In addition to transporting people, goods and information, mobility also encompasses the growing mental flexibility with regard to issues such as career choices, changing faces of life and lifelong learning. Spatial and cognitive flexibility will become fundamental requirements in competition with machines and well-paid jobs for many career areas of the future.
Developments:
The competitiveness of companies and employees in a globalized world is fundamentally dependent on mobility. Globalized corporate structures are becoming increasingly fluid and swarm-like.
People expect mobility around the clock. The subway in Vienna, for example, operates 24 hours a day. New mobility-related products and business models such as car sharing are gaining traction. The number of car sharing users in Europe will increase from 0.7 million in 2011 to 15 million in 2020.
Greater mobility also places greater stress on the environment and demands the development of new, sustainable drive technologies.
The desire for a sense of home, stability, quiet, and true closeness is a counter-trend to mobility. Coordination and communication will become drastically more intense because more and more employees will collaborate in projects from different locations. As a consequence, “Attentiveness” will become a stabilizing force.
