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For the past year and a half, most of us have been
grounded.
Lockdowns have meant that most of us travelled less
and stayed at home more.
Citymapper Mobility Index
(10th March 2020-14th April 2020)
London
100
0
Paris
100
0
New York
100
0
Sydney
100
0
Tokyo
100
0
Seoul
100
0
However, we did at least move - even if we
stayed
at ground level.
We took to the streets in unprecedented numbers,
as more of us explored our local areas.
For example, in the UK, the number of people
visiting parks soared.
During the summer of 2020, almost twice as many
Brits than normal went to the park.
+100% increase in park visits
Source: Google – COVID-19 Community
Mobility
Reports via ONS compared to a normal year
Cycling also became more popular.
Pop-up bike lanes led to an average 50% increase
in cycling in European cities.
Three months after pop-up bike lanes were
installed:
+50% increase in cycling
Source:
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/15/e2024399118
So we never stopped moving entirely.
However, what did stop was vertical movement.
Flights across the world were cut or
cancelled.
76% fall
in international flights in 2020
Source: IATA
And, more interestingly, data from the people flow
company KONE shows us that we stopped moving up and down inside buildings too.
Lifts are a key part of 21st century life.
Without them, the dramatic skylines that grace our cities would not exist. As lifts have evolved,
city
architecture has evolved too.
However, lifts were barely used anywhere
during the early part of 2020. In fact, the story of lift use over the past 18 months is in many
ways
the story of the pandemic. Let’s take a look at lift use in certain key cities during the first set
of
lockdowns. The number of lift journeys plummets.
As 2020 progresses, the data shows us the
effect of different Covid-19 strategies. For example, Singapore’s ‘Covid-zero’ approach meant that,
after an initial blip in spring 2020, lift use quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels. Most
European
cities had a very different experience.
Lift data also tells us which buildings are
truly essential for a city to function. During the pandemic, lift use in hotels, shops and other
sectors dropped sharply, but hospital lifts were in constant use.
London
80% drop in lift use
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Toronto
84% drop in lift use
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Kuala Lumpur
64% drop in lift use
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Singapore
The quick bounce back reflects
Singapore’s
proactive and swift approach to managing the pandemic.
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Milan
Milan was hit hard by the first and
second
waves, resulting in strict measures to limit in-person contact.
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, strong remote working
guidance has been in place since March 2020.
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in
selected office buildings, 2020.
Hospitals
Lift use by building type (Feb‑Dec
2020)
Source: KONE, number of monthly starts in selected
buildings, 2020.
United States
100%
Hotels
Hospitals
Offices
Education & Leisure
United Kingdom
100%
Hotels
Hospitals
Offices
Education & Leisure
By the middle of 2021, we see the effect of
vaccinations on people flow. The number of lift journeys increases in many western cities, as people
feel more able to return to the office.
Increase in office lift journeys
(Jan‑Oct 2021)
Cities are coming back to life, as citizens flow
through streets and buildings, moving from home to work to social life and back again, and up and down
inside offices, shops, hotels, schools and more.
In the past, cities have responded to times of
crisis by becoming cleaner, more connected and more sustainable. Think about how the ‘Great Stink’
in
Victorian London led to the building of a modern sewage system or how New York’s cholera epidemic in
the 1830s resulted in the creation of Central Park.
As we adapt to post-pandemic life, we are
faced
with a unique opportunity.
Urban population (1950-2050)
The number of people living in cities is predicted
to rise from four billion today, to more than six billion by 2050.
To accommodate all these people in a sustainable
way, we will need to rethink the flow of urban life.
With the help of technology, cities also become
multidimensional. For example, lifts and other physical elements are able to communicate with
urban
dwellers and with machines, enabling more personalised and even safer ways to move around and connect
with people.
Modern
lifts can talk wirelessly to other machines
Modern lifts can talk wirelessly to other
machines,
meaning that they can be called via apps on your mobile, or used by service robots. Service
robots can also move around supplies in offices, hotels, schools and hospitals, and even be
used
to deliver groceries to people’s houses, enabled by Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Lifts
are more sustainable than ever
Lifts are a central element in smart and
sustainable
cities. 2%-10% of a building’s energy consumption comes from lifts. Modern lifts are 90% more
energy efficient than those built and installed in the 1990s. (based on KONE MonoSpace 500).
Modernising lifts improves accessibility and
safety
European building stock is getting old and will in
most places not meet the EU’s climate targets. Modernising lifts improves accessibility and
safety, enabling up to 70% energy savings and a significant reduction in their lifetime carbon
emissions.
Lift
maintenance is now AI powered
Modern lift maintenance is AI-powered. Predictive
lift maintenance (KONE 24/7 Connected Services) helps identify issues before they happen,
helping people to flow freely in buildings.
Modern
lifts offer multi-sensory experiences
Lifts play a central role in how people experience
moving inside buildings. It is possible to enjoy digitally enhanced, multisensory experiences,
carefully crafted with physical design, and to deliver engaging workplaces, unique brand
experiences and unforgettable journeys (KONE
DX Class lifts).
New
technology can help in future crises
If there are new pandemics, innovative
antimicrobial
surfaces and air purifiers, as well as touch free lifts, will help make journeys in buildings
safer.
These are just some of the ways in which
co‑innovation between companies such as KONE and other private and public organisations can
generate resilient solutions to the challenge of moving people through cities in a sustainable way.
Life in a modern city isn’t perfect. Getting
from
place to place can be frustrating and time consuming. But imagine if every journey was as fast and
seamless as your last trip in a lift. Lift data can teach us a lot about how life has changed over the
past couple of years – and it can also teach us how life might change in the future… and how the
modern
city might be reimagined as a place where every journey is connected, sustainable, and stress free.
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