Urbanus Architecture & Design re-imagines the city of Guangzhou by transforming the highway into an elevated bicycle and pedestrian promenade, integrated with a bus rapid transit corridor below. Illustration via Our Cities Ourselves media kit.
Last week, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) launched an international traveling exhibition about the future of transport in ten major cities. “Our Cities Ourselves” asks ten leading architects to imagine what cities would look like in 2030 if they moved away from car-dependent transportation and urban planning and, instead, prioritized walking, cycling, and public transit. The ten re-imagined cities include New York, Rio de Janeiro, Ahmedabad, Budapest, Dar es Salaam, Ghangzhou, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Johannesburg, and Mexico City.
“We simply can’t sustain the sort of automobile-dominated transportation systems that we have today,” said Walter Hook in an interview with WNYC.
The exhibit includes current photos of 10 large cities displayed next to architect’s renderings and 3D models of what the city would look like in 2030 if it embraced concepts of sustainable transport and urban planning. For example, in Dar Es Salaam, a waterfront cut off from the rest of the city by a railroad is transformed into a pedestrian promenade, with a new multi-modal transit hub that includes bus rapid transit. In Jakarta, disjointed urban development incorporates community-oriented parks and bicycle paths. In Johannesburg, disconnected transport terminals are connected by mixed-use public space. (See WYNC for more images and brief descriptions of each of the proposals.)
The kick-off event for the exhibit took place on June 24 at the American Institute of Architects Center for Architecture in New York City, where journalist David Owen of The New Yorker moderated a discussion with NYC architect Michael Sorkin, who proposes a radical transformation of lower Manhattan with cycling and pedestrian lanes below and above the Brooklyn Bridge. They were joined by Walter Hook; ITDP’s executive director; Liz Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance; and Norman Garrick, associate professor and director of the Center for Transportation and Urban Planning at the University of Connecticut.
The exhibit coincides with ITDP’s 25th Anniversary, with funding from the San Francisco-based ClimateWorks Foundation. It will be on display until September 11, 2010, before traveling to Guangzhou, China; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Budapest, Hungary; and Johannesburg, South Africa.
PARTICIPATING ARCHITECTS:
Ahmedabad, India | HCP Design and Project Management
Budapest, Hungary | Varos-Teampannon and Kozlekedes
Buenos Aires, Argentina | PALO Arquitectura Urbana
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Adjaye Associates
Guangzhou, China | Urbanus Architecture & Design
Jakarta, Indonesia | Budi Pradono Architects
Johannesburg, South Africa | Osmond Lange Architects and Ikemeleng Architects
Mexico City, Mexico | Arquitectura 911sc
New York City, United States | Terreform and Michael Sorkin
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Fábrica Arquitetura and CAMPO
RELATED EVENTS:
Saturday June 26, 2010 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Symposium: Architects, Developers, and Transport Planners on the Future of the City
Thursday, July 1, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Our Cities Ourselves: Visions for 2030
Roundtable discussion with Enrique Peñalosa, ITDP Board President and Former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and Exhibition Architects
Wednesday, July 28, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
New York City Streets: Top-Down, Bottom-Up
Saturday, August 7, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
FamilyDay@theCenter: Our Cities Ourselves
Thursday, August 12, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Bicycles as Transport: From Alternatives to Mainstream
