Étiquette : urbanisme
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Brasilia: the evolution of a modernist masterpiece
In 1956, when Brasilia was conceived, cars were the transportation system of the future. « Adapter la Ville à la Voiture » (adapt the city to cars) was the mainstream credo in the 50’s: as Brasilia was the symbol of Brazil as a modern and avanced country, the city was planned around cars. The town was built along two motorways,…
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Small towns and smart growth
Till now, it seemed that small towns were doomed to be the victims of urban sprawl: the only future waiting for them was made of single-family houses, shopping malls, office parks and highways. Even when bigger towns started to develop their downtown, smaller cities thought that this was not their business, because there were not…
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Google maps now gives walking directions.
Look at the google map above here. Don’t you see something different? Yes, it’s true: something has changed. The « walk until … » direction has turned into something more precise and more similar to the driving instructions. More things are still to be implemented, but, just like Walkscore some days ago, this is the sign of…
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Milan S-bahn arrives to Rogoredo
On july 15, a new section of Milan S-bahn has opened. From now on, trains from lines S1, S2, S6 and S10 will have their sout-eastern terminal in Milano Rogoredo instead of Milano Porta Vittoria. (source: ferrovie.it, urban rail)
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The best new neighborhoods in Europe
Yesterday I showed you an example of smart growth in Spain. Today, we’ll have an overview of what’s happening all over europe, with the winners of the 2008 Philippe Rotthier European Prize. Here they are: Best Operation of Urban Renaissance in a suburban city – Plessis-Robinson, France Best New City – Val d’Europe,…
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Smart Growth goes to Spain
On 19th century, Spain was one of the leaders in urban development. In almost all towns, a grid-shaped extension (Ensanche) was planned, and in almost all towns, the Ensanche is one of the most vibrant districts. 150 jears later, Spain still follows the same model. Since 1992, almost all towns in Spain started…
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How walkable is your neighborhood?
Among the choices influencing our lifestyle, the choice of the place to live is one of the most powerful. Depending on the location in which we decide to settle down, we’ll be more or less able to walk, drive, cycle and ride public transports, and we’ll have more or less jobs and business opportunities. Real estate companies are…
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Sunday street in Bogotà: la Ciclovia
In the last year, Colombia has become one of the leading examples in urban planning and social inclusion: one of the examples of last years’ improvements is Bogotà’s sunday street, the famous « Ciclovia ». (source: streetfilms)
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Retrofitting urban sprawl: Learning from Monte Sacro
As gas prices rise, lots of people are wondering what will be the future of suburbia. Will it be able to recycle itself into more dense and pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, or will it decay and turn into XXI century slums? A visit of Monte Sacro (Rome, italy) can be useful. In the 20’s Monte Sacro was…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
La Ville Nouvelle, Atelier d'Architectes 