In recent years, more and more initiatives try to counter the role of the car in urban streets with projects like PARK(ing) Day, World Car-Free Day in Riga or Neighborhood in Motion. These bottom-up projects show how the removal of cars affects the urban space and the mindsets and lifestyles of the residents.

“In Ghent 16 residential streets were transformed into collectively created spaces. It all started in 2013 with a bunch of enthusiasts who were busy with the Ghent policy concerning the future of mobility. In order to make people feel what a difference it makes when streets are used by people instead of cars, they came up with the idea of ‘Leefstraten’ which translates as Living Streets. Leefstraten is an experiment that enables inhabitants to transform their street into a place they’ve always dreamed of. By removing the cars and finding other places for parking, new space came available that were turned into places with slides, hen houses, petanque courts, pop-up bars and a lot of astroturf and picnic benches.

One of the most interesting elements is that the process is led by the inhabitants themselves. All the locations have a different outcome resulting in a different use or no use at all. The inhabitants all have their own ideas on how to use the street, which makes up a very local decision making process.

The success in Ghent has led to initiatives in different cities across the Netherlands and Belgium, but seems suitable for every city with inhabitants that want to create places for people instead of cars.”

(Via Pop-Up City)

(Photos by Dries Gysels and Jesse Jorg)

La entrada Leefstraten | Living streets made by people se publicó primero en More Than Green.

The Water Mirror offers a meeting place in town to play and cool off, and establishes an intelligent relationship with its historical context.

Water Mirror is a rectangular water surface designed by French architect Michel Corajoud and located in a very particular point of Bordeaux (France) since 2009. This pool of 3,450 square meters of water is strategically situated between the Garonne River and the Place de la Bourse, in a way that it fully reflects the characteristic façades of the 18th century buildings that are located in it. Thus, the emergence of this new urban element generates an interesting visual game between the historic buildings, the square, the river and the new water surface.

Moreover, the mirror effect of the thin film of water can be suddenly interrupted by the appearance of an artificial fog that exceeds two meters. Thus, the combination of liquid and vaporized water offers refreshment to the citizens on the hottest days. Thanks to these social qualities, the Mirror of Water has become a major attraction for entertainment, play and rest, especially during the summer.

“A series of in situ coincidences led us to create a new urban equipment, which is fresh and playful and doesn’t fight (oppose) the Bourse building, but displays a polite attitude in relation with it.”

“This global device: square, water and mist, magnifies the heritage of this part of the docks, and it quickly became […] a place to practice games, a place of entertainment, refreshment, an attraction point. This unexpected event has become an urban phenomenon that goes far beyond our expectations.”

“The elegant historic French idea of the central reflecting pool has been made participatory. The water mirror both forces people backwards to observe the reflection and then bring them together in the play of splashing water and hide-and-go-seek fog.”

(via aesthetic grounds)

(images via landezine)

La entrada Water Mirror | A place to cool off in Bourdeaux se publicó primero en More Than Green.

After a life dedicated to the enhancement of the importance of public space in the city, its analysis and even promotion, Amanda Burden was appointed Commissioner of City Planning in New York. No easy task in a city in constant growth despite its high density and has always grown under commercial interests.

His most important challenges were to approach the population growth of 1 million people by redistributing residential density around the axes of public transport; reconditioning disused spaces by creating urban parks such as the now existing in Brooklin Bay; and the recovery of the old railway abandoned in height reconvertiendolo in a magnificent park instead of demolition: the High Line.

All due regard to the detailed design for the citizen. Away from mercantilist pressures, Amanda Burden argues that “the city has to think long term, penser in the common good”, that “public spaces have power” and that “turn a park into a place where people want to be depends that is not designed as an urban planner, but as a citizen. “

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La entrada TED Talk | The importance of public space: how it make work to cities | Amanda Burden se publicó primero en More Than Green.

“The project is located on a undeveloped site which represents a real break in the urban structure of the city. The intervention, beyond resolving a garage, is conceived as an opportunity to build infrastructure that jointly solves accessibility, providing new public spaces and green areas.

The program of 111 parking spaces is organized in two buildings with two towers of panoramic elevators, and large urban spaces on both decks. The project transversely joins the new urban spaces with the closest urbanizations and guarantees vertical access from the lowest point of the neighborhood, where the train station connects Renteria with San Sebastian, to the highest point.”

