During summer vacation, one of my kids’ favorite games is counting the different makes of cars we pass on the road. It’s shallow. But what really surprised me was that they knew every acronym, monogram, seal or emblem perfectly, and felt they could appreciate its value and style, whereas we ourselves, as parents, did not own a motor vehicle, and spent our years on public transport and cycling in the city. At the end of the summer, my 6 year old junior finished me off by clearly stating his life goals. “When I’m older I’ll have a quad, that’s what I like, it’s the opposite of you”he said hilariously, while I laughed in the rearview mirror.
Beyond the influence of brands and logos on children’s brains, I wonder how adults’ mobility habits shape theirs and what choices we give them in their daily journeys, while transport represents a third of France’s carbon footprint – half of which is generated by private cars. I called Mathieu Chassignet, an expert on this issue at the Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe). He is coordinating the latest research on the mobility of French children, about which little is known so far. “However, this figure represents almost 13 million people who go to school, college or high school every day. Therefore, their mode of transportation is not only important for the environment, pollution, but also for public health”he explained to me.
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