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First Thoughts on the Philosophy of Traffic and Travelling
Traffic [traf-ik] noun, verb, -ficked, -ficking
1. The movement of vehicles, ships, persons, etc., in an area, along a street, through an air lane, over a water route, etc.
Travel [trav-uh’l] verb, -elled, -el∙ling 1. To go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; take a trip; journey.
Travel flow [trav-uh’l floh], noun 1. The impact a certain action of travel (the goal of travel is irrelevant) has on a person or environment.
In our current society it seems like we are always travelling. Going to work or school, enjoy a day off, or go on a holiday to a near or far destination. Every meter we travel leaves a trace, we could think of a direct footprint in case we’re using planes or cars as means of transport. In this case we are talking about a environmental footprint like CO2 emission, but also about contributing to the wear of the roads and the production of noise. On the other hand we can also talk about subconscious traces. That person across of you in the train that smiles and brightens your day, the interesting stories a travelling companion tells you on one of your trips, the person that crosses the road and makes you stop for a while, so later on you will get caught in a traffic jam.
