WEBVTT 00:05.620 --> 00:10.540 Hello and welcome to another European Urbanism Podcast episode. 00:11.000 --> 00:13.000 This one's going to be a tea ramble. 00:13.280 --> 00:16.000 My name is Sadiye Özgen and I'm at home at the moment. 00:16.760 --> 00:21.820 And if you hear some noise in the background, it's raining actually. 00:22.540 --> 00:25.660 So there's going to be background noise. 00:25.660 --> 00:31.740 There's going to be maybe rambles or gravel in my voice because I'm 00:31.740 --> 00:33.880 still having a cold. 00:34.120 --> 00:39.200 Which is also the reason why this podcast is actually a week late. 00:40.060 --> 00:41.360 So there you have it. 00:41.540 --> 00:47.800 This week or this month I'm going to talk about my things or my 00:47.800 --> 00:55.260 insights that I found this year in this area of expertise in this 00:55.260 --> 00:59.840 topic about cities and stuff like that. 01:00.400 --> 01:04.580 And I'm going to talk about my recent travels. 01:05.020 --> 01:10.680 I'm going to talk about the conferences that I've been to and what my 01:10.680 --> 01:11.880 insights were there. 01:12.280 --> 01:17.780 And how it's going to take us forward into the next decade actually. 01:17.780 --> 01:24.400 So I'm a bit early with the review of this year. 01:24.960 --> 01:31.600 But this is mainly because next month I'm going to do a recap of this 01:31.600 --> 01:32.060 decade. 01:32.540 --> 01:34.520 So I'm a bit early. 01:34.840 --> 01:36.560 And I hope you bear with me. 01:37.560 --> 01:43.460 So I've been to several conferences as I've said before. 01:43.880 --> 01:49.400 And the biggest one and certainly the most international one was the 01:49.400 --> 01:52.980 International Transport Forum in May in Leipzig. 01:53.160 --> 01:54.720 Leipzig by the way is my hometown. 01:55.460 --> 01:58.300 So it's always special to get back there. 01:58.460 --> 02:02.200 And I will go to the International Transport Forum next year too. 02:02.200 --> 02:08.100 Because I found it's really interesting to listen to all those 02:08.100 --> 02:09.140 different people. 02:09.460 --> 02:14.540 To all those different transportation facilitators. 02:14.820 --> 02:19.820 How they operate and what challenges they see. 02:20.460 --> 02:25.080 And it's actually really interesting in regard to climate change. 02:25.080 --> 02:31.420 Because what I learned there is that everyone or almost everyone knows 02:31.420 --> 02:33.900 things have to change in transportation. 02:34.980 --> 02:37.120 This does include the air travel. 02:38.120 --> 02:43.920 Because several aviation people were there and they talked about 02:43.920 --> 02:45.200 what's going to change. 02:45.460 --> 02:51.760 And what they're actually doing in regard to air travel and the 02:51.760 --> 02:56.120 pollution of the air and the CO2 emissions. 02:56.680 --> 03:01.120 And they are aware of that and they are working towards solutions. 03:01.120 --> 03:07.740 However they do also see the challenges and they do need other 03:07.740 --> 03:11.180 industries to help them with those changes. 03:11.600 --> 03:15.200 So I'm not opposed to all air travel. 03:15.700 --> 03:21.080 Even though I think it's definitely not necessary to fly from 03:21.080 --> 03:22.560 Frankfurt to Stuttgart. 03:22.800 --> 03:24.220 Frankfurt Main I mean. 03:24.720 --> 03:29.660 Which seems to be a connecting flight which Lufthansa still does. 03:29.660 --> 03:32.260 Which I found very weird. 03:32.620 --> 03:34.100 But that's another topic. 03:34.360 --> 03:39.860 So the transportation forum or the transport forum in Leipzig was 03:39.860 --> 03:40.700 really interesting. 03:41.000 --> 03:46.740 Also in regard to how fast other countries are building their 03:46.740 --> 03:47.500 infrastructure. 03:47.800 --> 03:54.080 How fast they are actually developing their projects and what their 03:54.080 --> 03:55.580 next steps are. 03:55.580 --> 04:00.920 For instance, since we're in Germany and most of you will have heard 04:00.920 --> 04:02.060 of the Berlin Airport. 04:02.920 --> 04:08.540 Which still isn't ready and was supposed to open for business several 04:08.540 --> 04:09.420 years ago. 04:10.220 --> 04:14.360 And still is not finished and still needs more money. 04:14.360 --> 04:19.340 On the other hand, there's Incheon Airport in Korea. 04:19.680 --> 04:27.280 And they managed somehow to be inside their cost estimation and inside 04:27.280 --> 04:33.800 of their time that they were looking into to build this. 04:34.020 --> 04:39.080 So they also didn't have public funding for the last 2 lakhs or 04:39.080 --> 04:39.900 something like this. 04:39.900 --> 04:43.280 So they did it with private funding mainly. 