(via plataformaarquitectura.cl)

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La entrada Urban Suture | Parking, public space and accessibility in the residential plot | VAUMM se publicó primero en More Than Green.

“A group of six young architects under the leadership of Renzo Piano have been hard at work transforming unused spaces within Italy’s suburban framework. The team, known as G124, focuses its efforts on injecting life back into overlooked and forgotten areas of its built environment and stimulating the local economy through design. This most recently entailed transforming a long abandoned area under a viaduct in northeast Rome into a bustling cultural hot-spot.

The project, aptly named “Under the Viaduct,” uses recycled materials to create an inviting community space. Shipping containers host the area’s organized events, providing multiple spaces for workshops for local residents to attend.”

Renzo Piano and this group of young people, after a long process of analysis abandon areas they have proposed in revitalizing this environment a series of cultural activities managed through a process of public participation. A project by and for the neighbors.

via plataformaurbana.cl

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La entrada Under the viaduct | Marginal urban environment’s revitalization | Renzo Piano and G124 se publicó primero en More Than Green.

“Once upon a time there was a king, in his castle. He lived in a beautiful world with high mountains, great seas and marvellous animals. He thought he was a good king but he didn’t really care about his kingdom.  He just wanted to be rich and lead a wealthy lifestyle.  To make the things he wanted he built great factories and to travel faster he built roads, railways and airports. This needed a lot of energy so the king drove deeper and deeper for oil and built more and bigger power stations. He thought that things had never been better. But, gradually, his kingdom began to suffer. Large forests were felled, huge areas became like deserts and even the climate itself began to change. He thought that he could control everything but, slowly, the king realised that he must be kind to his beautiful world or it would be damaged forever. He came to understand that he served his kingdom as much as it served him. So, he made energy from the force of the wind. Power of water and even the heat of the sun. He tried to save energy and think of the future, not just the present. And he, and his sons and daughters hoped that this would be enough. So did the kingdom recover and does our story end happily ever after?  No one knows yet because you and I  are still part of it.”(resorce: Youtube)

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(via Youtube)

La entrada Sustainability as a children’s fairy tale se publicó primero en More Than Green.

Women Are Heroes is a project carried out between 2008 and 2009 in different cities in Africa, Brazil, India and Cambodia by French artist JR, winner of the TED Prize in 2011.

The project recognizes and highlights the social role of women in these areas of conflict, celebrating their heroism from an expressive and optimistic approach. Stunning portraits of local women make their unfortunate stories come to light and become the protagonists of the urban landscape to which they are linked. In this way, the interventions seek to support the resilience of the female community and achieve social awareness.

“In order to pay tribute to those who play an essential role in society but who are the primary victims of war, crime, rape and political or religious fanaticism, JR pasted huge photos of the faces and eyes of local women all over the outside of the favela, suddenly giving a female gaze to both the hill and the favela”.

“We had to adapt to this world where the roofs of houses are made of plastic and children’s revolvers are made of steel. We managed to get by in spite of the steep streets, the unsteady houses, the unpredictable electric cables and the exchanges of gunshots”, pointed out JR regarding the intervention in the Moro de Providencia favela in Rio de Janeiro.

Finally, all these experiences were collected in a documentary and a book.

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(via The Guardian)

La entrada Women Are Heroes | JR se publicó primero en More Than Green.

[Article originally written by Pilar Ferreres and José Luis Gisbert for More Than Green]

__Architects: Pilar Ferreres + José Luis Gisbert

__Collaborators: Xavier Pepiol, architect + Álvaro Hueso, architecture student

__Location: Valencia, España

__Date project: 2015

Traffic crossing or square? We have asked this question to neighbors, merchants, professionals and pedestrians in the quarter of Pla del Remei in Valencia. It is a question that arises from the Alternative Proposal or Improvement (PAM), submitted to City Hall to review the municipal project involving the change of two streets in the city center. Moreover this plan suggests an even more important question: Is this a city for cars or a city for people?

The streets Hernán Cortés and Pizarro, part of the commercial city center that attracts many visitors throughout the year, have not changed in over 30 years. These streets pose numerous obstacles to pedestrian: narrow and uneven sidewalks, clutter from dining tables to parked motorbikes, and non-stop traffic. Cars are even seen driving on the curb to avoid hinder the lane. This chaotic traffic affects the pedestrians walking in a group who frequently have no other choice but to walk in a single file line, sometimes even on the street to dodge the vehicles that park on the sidewalk. Furthermore a pedestrian’s pace is broken up by having to patiently wait to pass through the number of traffic lights.

