As I was being driven through Tel Aviv from my hotel to a conference center a few years ago, I could not help but note the overwhelming presence of cars and parking lots. Tel Aviv, expanding from a small settlement a half-century ago to a city of some 3 million today, evolved during the automobile era. It occurred to me that the ratio of parks to parking lots may be the best single indicator of the livability of a city—an indication of whether the city is designed for people or for cars.
几年以前，当我从旅馆乘车穿行以色列的特拉维夫城前往某个会议中心时，我下意识地注意 到，汽车和停车场无处不在。从半个世纪前的一个小移民点不断扩展到如今有大约300万人口的城 市——特拉维夫——在汽车时代经历了很大的变迁。我当时意识到，公园和停车场的比例可能是城 市生活舒适度的一个最好的标志一它能表明城市究竟是为人设计的,还是为汽车设计的。
The world’s cities are in trouble. In Mexico City, Tehran, Bangkok, and hundreds of other cities, the quality of daily life is deteriorating.
各地的城市都在陷入困境。在墨西哥城、德黑兰、曼谷和数以百 计的其他城市，日常生活的质量正在不断下降。
Breathing the air in some cities is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes per day. In the United States, the number of hours commuters spend going nowhere sitting in traffic-congested streets and highways climbs higher each year, raising frustration levels.
在一些城市，呼吸空气等于每天抽两包#烟。在美国,每天因驱车 上下班的交通阻塞而耽搁在路上的时间逐年升髙,郁闷也随之加深。
In response to these conditions, we are seeing the emergence of a new urbanism.
针对上述情况，一种新城市主义正在人们面前兴起。
One of the most remarkable modem urban transformations has occurred in Bogota, Colombia, where Enrique Penalosa served as Mayor for three years, beginning in 1998. When he took office he did not ask how life could be improved for the 30 percent who owned cars; he wanted to know what could be done for the 70 percent-the majority-who did not own cars.
最令人瞩目的现代城市变革之一，发生在哥伦比亚的波哥大 市。自1998年起，恩里克?佩钠洛萨在该城担任了3年的市长。就职 伊始,他并没有考虑如何去改善30%的有车族的生活,而是想知道 能够为占人口大多数的70%的无车市民做些什么。
Penalosa realized that a city that is a pleasant environment for children and the elderly would work for everyone.
佩钠洛萨意识到,适合儿童和老年人生活环境的城市，会适合 任何人的居住。
In just a few years, he transformed the quality of urban life with his vision of a city designed for people. Under his leadership, the city banned the parking of cars on sidewalks，created or renovated 1,200 parks, introduced a highly successful bus-based rapid transit system, built hundreds of kilometers of bicycle paths and pedestrian streets, reduced rush hour traffic by 40 percent, planted 100,000 trees, and involved local citizens directly in the improvement of their neighborhoods.
根据城市应该以人为本的设计理念，在短短的的几年内，他转 变了生活的品质。在他的领导下,波哥大市的人行道上不再允许停 车，新建和改建了 1200座公园，建立了一套以公共汽车为基础的极 为成功的城市捷运系统，兴建了数百公里的自行车道和步行街，将 高峰时段的交通量减少了 40%，种植了 10万棵树，并吸收当地市民 直接参与所在社区的改善工作。
In doing this, he created a sense of civic pride among the city’s 8 million residents, making the streets of Bogota in this strife-torn country safer than those in Washington D.C.
与此同时，他在全市800万市民中树立起一种市民荣誉感,使 波哥大这一直备受冲突所磨难的城市，成为比美国华盛顿市更安全的地方。
Penalosa observes that “In a city, parks are as essential to the physical and emotional health of a city as the water supply.” He notes this is not obvious from most city budgets, where parks are deemed a luxury.
佩钠洛萨曾说过对城市而言，提供公园就像供水一样,对城市实体上和情感上的健康是必 不可少的。”他发现，大多数城市的预算并不能明显地体现出这一点。公园常常视被为是奢侈品。
By contrast, “roads，the public space for cars, receive infinitely more resources and less budget cuts than parks, the public space for children. Why,” he asks, “are the public spaces for cars deemed more important than the public spaces for children?"
与此相反，“道路，作为汽车的公共空间，比公园和儿童的公共空间得到了远为充足的资源和更 少的预算削减。这是为什么？ ”他问道，“难道汽车的公共空间比儿童的公共空间更为重要？ ”
In espousing this new urban philosophy, Penalosa is not alone. The reform he initiated in Bogota is being carried on by his successor, Antanas Mockus.
在拥护这一新的城市哲学方面，佩钠洛萨并不是孤军奋战。他在波哥大发起的变革,正在得到 他的续任者安塔纳斯莫库斯的推进。
Now government planners everywhere are experimenting, seeking ways to design cities for people not cars. Cars promise mobility, and they provide it in a largely rural setting.
现在，世界各地的政府规划人员都在试验和寻找为人而不是为汽车设计城市的方式。汽车意 味着更好的运力，但是这种良好的运力只能在以乡村为主的地区实现。
But in an urbanizing world there is an inherent conflict between the automobile and the city. After a point, as their numbers multiply, automobiles provide not mobility but immobility.
但在城市化的地区，汽车和城市之间存在着内在的冲突性。随着汽车数量的不断增加，在超过 某个临界之后，汽车所能提供的将不是运力而是滞留。
Based on this perspective, some cities in industrial and developing countries alike will dramatically increase urban mobility by moving away from the car.
由此可见，无论是在工业化国家，还是在发展中国家，通过摆脱汽车的生活方式，城市能大幅 度提高运力。
Let me remind you once more, cities are built for people, not cars. A city full of cars is like what the horrifying sci-fi depicted-all mechanism and no human.
所以我需要再次提醒大家，城市是为人而建,并非为车而建。一座充满汽车的城市就像科幻小 说中描述的一样恐怖:到处是机械，没有人。
In order to avoid this disaster, we’d better start designing sustainable cities.
为了能避免这样的灾难发生，我们最好现在就着手设计可持续发展的城市。