04:43.600 --> 04:50.040 Which is maybe also a reason why they were on time and didn't run over 04:50.040 --> 04:50.820 the costs. 04:51.460 --> 04:57.720 And in Berlin, obviously it's paid for by the government and therefore 04:57.720 --> 05:00.460 all the people who pay taxes. 05:01.020 --> 05:04.560 And they didn't finish it on time for safety reasons. 05:04.560 --> 05:10.420 On the other hand, I'm saying also, I don't want to manage a project 05:10.420 --> 05:11.960 of this size. 05:12.160 --> 05:17.580 Because there are sure as hell really, really big issues that you have 05:17.580 --> 05:18.340 to overcome. 05:18.640 --> 05:23.760 And so many moving parts, so that's not easy to do. 05:23.760 --> 05:29.360 And another thing that people at the transport forum were saying and 05:29.360 --> 05:33.840 were aware of is the importance of train traffic. 05:34.160 --> 05:40.400 And we finally see more investments in Germany back into the train 05:40.400 --> 05:40.920 system. 05:41.700 --> 05:45.960 The infrastructure has been woefully neglected. 05:46.600 --> 05:51.980 Which is a real problem because now they don't have enough tracks. 05:51.980 --> 05:54.180 They don't have enough personnel. 05:54.660 --> 05:57.520 They don't have enough building personnel. 05:58.120 --> 06:02.960 So now that they finally get the money, they don't have the necessary 06:02.960 --> 06:04.620 engineers, it seems. 06:04.800 --> 06:09.860 To actually build those necessary new tracks and replace the old ones. 06:10.180 --> 06:16.480 And because of that they also have issues with places where they are 06:16.480 --> 06:20.260 building so that the trains don't come on time. 06:20.260 --> 06:26.520 Which is also kind of a running gag if you use the public train system 06:26.520 --> 06:27.120 in Germany. 06:27.620 --> 06:31.860 We don't have... the trains aren't on time most of the time. 06:32.460 --> 06:34.500 Or a lot of the time. 06:34.760 --> 06:40.380 And the funny thing is that if you use the navigator app of the train 06:40.380 --> 06:45.520 provider Deutsche Bahn, you can see sometimes that they are considered 06:45.520 --> 06:46.060 on time. 06:46.320 --> 06:51.280 Which is... I would say they can be 2 minutes or up to 5 minutes late. 06:51.440 --> 06:52.920 Still considered on time. 06:53.400 --> 06:58.960 And then you see that the following stations where you are supposed to 06:58.960 --> 07:00.980 be are running late. 07:01.120 --> 07:02.920 And you know there's ahead of time. 07:03.180 --> 07:08.420 Which I consider quite funny that they already know that they will not 07:08.420 --> 07:08.960 make it. 07:08.960 --> 07:13.600 And on the other hand there are international train companies like the 07:13.600 --> 07:17.900 ones in Japan who have trains that run on time. 07:18.200 --> 07:23.140 Even if they are building major tracks and stuff like this and they 07:23.140 --> 07:24.120 are still on time. 07:24.620 --> 07:29.280 So this is going to be interesting when next year I'm going to Japan 07:29.280 --> 07:32.780 to actually find out how the heck they are doing this. 07:32.900 --> 07:36.300 Because being late is not really acceptable. 07:36.300 --> 07:39.780 So considering trains there's also a change. 07:39.960 --> 07:44.860 I'm now in an advisory council in our state, in our federal state. 07:45.340 --> 07:47.460 And I learned quite a lot there. 07:47.740 --> 07:52.800 And they changed the service provider or two service providers this 07:52.800 --> 07:54.320 year regarding trains. 07:54.580 --> 08:00.760 And those new service providers had real trouble to make their new 08:00.760 --> 08:02.140 trains run on time. 08:02.140 --> 08:05.840 Which was also due to trains not being delivered. 08:06.300 --> 08:10.880 And so they had to get other trains that their personnel wasn't 08:10.880 --> 08:16.520 trained on or didn't have the necessary qualifications to use those 08:16.520 --> 08:16.860 trains. 08:17.240 --> 08:21.880 So they had to really instruct them in quite a short amount of time. 08:22.180 --> 08:24.220 So this led to further problems. 08:24.220 --> 08:30.040 And it was really interesting due to this advisory council to know 08:30.040 --> 08:32.780 what is happening in the back end. 08:32.980 --> 08:37.840 And why they are late and why they do have problems with the trains 08:37.840 --> 08:39.400 when they arrived. 