Increased speed in global cities

I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Oslo, restoring after yet another marathon of sidewalks, alleys and questionable pedestrian crossings. Exploring a city on foot is a gift that keeps on giving. You sniff bakeries before you see them, you track changes in brick and glass like they’re plot twists, and with every step you learn something about the people who call this place home.

Each city has its own beat and rhythm. And everywhere it seems the pace is picking up. I read a report from British Council which had examined 32 cities around the globe. The researchers had timed pedestrians for 20 meters, and found that people are walking 10% faster than they were a decade ago.

Pedestrians along Karl Johans gate earlier today in Oslo.

These are the ten fastest sprinters of the urban pedestrian circuit, the cities that treat crossing a street like it’s a declaration of intent:

1. Singapore: 10.55s
2. Copenhagen, Denmark: 10.82s
3. Madrid, Spain: 10.89s
4. Guangzhou, China: 10.94s
5. Dublin, Ireland: 11.03s
6. Curitiba, Brazil: 11.13s
7. Berlin, Germany: 11.16s
8. New York, USA: 12.00s
9. Utrecht, Netherlands: 12.04s
10. Vienna, Austria: 12.06s

Faster phones, faster commutes, faster everything, but why? Probably the same reason we wake up and check email before coffee. I haven’t visited all these places, but the trend feels real. People are walking like their inboxes were chasing them down the street. We’ve become conditioned to now, to instant answers and real-time delivery updates. And all that speed strips the romance out of strolling. Slow down here for a bakery and you’ll feel guilty, like you’re falling behind in life itself.

Maybe this is the modern city’s heartbeat. An orchestra led not by a conductor but by the persistent tick-tick-tick of an elusive urgency. Meanwhile, you’ll find me sitting down with a large coffee next to a behemoth-size croissant.