Pedestrian mobility as a fundamental urban right The possible contribution of children to urban walkability Ivan Blečić, Valentina Talu TaMaLaCa tuttamialacitta’ Ivan Blečić, Valentina Talu TaMaLaCa TaMaLaCa TaMaLaCa TaMaLaCa Gruppo di ricerca e azione per la città dei diritti Laboratorio di Analisi e Modelli per la Pianificazione (LaMP) Dipartimento di Architettura, Design, Urbanistica dell’Università di Sassari
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Pedestrian mobility as a fundamental urban right
The possible contribution of children to urban walkability
Ivan Blečić, ValentinaTalu
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
Ivan Blečić, ValentinaTalu
T a M a L a C aT a M a L a C aT a M a L a C aT a M a L a C a
Gruppo di ricerca e azione per la città dei diritti
Laboratorio di Analisi e Modelli per la Pianificazione (LaMP)
Dipartimento di Architettura, Design, Urbanistica dell’Università di Sassari
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
Contemporary city is a car-friendly city (1/3)
1) road accidents
2) air, noise and aesthetic pollution
3) waste of time due to the traffic congestion
4) privatisation of public spaces and soil consumption
5) limitation of the urban rights for people who do not use a car
4) privatisation of public spaces and soil consumption
5) limitation of the urban rights for people who do not use a car
4) and 5) are perhaps the most relevant problems of "cars' invasion" in urban4) and 5) are perhaps the most relevant problems of "cars' invasion" in urban
contexts.
They can be handled only by reducing significantly the overall number of cars.
Some people choose to be pedestrians for the reasons of the right to the city.
They claim the right to "use" the city for everybody.
Their goal is to free the streets and the public spaces from cars and to bring them
back to pedestrians.
People who promote and participate in collective actions like Critical Mass,
Walking School Bus, Parking Day, etc. can be considered part of this category.
Labbucci 2011; Solnit 2005; Urbinati 2008
Sassari – Critical Mass (1); Walking School Bus (2,3); Critical Walk (4)
1 2 3 4
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
The reasons of the right to the city (2/4)
They want to generate constructive conflict: to claim their right to "use" the city,
they carry out actions which interfere with normal, established urban design.
Walking is therefore a form of dissent against everything driving a car in the city
may mean: speed, consumption, privatisation, isolation, ...
The fact that these actions are collective is fundamental: "being numerous"
means "being visible" and consequently means acting in an effective manner.means "being visible" and consequently means acting in an effective manner.
Labbucci 2011; Solnit 2005; Urbinati 2008
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
The reasons of the right to the city (3/4)
Looking at the characteristics of these collective actions of (re)conquest of the
streets and the spaces of the city it is possible to make more effective policies
aimed at building walkable cities and thus promoting urban quality of life.
We propose a sort of requirements list of collective initiatives making reference
to the reasons of the right to the city, which can be used as a starting point to
design policies aimed at improving pedestrians' urban rights of accessibility and design policies aimed at improving pedestrians' urban rights of accessibility and
mobility.
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
The reasons of the right to the city (4/4)
1. Constructive conflict, as an important process through which to reveal the nature of
the problem, to denounce its negative effects, and to propose common possible
solutions.
2. Collectivity as a means for increasing visibility of the actions.
3. Involvement of people who usually are not interested in or are not able to express
their dissent.
4. Simplicity of the initiatives and directness of their message.4. Simplicity of the initiatives and directness of their message.
5. Acting in a playful manner as an element capable of facilitating people's involvement
and making the conflict more socially "acceptable" and thus, in a way, more effective.
6. Plurality of ends, because all these initiatives are not aimed at promoting an exclusive
use of the streets, which would be impracticable as well as dangerous, but a plurality
of uses and users, including car drivers.
7. Slowness as a way for making possible and improving social relations and people's
involvement .
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
An interesting example: Walking School Bus
The Walking School Bus project is one possible project that could satisfy these
requirements, on condition that it is seen as a means for improving walkability in
the city, not simply as a means to go to school.
The aim of the Walking School Bus is to create the conditions for making itself
useless.
This can happen only if Walking School Bus is seen as a transition project to a This can happen only if Walking School Bus is seen as a transition project to a
safe, accessible and walkable city: a goal which can be achieved only through
significant infrastructure redesign projects and a more efficient traffic control
system.
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
An interesting example: Walking School Bus
Monte Rosello, Sassari – School opening time
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
An interesting example: Walking School Bus
Monte Rosello, Sassari - Walking School Bus
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
An interesting example: Walking School Bus
Monte Rosello, Sassari – Street redesign project
TaMaLaCatuttamialacitta’
An interesting example: Walking School Bus
To promote a walkable city is an important and urgent goals for urban planning.
To promote a walkable city means, indeed, to promote a city that, in dealing with
individual differences (and not with standardisation caused by cars), aims at