Text: Dominique Soenens / Photo: Kobe Boussauw
“It’s a pity: university researchers rarely look for less damaging alternatives to flying,” says Kobe Boussauw, professor of spatial planning and mobility. “In the Cosmopolis research group, we wanted to change that. My three colleagues bought train tickets for a congress in Sweden, and I bought a single ticket for a cargo ship. I live in Ghent, from where shipping company DFDS has a daily service to Gothenburg, which takes about 34 hours.”
One of the things Boussauw most enjoyed was the amount of time he had on board to work. “Travelling by boat and train really brings out the experience of being on the move; the journey itself is more meaningful than a flight. You live more slowly. I was able to get through a stack of papers undisturbed and read most of a book that otherwise would have sat untouched on the shelf. After a day and a half, the ship arrived right on time in the port of Gothenburg.”
What did the experience teach him? “This is just a drop in the ocean, but we’ve drawn attention to the exaggerated ease with which we travel by plane, without thinking about alternatives. As such we’re calling for global congresses to decentralise by continent and put a cap on emissions for research institutions. Not that long ago, academics made far fewer journeys and we still managed to build and maintain international contacts. It can be done. We just have to be more conscious about how we do it.”
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