On a recent September stroll in Avignon, I saw two vignettes of parent and child, each with a subtly different gloss on who controls transportation choice.

This new imagery amid old world streets calls the question of the day. Which generation should choose how we get from place to place in the city?

Take a look at the passive parent in the second photograph.

The answer is, increasingly, oh-so-clear.

Image composed by the author in Avignon, France. Click on the image for more detail. © 2009-2013 myurbanist. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.