08:39.720 --> 08:43.780 And you normally think, why didn't they prepare for this? 08:44.100 --> 08:46.240 Why is this such a problem? 08:46.560 --> 08:49.060 We should be much better these days. 08:49.060 --> 08:54.380 But the thing is, they did prepare the switch of the provider for 08:54.380 --> 08:55.440 three years. 08:55.680 --> 08:57.880 And they still couldn't make it. 08:58.000 --> 09:01.740 Because the system is so full, the train system. 09:02.140 --> 09:07.840 And because there are so many interfaces and so many things to look 09:07.840 --> 09:08.160 at. 09:08.280 --> 09:10.700 That this is definitely not an easy thing. 09:10.700 --> 09:17.740 And if you have a small change in one node of the system, it ripples 09:17.740 --> 09:18.280 out. 09:18.460 --> 09:23.800 And you have real trouble in completely different places. 09:24.120 --> 09:28.700 Which you might not even have thought are connected to this place or 09:28.700 --> 09:30.200 this part of the system. 09:30.200 --> 09:37.260 So being on the advisory council I think is really fortunate for me. 09:37.660 --> 09:43.700 Because this way I can get even more knowledge about how this system 09:43.700 --> 09:44.200 works. 09:44.440 --> 09:47.600 Which really feeds back to my own work. 09:48.100 --> 09:52.200 And to better incorporate this into the planning. 09:52.720 --> 09:56.280 So I'm really lucky to be in this advisory council. 09:56.280 --> 10:02.440 And being in this advisory council led to me having the chance to 10:02.440 --> 10:05.840 interview our transportation minister Herr Herrmann. 10:06.080 --> 10:10.060 Which was I think four months or five episodes back. 10:10.380 --> 10:13.600 You can listen to it on this little interview. 10:14.240 --> 10:15.460 It was really really nice. 10:15.640 --> 10:20.300 And I was really shocked and in a positive way. 10:20.560 --> 10:22.420 Because he really knows his stuff. 10:22.680 --> 10:24.600 It's really amazing. 10:24.600 --> 10:30.820 Because when the old advisory council and the new one get together. 10:31.240 --> 10:34.320 They had the chance to ask him questions. 10:34.700 --> 10:40.820 And they came with questions like the bridge on this special train 10:40.820 --> 10:42.480 track has problems. 10:42.760 --> 10:44.940 And so what are you going to do? 10:45.160 --> 10:49.700 And I was completely flabbergasted because I didn't know the track. 10:50.180 --> 10:53.500 But he knew exactly what they were talking about. 10:53.500 --> 10:56.000 And he knew what's going to happen there. 10:56.360 --> 10:59.880 So I'm really in awe of our minister. 11:00.120 --> 11:01.820 Because he knows his stuff. 11:02.060 --> 11:05.860 Contrary to other ministers which I met this year. 11:06.080 --> 11:08.840 And where I think they are boasting a lot. 11:09.160 --> 11:12.580 But they don't have the knowledge to supplement it. 11:12.800 --> 11:15.620 And they don't know what they are talking about. 11:15.620 --> 11:22.200 And on the other hand it's huge systems and it's hard to really get 11:22.200 --> 11:26.620 into those to know the nitty-gritty of it. 11:27.100 --> 11:28.140 But Herman does. 11:28.660 --> 11:31.080 And so this is really really nice. 11:31.420 --> 11:36.920 And so I'm looking forward to the developments in our state. 11:37.080 --> 11:40.240 Because I think they are on a good way. 11:41.000 --> 11:44.900 And there still are problems they have to solve. 11:44.900 --> 11:47.460 And it's not going to go smoothly. 11:48.420 --> 11:53.260 But that's not to be expected when you have systems like this. 11:53.400 --> 11:56.900 And they are this huge and this interconnected. 11:57.340 --> 11:58.360 So there you have it. 11:58.660 --> 12:03.420 And on the other hand there's a lot of movement politically this year. 12:03.420 --> 12:10.620 And I was quite involved you could say in the elections this year. 12:10.980 --> 12:14.620 The European elections and the ones in our towns. 12:14.840 --> 12:17.840 And I was quite surprised what happened. 12:18.060 --> 12:23.260 And I was positively surprised what happened when they elected the new 12:23.260 --> 12:25.920 town councils in our state. 12:26.060 --> 12:28.180 Because people voted for change. 12:28.480 --> 12:31.060 People voted for sustainable change. 12:31.060 --> 12:35.040 And they don't want more parking spaces for cars in the city. 12:35.180 --> 12:38.460 Which a certain political party wanted a car through. 12:38.780 --> 12:40.080 The people said no. 12:40.340 --> 12:42.780 They said we want green mobility. 