’T DRIVING OR USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT THEY ARE STILL RECEIVING DELIVERIES.

THIS CAUSES OVERCROWDING ON THE TUBES, LONG TRAFFIC JAMS AND MANY UNHAPPY PEOPLE.

JOURNEY TIMES CAN TAKE UP TO 5 TIMES AS LONG DURING RUSH HOUR, LEAVING PEOPLE LATE FOR THEIR MEETINGS AND SPENDING LESS TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES. THE AVERAGE SPEED OF TRAFFIC IS 8 MPH IN CENTRAL LONDON, SOMETIMES DROPPING TO 4 MPH MAKING WALKING A FASTER ALTERNATIVE.

DELIVERIES, ESPECIALLY NEXT DAY ARE A KEY CULPRIT WITH 100’S OF DELIVERIES ARRIVING TO 1 BUILDING EVERY SECOND. CONSTRUCTION IN THE CENTER IS ALSO CONTRIBUTING, ALONG WITH THE COUNCIL BOROUGHS THEMSELVES MAKING MORE AND MORE ROAD CLOSURES.

IT IS EASY TO SEE TRANSPORTATION ON THE ROAD IS DROWNING, AND WITH MOST USERS PREFERRING TO TRAVEL BY ROAD THAN ON THE TUBE, THIS IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. AS A RESULT AIR POLLUTION IS GROWING, EVEN THE INCREASE TAKE UP OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES CAN NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AS THE POLLUTION IS ALSO FROM TYRE, BREAK AND ROAD SURFACE ABRASION.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ANXIETY IS ALSO INCREASING, WITH THE PANDEMIC ADDING AN EXTRA LEVEL OF STRESS TO THE DAILY COMMUTE.

THE EXPERIENCE OF CITY MOBILITY REALLY MUST MAKE STEPS TO IMPROVE SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON THE CITY OF LONDON.

OUR IDEA IS ONE THAT WORKS WITH A CITY THAT IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING, ONE THAT CAN ADAPT TO THE CHANGES AND NEEDS OF ITS COMMUNITY. USING LONDON’S WATERWAYS AS TEMPORARY RESIDENCES ALONG WITH INNER CITY POP-UPS, MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES CAN BE CREATED. THESE CAN ACT AS AN OVERFLOW TO THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF THE CITY, CREATING ISLANDS OF DESIRABLE CROSS-CITY TRANSPORTATION.

CREATED IN ARRIVALS MICRO-FACTORIES A SYSTEM OF SQUARE PLATFORMS CAN DELIVER A DOCKING ISLAND FOR AUTONOMOUS EVTOL AIRCRAFT. EACH INDIVIDUAL SQUARE HAS SOLAR TECHNOLOGY EMBEDDED, MAKING THE ISLAND SELF-POWERED, CHARGING THE EVTOL’S WHEN THEY LAND.

PASSENGERS CAN WALK TO THE NEAREST ISLAND OR POP-UP AND HOP ACROSS THE CITY, WITH JOURNEY TIMES REDUCED FROM AN TO 15 MINUTES. THE AIRCRAFT CAN BE CONFIGURED INTO A TAXI, DELIVERY OR HOSPITALITY SOLUTION, DEPENDING ON THE WISHES AND NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. PROVIDING A VEHICLE-FREE SPACE. THE ISLAND BECOMES AN EXTENSION OF THE CITIES ARCHITECTURE, NOT FIGHTING THE OVER-POPULATED ROAD NETWORK BUT PROVIDING A HAVEN FROM IT. EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY NOT ONLY THROUGH TRANSPORTATION BUT GIVING SOMETHING BACK THROUGH ITS HOSPITALITY AND FLEXIBILITY.

SUSTAINABILITY IS INCREASED BY THE ISLANDS BEING ABLE TO MOVE TO WHERE MOBILITY IS MOST NEEDED AND NOT BECOMING PHYSICALLY OBSOLETE. THROUGH MODULARITY THE AIRCRAFT CAN BE UPGRADED WITHOUT RETIRING LARGE PARTS. THIS IDEA IS NOT FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON THE JOURNEY ITSELF BUT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE THE ISLAND CAN BRING TO THE PEOPLE USING IT. WITH A MODULAR PLATFORM AND THE ABILITY TO RECONFIGURE THE AIRCRAFT, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE TRULY ENDLESS.