Uses of Time

“Showcasing how some people, cities or states have adopted new models of time use successfully with meaningful gains in happiness, reduced stress and better health can help clarify what individuals will gain”.

Ugo Lachapelle is a professor of Urban and Tourism Studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada, and president of the International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR). He will be one of the featured international speakers at the next edition of Time Use Week, where he will participate in the panel on “Time policies and the right to time: key solutions for the challenges of the s. XXI.”

What are the main challenges that we have to face in 21st-century cities?
I am a transport researcher with training in environmental sciences and urban planning so this training will likely inspire my answer. The impressive body of research that has been developed over the past 40 years on climate change and the anthropic source of much of this change certainly points to an important challenge. I don’t know of any body of knowledge that is quite as organized and impartial as the one compiled by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1988.

 In many countries of the world, we clearly know that fossil fuel-based economies, and namely transport systems based on car use are to blame for the transformation of the climate. While this is the main international and planetary backdrop to our challenges, it will be compounded by rapid urbanization and the growth of cities. Much will need to be built, and what we build can influence our ability to respond to the challenges of growing car-dependent cities in the context of climate change.

 How can time policies help in finding solutions to these challenges?
Travel is always an activity that consumes some of our precious time. Studies have shown that people have on average a fixed amount of time they spend on travel, what we call the fixed travel time budget. If we go faster, we can get to a greater variety of places. Cities around the world have largely planned for this to be achieved using automobiles since the end of World War II. Thinking about mobility in terms of time helps us focus on the need to provide more destinations for individuals in closer vicinity so they can access it using different modes of transport. Travelers may be more amenable to changing their habits.

As a mobility expert, what actions in this area can improve time organization in cities?
Providing accessibility to the destinations that are needed for families to lead their lives. When destinations are closer, using a slower, less polluting mode of transport can become much more feasible and more competitive with automobile travel. The solutions, providing more frequent and better alternative and sustainable transport infrastructures, are well known.

The issue is rather to communicate the collective benefits of these actions. It also involves convincing travellers to reorganize their lives around other modes of transport. This is not simply done by providing improved alternative transport infrastructure and built environments that bring destinations closer to people. For many, car ownership is a symbol of status, of achievement, of modernity, of time saving and of freedom. A new narrative must come with the physical transformation of our cities.

Barcelona is an example of a city committed to public and sustainable transport. How can we continue to implement actions in this aspect?
I am by no means a specialist when it comes to Barcelona, indeed this is the first time ever that I will be in the city, or in Spain for that matter. When cities already have a good public transport system to start with, they can focus on ensuring the long-term stability of the funding of the system through policies and laws; they can ensure the proper maintenance of the system (governments always prefer cutting ribbons for new infrastructure rather than fixing ageing parts of the system); they can supplement the fastest main lines with better coverage to reach the entire population. Even the cities that have exceptional public transit in central areas often face a much different situation in the outer suburbs. Expanding the system to reach these areas is also likely the next important action to implement.

How can we improve the collaboration between the world of research and public policy to apply more efficient solutions in terms of time use?
Providing forums to foster exchanges between policymakers and researchers is a good start. Having governments committed to science and knowledge-based decision-making is the next logical step. But in many situations, governments respond to issues as they appear and this leaves little space and time for researchers to provide potential guidance. Governments that are willing to commit to long-term strategic visions and policies can more easily commission studies or provide a set of research questions that will provide supporting information on the consequences of these policies in the long run.

The theme of this year’s Time Use Week is to advance the right to time for everyone. Barcelona has been a pioneering city in promoting this right. How do you value the actions that have been carried out in Barcelona in this regard?
 I cannot speak to the actions that have been carried out in Barcelona, as I am not familiar with them, but I can certainly approve of the value of ensuring equal or even equitable right to time. Indeed time-use research has shown in so many projects that time inequalities are still blatantly present and can create or enhance inequalities. Socioeconomic and gender disparities seem to be by far the areas for which we have the most knowledge.

How important do you see joint work and networking between the different agents of the cities to advance towards the right to time?
What consumes the most time in one’s life and what can actually be changed and improved to free time and enable better use of time differs from person to person.  My focus is transport and mobility, but labour policies, health care and education systems are for example the focus of many of my colleagues. This is clearly and unfortunately not a single-solution issue.

We have the challenge of sensitizing both organizations and citizens in general about the importance of a new model of time use; do you have any recommendations/tips to achieve this?
The status quo is often the preference of individuals. Showcasing how some people, cities or states have adopted these new models of time use successfully with meaningful gains in happiness, reduced stress and better health can help clarify what individuals will gain. Jumping into the unknown is never easy.