12:43.140 --> 12:48.860 We want a council that's looking into much more sustainable solutions 12:48.860 --> 12:50.220 in every regard. 12:50.900 --> 12:54.220 And so we have a new town council. 12:54.580 --> 12:56.500 And a much greener one. 12:56.700 --> 12:59.840 And a much more social one if you ask me. 12:59.840 --> 13:05.000 Because this was not only happening in Karlsruhe. 13:05.280 --> 13:09.260 But it happened in all big cities in our federal state. 13:09.580 --> 13:11.700 So I think we're on a good way. 13:12.040 --> 13:16.400 And I hope that this is going forward in the right direction. 13:16.680 --> 13:18.000 And it's certainly moving. 13:18.360 --> 13:22.160 And I've been to a transportation burnout conference. 13:22.160 --> 13:26.100 But it was an evening event one week ago. 13:26.520 --> 13:28.680 And a local evening event. 13:28.680 --> 13:32.000 And it was about transportation in the city. 13:32.440 --> 13:33.860 And how to improve it. 13:34.120 --> 13:35.820 And how to make it more sustainable. 13:36.180 --> 13:40.860 They had different ideas to change this. 13:41.160 --> 13:44.860 And to make it much more bike friendly in the city. 13:45.100 --> 13:47.420 To improve the public transport. 13:47.900 --> 13:49.960 Which is on a really high level. 13:51.420 --> 13:54.020 In Leipzig it's also on a really high level. 13:54.120 --> 13:56.500 But in Karlsruhe it's really amazing. 13:56.500 --> 14:00.480 Nevertheless, there are things that could be improved. 14:01.060 --> 14:09.880 And they had also some ideas where I'm not sure that they are that 14:09.880 --> 14:12.980 good or that improving. 14:13.560 --> 14:18.720 Those ideas revolved around the airport in Baden-Baden. 14:19.080 --> 14:23.920 And well, I have my concerns regarding those ideas. 14:23.920 --> 14:29.940 But I'm totally on board with getting more bike routes and improving 14:29.940 --> 14:30.820 those parts. 14:31.240 --> 14:37.520 Anyway, so they did have some very valid ideas concerning bike 14:37.520 --> 14:38.340 infrastructure. 14:38.760 --> 14:43.820 And that we need parking spaces for cars in the city where I think 14:43.820 --> 14:44.820 they are right. 14:45.120 --> 14:49.960 Or in the future there should be less parking spaces for cars in the 14:49.960 --> 14:50.180 city. 14:50.180 --> 14:52.420 I think this needs time. 14:52.860 --> 14:58.820 And you need to make offers to the people to use other modes of 14:58.820 --> 14:59.300 transport. 14:59.640 --> 15:06.900 You can't just throw out some things and not replace them with viable 15:06.900 --> 15:07.620 options. 15:08.260 --> 15:14.360 The funny thing was, to me, because I usually talk to people with the 15:14.360 --> 15:17.140 city government in the right parts of the city. 15:17.140 --> 15:23.320 I already knew that some things that they thought were necessary were 15:23.320 --> 15:26.100 actually in planning stages. 15:26.660 --> 15:31.180 And I think with the new city government, with the new city council, 15:31.500 --> 15:36.340 those ideas and those plans can actually be made reality. 15:36.340 --> 15:43.980 And I think because what I found is that city developers, they think 15:43.980 --> 15:49.060 in much longer time spans, much longer time frames. 15:49.340 --> 15:54.540 Not just till next year, but they think for the next 20 years, 20 or 15:54.540 --> 15:55.400 40 years. 15:55.960 --> 16:01.440 Because if you buy or if you build a house, this will be there not 16:01.440 --> 16:03.480 only till 10 years ahead. 16:03.480 --> 16:12.060 But in Germany and in Europe, it can stand even 300 years, 400 years. 16:12.140 --> 16:14.600 So you need to really plan the cities. 16:15.300 --> 16:21.760 So they are thinking really ahead and they know that they will change 16:21.760 --> 16:22.740 some stuff. 16:22.840 --> 16:26.380 But for that, they need the city council to vote on it. 16:26.380 --> 16:32.120 And if you have a city council that isn't into sustainability and who 16:32.120 --> 16:38.340 thinks only in cases of the big industry, then you won't make those 16:38.340 --> 16:38.920 changes. 16:39.280 --> 16:45.020 But they have, in Karlsruhe at least, they have those plans in their 16:45.020 --> 16:46.080 desk. 16:46.080 --> 16:51.320 And I think they can now take it out and move forward with planning 16:51.320 --> 16:56.860 and even building of the new ideas and improve Karlsruhe and improve 16:56.860 --> 17:00.000 the life for the many inhabitants. 17:00.540 --> 17:07.140 Because if you plan for the city, you need to not only think for one 17:07.140 --> 17:09.420 mode of transport, for instance. 