Individualized transportation [View all]

I've been noticing a trend lately. I travel alot, and I'm in small towns, suburbs, and major metropolitan areas. Yes, the SUV is still king in many ways. And there are a tremendous number of pickup trucks. However, almost as a reaction to this, I'm seeing another trend.

SUV's aren't "enough". There is this trend/demand/desire for much smaller transportation. I'm talking anything from hover boards to golf carts. It isn't connected to some sort of "new urbanism" movement, or some "green" leaning desire. It is vastly more connected to a desire for "simple" transportation for shorter trips.

There are obvious examples like The Villages and other communities that have golf cart leaning infrastructure. And this is even in communities with no golf courses. And there are the bike share systems as well. But I'm also seeing it in tourist areas where people want a scooter or a golf cart to wander the "tourist zone" of a community. I see a large number of scooter riders who I know have SUV's, but are just headed a few blocks away. I see a tremendous number of bike riders that aren't on $3000 carbon fiber bikes in the standard spandex outfit. Instead, they are on some 3 speed, fat tire bike with baskets, wearing flip flops and a T-shirt.

People have their reasons for wanting an SUV, but they seem to be also responding to the reality of moving around in one, when the features aren't needed for the trip. The Segway was trying to fill this role a bit, but I think it missed the mark in many ways. But I can see that the urban/suburban planner that leverages this trend with proper infrastructure adjustments will be the creator of the next "new space".