Antonella Mei-Pochtler discusses the challenges and innovative solutions for urban transportation in the near future, emphasizing the need to reconnect urbanization with civilization. She highlights examples from cities like Curitiba and Abidjan, showcasing how technology and creative low-budget solutions can significantly improve transportation efficiency and reduce congestion.

The chapter discusses the global shift towards urban living, with over 50% of the population now residing in cities, which generate 70% of global GDP. However, this rapid urbanization has led to significant challenges, particularly in transportation, which affects health, economic development, and infrastructure, necessitating solutions to reconnect urbanization with civilization.

The chapter explores low-budget solutions to urban congestion, highlighting Curitiba's innovative bus system designed by Mayor Jaime Lerner and his team. This system, which mimics a metro, significantly reduced private transport usage and congestion, and has been adopted in 84 cities worldwide. The chapter also contrasts this with high-budget, data-intensive solutions like Rio's traffic control tower.

The chapter discusses innovative approaches to solving inner-city mobility issues by leveraging new technologies and involving citizens in the development process. Examples include using self-driving vehicles, drones, and gaming tools like Minecraft for city planning, as well as utilizing big data from mobile phones to optimize traffic flows in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The chapter discusses innovative approaches to urban planning for the city of the future, emphasizing the importance of sharing, experimentation, citizen engagement, and decentralized investment. It highlights Singapore's commitment to these ideas, including the introduction of self-driving taxis, decentralized services, and green spaces to enhance livability and competitiveness.