17:09.420 --> 17:13.920 You don't get to think only for the car users. 17:14.200 --> 17:19.720 You also have to take into account what does this mean for the other 17:19.720 --> 17:20.600 modes of transport? 17:20.840 --> 17:22.800 What does this mean for people? 17:23.680 --> 17:29.880 And what I found in the last months and also over the years, it's 17:29.880 --> 17:33.720 always said, yeah, we need more space for cars or more space for 17:33.720 --> 17:34.080 bikes. 17:35.140 --> 17:37.040 No, we need more space for people. 17:37.040 --> 17:41.860 Why do we always plan for the objects and not the subjects? 17:42.580 --> 17:44.620 Why do we not plan for people? 17:45.060 --> 17:49.640 I mean, yes, we need to have bike racks where the people want to go, 17:49.840 --> 17:51.800 but the bikes don't drive themselves. 17:52.220 --> 17:56.860 The cars might drive themselves in the future and you need to plan for 17:56.860 --> 17:57.240 that. 17:57.240 --> 17:59.840 And when you have autonomous vehicles. 18:00.280 --> 18:03.500 And I don't think they are the be-all, save-all and all. 18:03.740 --> 18:06.620 You need to plan ahead for these instances. 18:07.420 --> 18:12.300 And I think they, at least in Karlsruhe, from what I see, they are 18:12.300 --> 18:13.460 thinking about this. 18:13.660 --> 18:19.120 They are currently looking into the active modes of transport, which 18:19.120 --> 18:21.780 means using your bicycle or your feet. 18:21.960 --> 18:26.620 Or if you are in a wheelchair, they're thinking about you too. 18:26.620 --> 18:31.100 And they are looking into new concepts and making new plans. 18:31.480 --> 18:32.960 And this takes time. 18:33.240 --> 18:38.720 You need to really think ahead what will happen with this rate in the 18:38.720 --> 18:42.800 next 10 years when we get autonomous vehicles. 18:43.320 --> 18:48.680 Will we need still so much parking space or will they just travel 18:48.680 --> 18:49.200 around? 18:49.200 --> 18:55.180 And if they just travel around, where do we put them in the evening 18:55.180 --> 18:56.820 when we don't need them? 18:57.120 --> 18:59.760 And do we need still the same amount of cars? 18:59.880 --> 19:01.220 And I don't think we will. 19:01.560 --> 19:04.560 But for this we still need the other modes of transport. 19:04.560 --> 19:10.460 And I think sometimes when you look into the normal press, when you 19:10.460 --> 19:16.260 look into or watch the news, when you listen to certain ministers 19:16.260 --> 19:22.160 speak, you get the idea that transport or mobility is just for a few 19:22.160 --> 19:23.780 people, which is wrong. 19:24.100 --> 19:25.300 Which is just wrong. 19:25.440 --> 19:28.220 You need to think for the whole community. 19:28.220 --> 19:33.820 And what in the International Transport Forum was said and what were 19:33.820 --> 19:39.520 things that really got me to think about the future is, yes, the 19:39.520 --> 19:46.880 transportation system in Germany or the Western states like Western 19:46.880 --> 19:53.760 Europe, UK and Canada and US are saturated. 19:53.760 --> 20:01.300 Yes, there isn't everywhere public transport there, but mainly we have 20:01.300 --> 20:03.500 a really, really high standard of living. 20:03.820 --> 20:11.960 The thing is Asia and also Africa and South America are catching up. 20:11.960 --> 20:21.180 However, if they all go out to get and buy cars as we did over the 20:21.180 --> 20:25.980 last 60 years, we will have a real problem globally. 20:26.420 --> 20:28.660 And this needs to be addressed. 20:28.940 --> 20:36.640 And I actually see things happening that makes me hope that they use 20:36.640 --> 20:41.180 smarter modes of transport, that they are working towards smarter 20:41.180 --> 20:43.380 solutions than we did. 20:43.660 --> 20:48.080 And that they don't make the same mistakes that the Europeans did in 20:48.080 --> 20:50.460 regard to their transportation systems. 20:50.720 --> 20:55.480 I see this also happening in certain states in the US. 20:55.480 --> 21:00.940 California is one state where they actually are investing heavily into 21:00.940 --> 21:07.100 infrastructure for light rails, for metro systems, for other modes of 21:07.100 --> 21:08.280 transport than the car. 21:08.720 --> 21:13.720 And I hope that they will do so in the future too. 21:14.100 --> 21:22.360 And I think Asia is making a good way ahead to really useful public 21:22.360 --> 21:23.740 transportation systems. 