Can we prevent traffic jams?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2019

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s frustrating to be stuck in traffic. Listener Collins from Nairobi, Kenya, spends at least three hours a day in traffic and he counts himself lucky. Many of his friends will easily spend six hours in traffic jams to get back and forth from work. Collins wants to know whether there is hope for his hometown – has any city managed to eliminate the worst of the traffic hot spots and how did they do it? Collins is not alone in his frustration. CrowdScience finds that congestion plays a major factor in the happiness and health of urban citizens. Commuters have been measured to have stress levels equivalent to that of riot police facing angry protesters.

So should our cities cater less for cars and what are the alternatives? Presenter Gareth Barlow heads to Copenhagen to meet the politicians and urban designers who have transformed the Danish capital from a city for cars to one for bikes and people. Presenter: Gareth Barlow. Produced by Louisa Field

(Photo: Afternoon traffic along Likoni road in Nairobi's Kilimani susburb. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of
0:07.0	Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.3	Birth in Ice Valley is returning.
0:35.0	We've been trying to find answers to an unsolved mystery.
0:38.0	And now we're back with an update on the case.
0:41.0	We'll be here to tell you more about it at the end of this
0:43.7	podcast.
0:46.5	A! Let's alert, don't do handbrake turns. I'm Garros Barlow and this is me
0:56.4	ferry my rather loud producer Louisa around Copenhagen in a cargo bike.
1:01.4	Put you back into it. Oh, okay, right, here we go.
1:05.0	On this week's crowd science from the BBC World Service, I'm going to be sweating.
1:10.0	We're the program that takes your questions, it goes hunting for the answers but before I
1:14.1	run out of breath let's hear from this week's listener hello my name is
1:18.9	Collins I live in work in Nairobi my my city is notorious for having terrible, terrible traffic jams.
1:25.6	So my question for crowd science is, is there a solution to traffic jams in cities?
1:31.0	Is there a city that has moved from having terrible traffic to no traffic at all.
1:35.6	Imagine you're in your car at the moment, describe what you would see, how much traffic is around you.
	...

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