When the Valencia town hall announced upcoming renovations in April 2014, from the perspective of residents and architects, we were thrilled to take on an active role in the project design for a highly anticipated upgrade.

We have found, however, that the project that does not respond to nor reflect the real needs of this community because they have not been analyzed beyond the traffic logistics, and the essential information that can only be given by the community has been ignored. A project that does not account for a lack of space in the neighborhood and ignores the existing architectural heritage, makes it difficult for residents and tourists alike to admire the area to its true potential. Likewise the municipal action seems to disregard and even contradict all current urban mobility policies to accommodate for the additional space needed cyclists and pedestrians. In so doing the council is also ignoring the benefits of trees in an urban environment that contributes to better air quality and appropriate hygrothermal control. This planned redevelopment, an expenditure of 800,000 euro per street, would influence the way of life for the next 25 years and does not meet social and cultural needs of our community.

It appears as though the town hall of Valencia is taking on the renovation street by street without proper coordination. It is not possible to address road and spatial arrangement of a neighborhood without studying the full scope because there are problems that can only be resolved from a global approach.

Upon receiving the town hall’s initial plan in January of 2015, we offered an alternative proposition, known as Propuesta Alternativa de Mejora (PAM), to open up the dialogue and improve upon the solution. This alternative plan was submitted free of charge as we are fully invested in living and working in the area.

The PAM is a response to the plan that was originally approved by the town hall. Written by architects, we offer a solution that promotes a healthier environment and the development of relationships. The town hall’s plan of widening sidewalks does not take into account the number of needed trees that line the streets- one for every thirty meters. A tree is not merely an ornament. It provides shade to the pedestrian, filters the air and offers protection from the wind. Trees serve a purpose and should be enough in number.

For example, a square in Pizarro street (20 meters in width), would slow down traffic and would convert a crossway to an agreeable square.

Multipurpose zones, called beaches in our proposal, would eliminate parking and decrease the number of vehicles going through. It would also reduce all types of pollution and danger. These beaches are the structure of an urban landscape that changes according to the time of day and season. Flexible zones would accommodate how different people use the area, from unloading cargo from a truck, to parking a bike, to taking a rest on a bench. This multipurpose zone would accommodate everyone without further construction needed. The implication results in less money to be spent. Our alternative proposal permits people to meet their needs with the opportunity of enjoying the space in their free time. Why not use a space to encourage to building relationships within a community?

The vision of PAM provides the town hall and the citizens with an economic solution that does not increase expenditure. PAM aims to increase the quality of urban life which would serve as a model to other parts of the city and can be extrapolated to other cities’ grid.

Between the 50s and 70s centers of cities turned in favour of the parked car or in circulation. The progressive increase in the number of vehicles in this limited space led to the deterioration of the urban landscape and quality of life of its inhabitants.

During the last decades, most cities have reversed this process in the inner city. They have realized that rescuing space for people was the only way to claim the status of this area of the city. However, economic and social changes not always match physical site transformations, inhabitants and users are the first ones in perceiving and detecting the existing problems.

The urban update has been carried out traditionally through its redevelopment, its considerable cost and lack of will taking unpopular decisions for cars, has led in some cases this process didn’t arrive.

But there are other ways, temporary changes that allow a more guarantees in final redevelopment: Zero Investment actions, as Rome from 20 years ago cut traffic on one of their most commercial streets (via del Corso) from Friday afternoon until Sunday allowing people to walk without restrictions and nowdays has been extended fulltime. Public space for people rescue actions through painting and moving parts, re-imagining as it may be the common space in the city and try it temporarily together with its inhabitants with limited spending before making works is the lesson that we can learn from the New York experience.

Valencia has embraced in recent years various European projects of sustainable development such as SMILE (intelligent solutions and energy efficiency in urban logistics in Mediterranean cities) or CAT-MED, was named European city of the tree in 2007, and that just a week ago was home to the main European platform aimed at reducing emissions of GHG in the cities.

Participate in these projects should lead to the city Council of Valencia, in each step or decision no matter how small it is on the city, to follow the criteria of sustainability, good governance and allocate their economic and human resources to improve the lives of all people. It is not worth to join a swimming club and don’t accept be equipped with bathing suit and jump into the water keeping dry out the pool.

