Asia is Building for Walkers and Cyclists. How Do We Make It Work for Everyone?
We spend a lot of time reading and listening to podcasts. One we listened to last week really stood out from Charlie Munger and his famous quote..."Invert, always invert"
While the quote isn't originally his, he has borrowed it from the famous Mathematician Carl Jacobi, he was the first to apply it to the investing and business worlds. It also applies equally in the advisory work we do.
Effectively it means - instead of asking "how do we make this succeed?" you ask "how do we make this fail"...then avoid doing that!
Love this way of thinking and have somewhat applied it for this article today. Enjoy!
Something exciting is happening across Asia's cities right now...and we feel it deserves way more attention than it's getting.
Singapore is putting the finishing touches on its North-South Corridor: a 21.5km dedicated bus, cycling and pedestrian corridor linking northern communities to the city centre.
What we love about this...No cars. People first. #win!!!
Tokyo already sees cycling account for more than 15% of all trips. Again #win!!!
It's clear that Asia is actively building for active modes.
Cities across the region are investing in separated cycling lanes, walkable streetscapes and first-and-last-mile connections to public transit.
The global evidence backs it up too. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that walking and cycling infrastructure delivers some of the highest health, climate and economic returns of any transport investment....
As the Gen Z's would say...Period!
This is a genuine movement. And it's one worth celebrating.
And now - following on from the quote above - let's talk about the opportunity hiding inside it.
More than 50% of urban dwellers across Asia still don't have convenient access to public transport. People who identify as having a disability, older adults and mobility-impaired residents continue to face real barriers navigating daily life.
Japan and Singapore are genuinely leading the way - tactile paving, audio signals at crossings, well-trained staff - but even the best systems have gaps, and the rest of the region is still on the journey.
Here is what the evidence and on the ground research shows:
The cities that get this right treat accessibility not as an add-on, but as the design brief itself.
When you build walking and cycling infrastructure that works for a wheelchair user, a parent with a pram, or an older person with a cane - you build something better for literally everyone. Smoother surfaces.
Clearer wayfinding. Safer crossings. The benefits don't stay siloed - they compound across the whole community.
Asia's active transport moment is a genuine, once-in-a-generation opportunity. Investment is flowing. Political will is building. And the good news is that more planners, engineers and policymakers than ever are asking the right questions about inclusion from the very start of a project - not at the end when it's expensive to fix.
The question now isn't whether to build - it's how to build it well. And that means bringing communities, older residents and accessibility advocates into the room early, testing designs with the people who need them most, and measuring success not just by kilometres of new infrastructure, but by who can actually use it.
I reckon Asia is more than up to the challenge. And with my business partner traveling through central Asia, it's clear from the photos that it is developing fast!
If you're working on active transport, accessibility or inclusive mobility - whether in Asia or closer to home here in New Zealand or Australia - I'd love to connect and swap notes.
Always keen for a good conversation, a collaboration, or a coffee!
Till next time,
Andrew
Transit Trends · Andrew Collings, KA Advisory. Read and comment on the original on LinkedIn.
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