21:23.740 --> 21:28.920 And I mean they have certain public transportation systems which are 21:28.920 --> 21:34.880 light years ahead of European systems like in Japan, like in Hong 21:34.880 --> 21:39.820 Kong, like Taiwan and certain other areas in China. 21:40.120 --> 21:45.240 And I think they are certainly thinking in the right direction and 21:45.240 --> 21:46.560 working towards it. 21:46.820 --> 21:49.420 There is still some way to go. 21:49.420 --> 21:53.920 And then there is another thing that I find really fascinating. 21:54.800 --> 22:00.520 And if you like history you might have heard of the Silk Roads. 22:00.820 --> 22:07.580 And the Silk Roads was used to bring from Asia, in this case China, 22:08.040 --> 22:11.440 silk and certain spices to Europe. 22:11.880 --> 22:17.120 And there is a new Silk Road which is mainly funded by China at the 22:17.120 --> 22:17.460 moment. 22:17.460 --> 22:25.380 And there are also other Asian states that are actually investing in 22:25.380 --> 22:25.600 this. 22:25.840 --> 22:28.640 It's called the Belt and Road Initiative by China. 22:29.440 --> 22:35.580 And it's a train and street connection to Europe from Asia and from 22:35.580 --> 22:35.900 China. 22:35.900 --> 22:41.800 And the really weird thing is that Europe is thinking this is not a 22:41.800 --> 22:42.360 good idea. 22:42.700 --> 22:44.780 Or mainly it seems that way. 22:45.080 --> 22:50.840 And that China is just funding it for nefarious reasons. 22:51.320 --> 22:57.980 But I think it's actually a good idea because it will connect even the 22:57.980 --> 23:02.820 landlocked nations in Asia and between Europe and Asia. 23:02.820 --> 23:09.980 Because for those nations it's necessary that they have logistic hubs 23:09.980 --> 23:14.840 and that they get to take part in those developments. 23:15.420 --> 23:17.020 So for them it's a chance. 23:17.380 --> 23:23.860 Because even if you have a train track which runs from Beijing to 23:23.860 --> 23:29.260 Berlin, you still need to fuel this train. 23:29.260 --> 23:32.180 You still need to have a look at it. 23:32.260 --> 23:37.840 Even if it's some time where it's running automated. 23:39.300 --> 23:40.140 Autonomous. 23:40.560 --> 23:44.400 And you still need stations in between. 23:44.740 --> 23:49.240 You still need to look at the things that are transported. 23:49.240 --> 23:55.400 And so for them it's a chance to actually take part on this 23:55.400 --> 24:00.080 international stage and to develop their countries. 24:00.440 --> 24:06.300 And I think it's, yes, it's not all probably the best ideas. 24:06.300 --> 24:13.120 However, I think when you look into the history of Europe and how we 24:13.120 --> 24:20.460 treated Asia and how we mistreated them actually and how we used their 24:20.460 --> 24:21.200 resources. 24:21.520 --> 24:24.300 We then left them with the problems. 24:24.300 --> 24:31.400 I think it's only correct to help the Belt and Road Initiative and use 24:31.400 --> 24:38.460 it and be a part of it and therefore influence it to be beneficial for 24:38.460 --> 24:43.820 all the people and states which are part of it and where the Belt and 24:43.820 --> 24:45.320 Road will go through. 24:45.320 --> 24:52.100 And not just say, ooh, bad China, ooh, they are doing something bad. 24:52.340 --> 24:57.260 And I mean, they do have their interests, but it's not as if Europe 24:57.260 --> 25:00.680 has the best interests in all the world. 25:01.320 --> 25:03.880 It's always a thing of perspective. 25:04.340 --> 25:08.000 And yes, we learned from our faults in the history. 25:08.420 --> 25:09.100 Mostly. 25:09.540 --> 25:14.740 If you look in certain places in Germany, I think we didn't learn it. 25:14.740 --> 25:19.340 Or certain people there didn't learn from the mistakes of the history. 25:19.660 --> 25:26.260 But I think, yeah, to actually make it work for everyone, to make it 25:26.260 --> 25:31.920 beneficial, we need to not say, ooh, it's bad, but we need to say, 25:32.140 --> 25:35.220 this is maybe a better way to do it. 25:35.220 --> 25:41.680 Or let's help with this regard and maybe not use, I don't know, this 25:41.680 --> 25:47.360 kind of way, because there is, you know, because there might be 25:47.360 --> 25:52.160 something environmental issues on this part. 25:52.360 --> 25:56.960 So let's go around there and use another part or something like this. 25:57.060 --> 25:59.040 And let's help with the technology. 25:59.040 --> 26:08.040 And I mean, I think we as Europeans tend to have rose-colored glasses 26:08.040 --> 26:11.760 on concerning certain nations. 