A traveling exhibition about the future of urban areas opened yesterday in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. It showcases the vision of 10 leading architects who imagine urban life in 2030, when “60 percent of the global population – or five billion people – will live in urban areas, mostly in the developing world.”  Our Cities Ourselves builds on “10 Principles for Transportation in Urban Life” created by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) in consultation with Jan Gehl, a world-renowned architect and urban design consultant. The exhibit and its corresponding principles show how sustainable transportation solutions can manage growing urban populations and address environmental concerns.

The 10 key principles are:

1. Walk the walk: Create great pedestrian environments
2. Powered by people: Create a great environment for bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles
3. Get on the bus: Provide great, cost-effective public transport
4. Cruise control: Provide access for clean passenger vehicles at safe speeds and in significantly reduced numbers
5. Deliver the goods: Service the city in the cleanest and safest manner.
6. Mix it up: Mix people and activities, buildings and spaces.
7. Fill it in: Build dense, people and transit oriented urban districts that are desirable.
8. Get real: Preserve and enhance the local, natural, cultural, social and historical assets.
9. Connect the blocks: Make walking trips more direct, interesting and productive with small-size, permeable buildings and blocks.
10. Make it last: Build for the long term. Sustainable cities bridge generations. They are memorable, malleable, built from quality materials, and well maintained.

The exhibition will be open for the next month and will feature a host of seminars and events with local and international urban planning and transportation experts.

More details:

Mexico City
February 2 – March 13, 2011
Museo Franz Mayer
The exhibit “will feature public seminars, including lectures from Jan Gehl (Gehl Architects), Michael Sorkin (Terraform), Jose Castillo (arquitectura911), Tim Tompkins (Times Square Alliance), as well as Mexico City’s Secretary of Urban Development and Housing and Carlos Slim’s COMURSA.”

Rio de Janerio
February 2 – March 13, 2011
Centro Cultural Correios
This exhibit “will feature public seminars, including lectures from Architect and 2007 Pritzker prizewinner Richard Rogers, Helia Nacif (Ex-Secretary of Urbanism, Rio Municipality), David Sim (Gehl Architects) Tim Tompkins (Times Square Alliance), Luiz Ceotto (Director of Sustainability, Tishman Speyer) as well as the Association of Rio State bus operators.”