Something doesn’t work properly when the Council refers in its reply to the PAM, in March 2015, to technical problems for planting trees or designing streets 30, without justifying them technically and chooses to arrange, on the other hand, in a parallel street absorbent paving of the contamination with European funds. Is it this proper answer of a smart city? Wouldn’t it be wiser to limit cars and planting trees? Can there be smart cities without smart designed streets? In Valencia with our strong sun, is it a smart street one that lacks of tree shade in summer? What is the suitable, sustainable mobility, in 12 meters wide streets of the city center? Car parking?

The authors invite the Council to ask himself these questions and return to pause the process action for reviewing and incorporating the improvements identified in the PAM, adding signatures of people who have joined this this request and also delivering the results of the open meeting with neighbors, merchants, workers and walkers held last March 5.
People who have joined this initiative rely on City Hall to consider the requested enhancements that we enjoy all and especially future generations.

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La entrada Traffic crossing or square? | PAM project, alternative proposal for the renewal of Valencia’s downtown se publicó primero en More Than Green.

The shocking images of giant cruises on the historic Venetian facades document a reality that we do not consider when visiting the city. Who lives in Venice and how they live? The documentary “The Venice syndrome” tells us a reality that is common in many cities: economic power preempts urban social needs, a process where the mass of tourists takes precedence over everyday life;  the Venice gentrification.

“58,000 people currently live in Venice, a similar amount to which lived in the Italian city after the great plague of 1438. This figure decreases each year due to mass tourism. An exodus of true Venetians, fleeing masses visitors arriving every day and they are destroying the city of canals. Before ending Venice will kill its citizens and their customs, and endangered.

A problem that analyzes “The Venice syndrome”, winner of Best Documentary at the Urbanfestivaltv which took place this week in “La casa encendida”. A film that explores how uncontrolled tourism is leading to Venice to become a Disneyland version, as criticizing his producer Valerio B. Moser. “

“The pressure of lobbies

The producer of The Venice syndrome admits that political inaction is condemning to death the city, ending turned into an outdoor museum if nobody avoided, but believes that one of the main problems is the pressure lobbies exercise in public office.

Another problem which has led to mass tourism is property speculation. The price of housing in Venice has reached figures that very few people can afford. The documentary gives an outrageous price: 12,000 euros per square meter. For comparison, a house in the center of Madrid is priced at 3,650 euros per square meter.

Moreover, the government does not put measures in this speculation, allowing the market to regulate itself. This has contributed to the exodus of its inhabitants, because if they have a house bought them moving to other parts of Italy, especially young people, who as stated in the documentary “have no future; or glass figurines sold in the square or leave.” O live from tourism or escape. There is another option for a city that receives more day cruises to New York.”

(via elconfidencial.com)

La entrada Venice gentrification | Economic market dictatorship se publicó primero en More Than Green.

“Santiago Cirugeda is a leading figure in a socially responsible and responsive collective movement in Spanish architecture that seeks to find grassroots solutions to the problems being faced by ordinary Spanish citizens in times of extreme austerity. Both the Red Internacional de Colectivos and the Recetas Urbanas websites offer advice on the legal and economic resources available to community groups and individuals wanting to self-build. Cirugeda is similarly pragmatic about his own practice, stating: “People say my architecture is ugly. They say it’s interesting, but it’s ugly — but I say, who doesn’t have an ugly friend? Everyone has an ugly friend! Architecture today is obsessed with beautiful buildings and pretty projects – that’s bullshit! Architecture should be cheap, functional and it should be an excuse to bring people together: and that’s what we’re doing.

Cirugeda is particularly known for his ingenious subversion of regulations and Spain‘s Byzantine planning bureaucracy: he’s savvy with the old “know the rules in order to break them” trick. But he is also recognized as a hands-on architect that self-builds his low-cost projects with a ragtag group of collaborators who have varying skill levels and interests in the end result. As Cirugeda explained to Ana Naomi de Sousa for The Guardian: “I get a kick out of the confrontations with technocrats and politicians, but most of all I like building my own projects … in Seville, the crisis affects us all, we are in a desperate situation and there’s a lot of injustice in the way things are being done. What about all these empty houses and unused land? There are lots of situations that interest me — as an architect and as a citizen.”

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(Via Inhabitat)

La entrada Santiago Cirugeda: guerrilla architect | Low-cost projects se publicó primero en More Than Green.