26:12.760 --> 26:16.600 And when it comes to other nations, we are, well, let's call it 26:16.600 --> 26:18.480 skeptical for some reasons. 26:18.940 --> 26:22.340 And I think it's always a matter of in the gray area. 26:22.340 --> 26:28.240 I think when you look at press these days and the discussions at 26:28.240 --> 26:34.400 social media or also at these conferences, there's in a lot of cases 26:34.400 --> 26:40.540 you have this thing where they are not putting things in perspective, 26:40.980 --> 26:45.880 where they are really adamant about their point of view and are 26:45.880 --> 26:46.640 polarizing. 26:46.640 --> 26:49.660 And I think this is a sign of the times. 26:49.860 --> 26:52.880 And I think it's not to our best interest. 26:53.420 --> 26:58.640 I think you always have a different point of view if you're from, I 26:58.640 --> 27:04.920 don't know, Mongolia or if you are from Russia or from Iran. 27:04.920 --> 27:12.420 I don't know, from Persia or somewhere, or even, let's say, from 27:12.420 --> 27:14.160 Uganda or something like that. 27:14.560 --> 27:20.260 You always have your point of view, your perspective of things is 27:20.260 --> 27:21.420 always different. 27:21.680 --> 27:25.140 And you need to see and take this into account. 27:25.140 --> 27:31.420 And I have sometimes, not sometimes, but a lot of the times these 27:31.420 --> 27:37.300 days, I think we lose the perspective and we don't take into account 27:37.300 --> 27:43.220 the perspectives and the necessities of people in different countries, 27:43.460 --> 27:44.490 in different regions. 27:44.490 --> 27:50.110 And I see this especially when you look at climate change, because 27:50.110 --> 27:55.450 it's the nations that are the richest, which have the highest amount 27:55.450 --> 28:03.830 of impact on the changes and to not put out so many CO2 and stuff like 28:03.830 --> 28:06.370 this and not to pollute the environment. 28:06.370 --> 28:16.010 And the effects of it will have the first impact on nations that are 28:16.010 --> 28:23.350 not that rich and not that prepared for this amount of change that 28:23.350 --> 28:23.930 will happen. 28:23.930 --> 28:34.130 And I think what makes me a bit sad and maybe even really mad is how 28:34.130 --> 28:40.630 those politicians who are still in power are just saying it doesn't 28:40.630 --> 28:47.990 matter and then even come with religion as if science is a bad thing. 28:47.990 --> 28:54.830 And they ignore the science and to the detriment of those people who 28:54.830 --> 28:59.490 can't change it, who can't know it, who don't actually know any better 28:59.490 --> 29:04.130 or don't have the options to change their behavior. 29:04.130 --> 29:11.570 And we in the Western world, we do have the options in a lot of cases, 29:11.770 --> 29:12.550 not at all. 29:13.190 --> 29:20.690 I mean, when I go to Japan next year, I won't take a sailboat. 29:20.930 --> 29:21.950 I will fly. 29:21.950 --> 29:27.810 However, I don't own a car because where I live is so central and we 29:27.810 --> 29:30.990 do have such a good public transport system. 29:31.290 --> 29:32.230 I don't need a car. 29:32.570 --> 29:38.070 I have access to a car, but I didn't use our car sharing service this 29:38.070 --> 29:44.170 year for at least two or three years now because it's not necessary 29:44.170 --> 29:44.950 for me. 29:44.950 --> 29:49.650 And I'm lucky enough to live in this area and to have access. 29:49.910 --> 29:54.870 But I know, for instance, if you live in a small village, even in our 29:54.870 --> 30:00.990 federal state, you might not have the luxury of public transport and 30:00.990 --> 30:04.350 switching the modes, but you will need a car. 30:04.350 --> 30:09.870 And because you live in this village and let's say you don't, you have 30:09.870 --> 30:14.990 to drive to get to your job more than 50 kilometers or something like 30:14.990 --> 30:20.410 this, currently you still need a car that runs on fossil fuel. 30:20.410 --> 30:25.350 So because you might not have the necessary money to buy yourself an 30:25.350 --> 30:30.350 electrical vehicle and you might not have the money to build a wall 30:30.350 --> 30:35.170 box at your home or you might not even have a home where this is 30:35.170 --> 30:42.950 possible because you're renting and in this area you have not the kind 30:42.950 --> 30:45.950 of necessary net for energy. 30:45.950 --> 30:49.130 So you can't do this at this place. 30:49.270 --> 30:50.290 You don't have the money. 30:50.490 --> 30:52.930 So there aren't other options. 