La Ville Nouvelle, Société Coopérative
Boulevard Carl-Vogt 47, 1205 Genève
079 525 71 35 – info@villenouvelle.ch
-
The birth of a Road
In this video, you can see the first step that will lead, year after year, to the birth of a road. Then, little by little, activities and houses will come, and a downtown will grow.
-
Dirty Car Art
Some posts ago, I was talking about Green Graffiti. Another example of the same style can be found here. (source: urban prankster)
-
Roma – Pantano: Closed!
It’s gone! From yesterday morning, the outer section of Roma-Pantano Light Rail has been put out of service between Giardinetti and Pantano. As an hommage to this line and its history, here are some videos of the rolling stock, passing in Porta Maggiore, the only transfer station on the line. (source: tramvetti.blogspot.com)
-
Casilina Express
When I’m asked about Rome, people often are surprised of how much my description of the city differs from the traditional image portrayed by tourist guides and postcards. They don’t know that behind the famous Ethernal City lies another town, maybe less scenic, but still very interesting. One of the landmark of this hidden Rome…
-
Green Graffiti
Graffiti are one of the most controversial phenomena that characterize the urban environment. Street art for somebody, vandalism for somebody else, they continue to be a big argument of debate. In this debate, Green Graffiti adds a new and different point of view. As a form of viral marketing, they make graffiti with…
-
City review: Morges
With its 15.000 inhabitants, Morges is growing up as a major downtown in Lausanne metropolitan area. Its position, next to Lausanne and Lausanne University, and the developping opportunities, make the town an interesting place in which to relocate and to invest. ENVIRONMENT Morges lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and offers lots of different…
-
New York Times forgets bike parking
Riding a bike is a pleasant, cheap and environmentally friendly way to move around the city, but has its own things to worry about. One of the main issues is parking your bike in a safe way. A good solution would be providing indoor (and controlled) bike parking, an option that architects and developpers often…
-
Free hugs campaign: a good example of the Flash Mob test
This video shows a classic of flash mobs, the Free Hugs Campaign, and shows us how the flash mob test reveals the different visions of public space carried by different actors: police officers viewed it just as a circulation space, while users viewed it as a place to meet and as an informal stage. It’s…
-
Where the hell is Matt?
Here is another example of flash mob, from various locations around the world. (source: where the hell is matt?, urban prankster)
-
Rome: une ligne de tramway ouverte il y a deux ans ferme à nouveau
Le 7 juillet 2008, la partie la plus externe de la ligne de tram Roma-Pantano, entre les arrêts Giardinetti et Pantano, fermera a nouveau, à peine deux ans après son inauguration. Cette ligne est la seule survivante d’un vaste réseau qui couvrait toute la partie Est du Latium, notamment les villes de Frascati, Palestrian, Fiuggi, Alatri…
-
Rome: Recently opened light rail extension closes again
On july 7, 2008, the recently-reopened section of the Roma-Pantano light rail will close again between the stations Giardinetti and Pantano after only two years of operation. Once part of an extensive network covering all the eastern part of Lazio (including the towns of Frascati, Palestrina, Fiuggi, Alatri and Frosinone), Roma-Pantano light rail had heavily suffered…
-
Roma: una linea tramviaria appena aperta chiude di nuovo.
Il 7 luglio 2008, la parte più esterna della linea tramviaria « Roma-Pantano », chiuderà di nuovo tra le fermate Giardinetti e Pantano, due anni dopo la sua inaugurazione. Questa linea è l’unica rimasta di una rete molto estesa, che copriva tutta la parte Est del Lazio, tra cui le città di Frascati, Palestrina, Fiuggi, Alatri et Frosinone). Una…
-
Nightbus network opens in Turin
From june 27, 10 new nightbus lines link Turin city center (piazza Vittorio Veneto) with its surrounding suburbs. The new lines will run every Friday and Saturday night, from 1.00 AM to 5.00 AM. Buses will run every 20 minutes on the Star Notte Line, and every hour on the other lines. A…
-
car sales drop 20%
May it be the rise of gas prices and of raw materials, may it be the shift of trends from goods possession to good use, car sales are dropping dramatically. Reports talk about a 20% drop in the last year. On realated articles, business analysts look for new solutions to face the crisis: more ecological…
-
cargo tram: the solution for deliveries within the city?
Cargo trams were born in Dresden, and, ironically, they were conceived in order to supply components to volkswagen car factory. And little by little the idea is spreading all over the world. Wherever the narrow streets of a town are blocked by delivery trucks, cargo trams are seen as the solution. Zürich has adopted cargo…
-
Fast-charging electric buses
(video: a supercapacitor bus recharges in Shanghai) As gas prices are getting higher and higher, the need to find other alternatives to gas-powered buses becomes more and more urgent. High frequency bus lines have no problem in this conversion, as they can be turned into trolleybus lines without excessive cost, but this reconversion can be…
-
sheer cycling pleasure
Yesterday we saw an example of transit pleasure, today it’s time for cycling pleasure. As we can see, every form of transportation has its own fun! (source: copenhagen cycle chic)
-
Commuter party on the train back home
For the last three years, Noemie commuted by train from Lausanne to Geneva everyday. Yesterday she took a new job in Lausanne and celebrated her last day as a commuter with a party on the train back home. She reserved the last carriage of the 18.45 train and invited all her travelmates to buy a…
-
Sheer transit pleasure
(video: BMW commercial – note the « sheer driving pleasure » logo at the end) Public transport has always been seen as the poor alternative to cars. While cars are always pictured as a way to get pleasure and new sensations, public transports are always seen as a way to go from a point to another,…
-
Events on a pedestrian street: the flash mob test
A well designed pedestrian street can host lots of different events. There can be official events, sponsored by the city hall, and improvised events, organized by street users. An example of unofficial event is the flash mob: (video: thierryweber.com) A Flash mob is a good test to check the status of a space. If the…
-
Sunday street
If your town is still not able to match the criteria for a successful pedestrian street, another option is the Sunday street. 1) Choose a street long enough to be covered by bike in about 45 mins. (3 to 6 km) 2) Close the street for a day (Sunday) 3) Advertise the event in order…
-
Car efficiency: just like light bulbs and washing machines
We are now used to check the energy efficiency label on washing machines and light bulbs. For all those who want to choose a car following the same principle, Touring Club Suisse published a guide, downloadable from here. It’s intresting to note that, while almost all light bulbs or a washing machines that can be…
-
Gland slows down to 30 km/h
Halfway between Geneva and Lausanne, the city of Gland is experiencing a massive growth, which is changing the image of the town. Now, another step towards the transformation of the city in a full downtown is taking place. All the northern part of Gland will be traffic-calmed: car speed will be reduced to 30 km/h,…
-
Aigle: new multiplex opens downtown
After the depart of the Migros Chablais in the industrial zone, downtown Aigle was left without a major commercial structure. Now the situation has improved, with the opening of the Cosmopolis multiplex, right next to the railway station and the old town. The new cinema will have 3 screens and will be able to host 452…
-
Pedestrian streets
One of the element which can be used to create a downtown is the pedestrian street. A pedestrian street has some characteristic features. Here we can start to explore them: 1) A significant amount of housing all around the street 2) A big attractor (i.e. an university, or some office building) along the…
-
Nuit Blanche
A lively community must show itself from time to time, in order to catch the attention of people from the outside world. A good way to fill this purpose can be the organization of a « Nuit Blanche », a night in which the city becomes a big stage for actors, musicians, dancers, sportsmen… In the organization…
La Ville Nouvelle, Atelier d'Architectes 