Rethinking Mobility: The Future Beyond the Car

Transport systems sit at the heart of our infrastructure. Yet, for decades, urban mobility has been overwhelmingly car-centric, shaping not only how we move but also how we use space, access opportunities, and generate emissions. The consequences are evident in our air quality, public health, and the design of our streets.

What if instead we built mobility as a layered infrastructure— walking and cycling, public transit, shared services, logistics systems, digital networks, each reinforcing the others and guided by circular economy thinking? That was the question at the centre of Fast Forward 2030's session marking the Circular Economy Week.

The session was chaired by Fast Forward 2030 co-founder, Arthur Kay, and featured three speakers working on different aspects of the same problem.

Kristen Tapping, GOROLLOE

Kristen shared how GOROLLOE's air-filtering wheels are designed to improve urban air quality with every journey. Rather than treating clean air as a separate environmental goal, it becomes a byproduct of simply getting from A to B. For cities where air pollution remains a persistent public health challenge, that kind of embedded solution matters.

Oliver Lowrie, Ackroyd Lowrie

Oliver drew on projects at Ackroyd Lowrie to make the case for retrofit and reuse as core principles of sustainable urban design. Building people-centred cities, he argued, is less about constructing new environments from scratch and more about working thoughtfully with what already exists. Streets, buildings, and neighbourhoods carry history and meaning. Good design honours that while making space for what comes next.

Alex Murray, FLIT

Alex gave a live demonstration of FLIT's lightweight folding e-bike, built using aerospace-grade manufacturing techniques. In ten seconds, it made a point that could take paragraphs to argue: that cycling has often failed urban commuters not because it is impractical, but because the tools have not kept pace with what people actually need.

We thank Kristen, Oliver, and Alex for their time and insight, and everyone who joined us for the discussion.