30:53.450 --> 30:57.110 However, I have the chance and so I make this choice. 30:57.910 --> 31:04.350 So it's always circumstantial and you have to take everything into 31:04.350 --> 31:04.810 account. 31:04.810 --> 31:10.170 And I think this is one of the most important things that I learned 31:10.170 --> 31:15.030 this year and that I think is necessary for all of us to remember. 31:15.490 --> 31:21.070 Your point of view and your options are highly impacted by your 31:21.070 --> 31:21.770 circumstances. 31:21.770 --> 31:29.110 And you have choices, but there might be choices which are not always 31:29.110 --> 31:34.470 sustainable and not always the best choice possible for climate change 31:34.470 --> 31:37.210 or to combat climate change. 31:37.210 --> 31:44.010 And I think it's high time that people stop saying that certain people 31:44.010 --> 31:49.510 should make a difference and can't talk about sustainability or how 31:49.510 --> 31:54.890 other people should make their choices regarding climate change if 31:54.890 --> 31:59.110 those people don't have the options or didn't make the choice or 31:59.110 --> 32:03.870 didn't need to buy a certain car because they could only afford this 32:03.870 --> 32:06.550 or because they made this choice. 32:06.550 --> 32:08.450 They still have valid points. 32:08.770 --> 32:12.270 I think this is important to think about. 32:12.710 --> 32:16.010 So I think I got completely off tangent. 32:16.450 --> 32:18.210 Yeah, these are my thoughts. 32:18.890 --> 32:21.570 Well, I told you it's going to be a ramble. 32:21.570 --> 32:25.890 Yeah, so I think closing remarks are in order. 32:26.290 --> 32:32.930 I think for all of us it's necessary in a lot of cases to take a step 32:32.930 --> 32:34.890 back and look at the bigger picture. 32:34.890 --> 32:41.710 And always take into account the circumstances of certain people that 32:41.710 --> 32:47.330 you meet and that have a different point of view than yours and have a 32:47.330 --> 32:48.110 different opinion. 32:48.450 --> 32:53.110 Their opinions might be valid, most of them are, under their 32:53.110 --> 32:54.050 circumstances. 32:54.050 --> 32:59.250 And this doesn't mean that they're always right, but I think we all 32:59.250 --> 33:05.650 need to look at systems and transportation systems and all these 33:05.650 --> 33:13.910 issues from different perspectives and work together to get solutions 33:13.910 --> 33:18.050 which are solutions for the general public. 33:18.050 --> 33:23.670 And which work also for individuals and don't put individuals in 33:23.670 --> 33:25.890 danger or anything like this. 33:26.130 --> 33:28.650 And yeah, so this is what I learned this year. 33:28.970 --> 33:33.970 And I think, at least in Baden-Württemberg, we are lucky to have 33:33.970 --> 33:38.870 pretty good ministers and pretty good people in the planning office 33:38.870 --> 33:41.150 and public domain. 33:41.150 --> 33:48.070 And I hope that the world in general and Germany and all those others 33:48.070 --> 33:52.430 can find a way forward which is beneficial for the future generations 33:52.430 --> 33:58.490 and that we get our act together concerning climate change and our own 33:58.490 --> 33:59.050 lifestyle. 33:59.050 --> 34:02.230 Yeah, so this is it for today. 34:02.590 --> 34:04.470 I wish you a nice November. 34:04.930 --> 34:10.510 Get out in the day to combat the November feels. 34:11.150 --> 34:14.930 I don't know if you are in the same situation. 34:14.930 --> 34:21.810 I personally hate November because it's always the darkest month ever. 34:22.050 --> 34:22.650 It's horrible. 34:24.030 --> 34:29.950 And the Christmas fairy lights aren't on in most of the parts. 34:30.590 --> 34:37.690 And so I'm waiting for the next Winter Solstice for more light and 34:37.690 --> 34:40.550 hopefully cozy, cozy Christmas. 34:40.550 --> 34:44.710 Okay, so yeah, this was European Urbanism. 34:45.190 --> 34:51.370 Next month you get another ramble about the last decade, what changed 34:51.370 --> 34:54.850 in cities and Europe and Western world. 34:55.410 --> 35:01.430 And there might be episodes about Asia coming up because I'm preparing 35:01.430 --> 35:02.670 to go to Japan. 35:03.470 --> 35:06.650 So there might be something like that in the future. 35:06.650 --> 35:09.150 Music as always Erwin Schmidt. 35:09.630 --> 35:14.830 And idea, rambling, tea and so on is by me, Sanni Eschke. 35:15.070 --> 35:18.470 And I wish you a pleasant November. 35:18.790 --> 35:19.310 See you soon.