Be A Kidult' and Be With Children - Some Thoughts On Active and Public Transportation - PUTSPACE

17/01/2023 12:31 Be a ‘Kidult’ and Be with Children: Some Thoughts on Active and Public Transportation – PUTSPACE
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Public Transport as Public Space in European Cities: Narrating, Experiencing, Contesting
Be a ‘Kidult’ and Be with Children: Some

Thoughts on Active and Public
Transportation
Blog / 8th March 2022
By Zeynep Ceren Akyüz Correia
This blog post was inspired by Onur Eylul Kara´s online course “Children Through the Eyes of World” and the
discussions we had in the seminars.
In my birth country Turkey, the initial reaction to the coronavirus pandemic was to rush to stock up on hand
sanitizers (kolonya). Later, people sought safety in the metallic cocoons of second-hand cars. Another measure
was to forbid the use of public transport for children and the elderly, two opposing ends of life whose fragility in
a capitalist society were thus crystallized. To avoid being moored in their homes, they were forced to find
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private solutions for going from one place to another. This totalizing approach, barring certain age groups from
will assume that you are happy with it.
using public wealth as much as economically more active segments of society, run the risk of making them lose
Ok space.
faith in public transport and question their place in public
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Margaret Archer states that “due to

our human nature as ‘late
developers’, compared with other
species, the circumstances in which
we remain involuntaristically
embedded throughout our childhood
condition what we project as
possible, attainable and even
desirable” (Archer 1995, p.200). That
is why childhood is not simply a
period of life that you pass through
on the way to adulthood; it stays,
leaves marks, and continues to be
Photo: Zeynep Ceren Akyüz Correia
defining later in life. It is the phase of
life in which, as individuals, we go
through a dense period of growth. I think our childhood also shapes how we view transportation, and I believe
the discursive and non-discursive measures taken during the pandemic with regards to transportation will have
a strong impact on the future adult lives of today’s children. It is now time to rethink designs, practices, rules,
fees, and other aspects of public transport so we are better prepared for future crises and can avoid making the
same mistakes. I believe this to be a recognition we can grant the youngest and oldest members of Turkish
society.
During the long unfolding of the pandemic, I took an ordinary walk around my neighbourhood in Helsinki and
saw something as beautiful as the aurora borealis: two young children riding unicycles side by side. My heart
was in my mouth with the joy I got from this image! This post is mainly about children and public transport, but I
would like to say a few words about the sensual mark that it aims to leave on the reader: to find ourselves, we
need to engage with active transport and to meet with the Other we need to engage with public transport,
because in the spaces of public transport the seeds of the agape are planted. In ancient Greece, the agape was
the third form of love besides Eros and Philia. Its distinct qualities reside in a form of relational experience that
represents acting for good without counting or expecting the same from others – it is a form of unconditional
love.
The Metaphysics of ‘Children Are the Future’.
To change children’s perception of public transport, it is a must to dissolve the metaphysics of the phrase
‘children are the future’. Children are here and now, they are valuable beings on their own, and they also want
and need to go to from one place to another. In many cultures, children are invisible, their existence simply
projected to the future, to that time when they will reach adulthood. One of the unwritten rules of public
transport in Turkey is to give your seatwill
to adults.
assumeAs a child,
that you areyou will face
happy with harsh
it. criticism if you continue sitting
while an adult is standing. Children´s muscle capacity, height and, more importantly, their will to remain seated
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is regularly ignored during long public transport journeys. I believe this is one of the reasons they feel excluded
from public transport, and thus from public space. As a result, they naturally dream of buying their own car
when they reach independence, and any chance of forming a genuine connection with public transport is left
withering on the vine. Of course, such alienation is not restricted to children. Unreliable schedules as well as
manspreading and other behavioural patterns typical of patriarchal societies makes it both uncomfortable and
a hassle for women (often accompanied by children) to use public transport. Traffic ‘sucks’ both figuratively and
literally. Due to years of divestment, transport supplies are rarely sufficient. Service is often limited to the
daytime and turns to a pumpkin at night. It drains the energy of commuters.
Nevertheless, public transport is still the

only option for many children. It is
affordable and, despite everything
mentioned above, parents still feel more
comfortable knowing that their children
commute by bus, dolmuş (which literally
means ‘full’) or metro than by bike or
scooter as almost all cities in Turkey lack
the necessary infrastructure and
transport culture to make it safe.
The Turkish Language Society (TDK)

