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A thought of Michael J. Thomson

  1. "Transport does not just serve the city. It is an important part of the city.
    .....Cities are made up essentially of buildings and transport".
  2. "The buildings and the activities within them do not exist independently of the transport systems that serves them. Hence the other activities that make up the life of the city are dependent upon the transport facilities that link them together. The physical structure of the city, its size and spread, its way of life and character, are all dependent upon the nature and quality of its transport system."

With that I have come to the last building stone of traffic culture. The city, the track architecture, the train stations and stops - all are expressions of a traffic culture and are influential factors upon the living forms of the urban inhabitants.

Afterthought:

When the earthquakes of LA destroyed the freeways, the then prevailing society, dependent on the car as a primary means of transportation, discovered the commuter train, the metro, which had remained undestroyed. Since then, the responsible individuals have continued to develop ways in which to maintain this need created as a result of the quakes. Therefore, one tries to remember 'culture', including the culture in the train stations, in their proximity and in the trains.

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