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The first commercially available system was developed by Schindler in the 1990s, when the company realised that elevators would have to become more "intelligent," if they were to cope with the enormous flows of people, especially in urbanising Asia. Schindler's traffic management system allows passengers to select their destination before entering an eleva tor, and then assigns them the car taking the fastest route (with the fewest number of stops) to their floor. The system is continuously updating its central database with the position of every elevator and every journey request, and uses sophisticated algorithms to calculate the optimum route for each passenger.

This means taking proper account of the needs of all inhabitants, including children, the elderly and people with special-access requirements. Equally, it is necessary to consider the activities of the inhabitants - work, leisure, shopping, entertainment, etc. - so that amenities and facilities are accessible and within a reasonable distance. Historical attitudes mean that the planning and design process typically over-emphasises certain aspects of design and underestimates others. In the design of a building, for Megamobility - Technologyfor the individual in the urbanised world 35 Modern urban mobility networks public and privatespaces.

The usual approach of designing a structure and "inserting" the essential systems at a later date is inconceivable. The new urban development will contain various mobility systems, from high-speed shuttle elevators with runs of hundreds of metres, to localised routes which serve smaller segments of the structure. Intelligent mobility Managing these mobility systems requires technologies capable of directing the movement of people and goods, controlling access to all spaces and connecting the mobility systems to those of the rest of the city.