urbanism

The urban car is about as well-suited to the modern metropolis as a hippopotamus to a studio flat. Summer streets sag under its weight, our air thickens with its exhalations of nitrogen oxides and soot, and all the while, the creature demands more - more space to move, more space to rest. The sheer spatial absurdity of it: Each steel-and-glass sarcophagus idling for hours, occupying far more square footage than the bodies it transports. And yet, bizarrely, we persist.

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The true cost of car dependency is eye-watering. Research from Sweden puts the lifetime cost of car ownership at nearly £500,000 - of which a staggering 41% is shouldered by society. From air pollution to road deaths, congestion to climate emissions, the damage caused by our car-first culture extends far beyond individual drivers.

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At this point, you could set your watch by it: Another International Women’s Day has rolled around, and we are reminded that while women can allegedly have it all, we still can’t have a cycle lane that doesn’t abruptly vanish into multiple lanes of fast-moving traffic.

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If you ever wanted proof that Britain is a land of quietly baked-in inequality, take a look at who’s on a bike. A new report from Sustrans has confirmed what many have long suspected: cycling in the UK is still a largely male pursuit, and the problem starts young. Almost twice as many boys as girls cycle regularly, a discrepancy that echoes into the adult world, where only half as many women as men take to two wheels.

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Bike storage; the eternal struggle. Whether it’s the hallway, shed, or corner of your living room, bicycles have a habit of taking up more space than you’d like. And when you’ve got more than one? Good luck.If you have the ceiling height to play with, SpaceRail lets you store multiple bikes neatly, with minimal faff.

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