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
defines children as those who engage in
behaviours that are unworthy of
adulthood. I believe this can only be true if, ironically, we consider that children are eager and braver members
of society who engage in different modes of active transport, often in contrast to bulky, lazy and cowardly
adults. Children, even in dire situations, enjoy their own way of being by affirming their desires, being open to the
unknown, unthought or unseen, and ready to make new discoveries. They are always becoming as opposed to
adults who often seem entrenched in their way of life. I believe this feeling of lightness is their inner strength. In
his autobiography Fugue pour violon seul, Tedi Papavrami mentions that, as an adult, he needs to work hard to
be able to achieve the flow of his body while playing his violin. As a child, that flow came naturally. Our
experiences and interactions with the world often come more naturally when we are children. In adulthood, a
certain stiffness, or rigidity, tends to set in. Thus, we have a lot to learn from children, and we should do with
them, not for them when it comes to public transport. As I emphasize in the title, we should learn to be a ‘kidult’,
an adult with childish tastes.
Venues for Empowering
In the playground where I take my son daily in Helsinki, there are dozens of bikes and scooters for children.
There are many different shapes and sizes, all free to use. Even if they do not own a bike or a scooter, children
get the chance to experience them. They
will can havethat
assume fun,you
feelare
thehappy
wind,with
fall, it.
stand up and continue, experiencing
the freedom that such instruments give. These are the first steps towards feeling ready to use bike lanes later.
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Biking which used to be a game once, will then carry them from one place to another. I consider giving children
the opportunity to have experiences on the playground,

a secure place for discoveries, at a very early age, to be
an ‘indirect action’; that is, an action that spreads over
time and helps to ensure larger problems do not occur
later. It stands in contrast to waiting for problems to
happen, and then solving them through ‘direct action’.
Kılıçdaroğlu, the chair of Turkey´s main opposition, the
Republican People`s Party, recently promised to lift
taxes for first-time buyers of first-hand cars. This is a
‘direct action’ and not a solution to the mobility
problems that many cities in the country face. It is an
action that damages mobility as commons. Moreover, it
causes further damage to mobility justice and lacks the
progressive vision needed to resolve the problems
associated with private car-based mobility.
In addition,much research and many opinion pieces

have been written on how Barbie dolls create damaging
Photo: Zeynep Ceren Akyüz Correia
body images for girls and toy guns normalize violence
for boys. However, I believe not many have questioned
the habit of buying cars to boys. From an early age, a vision of masculinity is imposed upon children through toy
cars, a mode transport closely linked to specific political, economic and social-cultural ideas. This is a small
thing in the midst of bigger issues, and not my area of expertise, but I believe it deserves consideration. What
impact would it have if we start giving young children toy trains, buses, and bikes, and telling them stories that
pull them closer to modes of public and active transport?
A Seat of One´s Own
In cities, especially, public space is seen as a scene of tasteless responsibilities which we must endure because
it is so, and because it is a place where the Other is present. In relation to their private lives, their families and
homes, people are keen stress the importance of having a room of one’s own. We often do not see a similar
claim made for the public space of public transport: having a seat of your own is not something often called for.
I believe that in cultures like that of Turkey, children should be prioritized in public transport. They should have
seats of their own that are smaller and lower, matching their physiology. Design matters when we talk of
inclusivity. In Turkey, the municipality of Izmir has just started this practice, an initiative which corresponds with
their aim to make children priority passengers in public transport. Moreover, children should have their own bike
lanes where speed is limited to match their pace, and they should have free access to public transport. These
measures might make them cherish public space and make them feel valued in public, and not just under the
roof of their home. will assume that you are happy with it.
Ok
As mentioned earlier, I see the choice to use public transport as an expression of the agape. Public transport
has the potential to create mobility justice; to ensure that “the free flourishing of each is the condition for the
free flourishing of all” (Bhaskar 2016, p.xii), to borrow a phrase from Mervyn Hartwig. Public transport is the
only way to reduce carbon emissions for a greener future and to achieve climate targets. By making an ethical
choice and choosing public transport over private, we choose not to hurt; we choose voluntary refrainment.
Having a driving licence, being able to afford fuel and a car, but still choosing not to, is one way of looking after
our children. Not because they are our future but because the present is theirs as well as ours. Therefore, if,
following the pandemic, we want to reimagine public transport, thinking like children – like a kidult – is a good
place to start.
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17/01/2023 12:31 Be a ‘Kidult’ and Be with Children: Some Thoughts on Active and Public Transportation – PUTSPACE

Be a ‘Kidult’ and Be with Children: Some

By Zeynep Ceren Akyüz Correia

Margaret Archer states that “due to

The Metaphysics of ‘Children Are the Future’.

Nevertheless, public transport is still the

The Turkish Language Society (TDK)

Venues for Empowering

the opportunity to have experiences on the playground,

In addition,much research and many opinion pieces

A Seat of One´s Own

← Previous Post Next Post →

CfP: Shaping Passenger Conduct in Public Transport Environments

Copyright © 2019 PUTSPACE

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