Wishful thinking? No. This transformation is of similar pro- portions to the one experienced when the industrialised world trans- formed itself into the car-oriented society of today. Car manufactur- ers in conjunction with the oil industry successfully lobbied for an aggressive highway system that put suburban development on ster- oids, making it not only a possibility but the preferred alternative to traditional urban life. This transformation was unstoppable; there have been very few other historical moments with such a concurrence of interests: the cultural perception of a better way of living com- plemented quite neatly by the interests of big corporations, swiftly backed up by politicians with the necessary regulatory backup. Climatic change and emerging environmental awareness are creating a new alignment of interests based not on a perception of how we might live better, but on the assumption that such a transforma- tion will ensure that life itself will continue. As research and scien- tific evidence amasses, the future looks bleak indeed. As pressure on leaders and political institutions to deal with global warming and environmental degradation increases, cities are likely to become the preferred ground for a fair number of initiatives — escalating oil prices and pollution levels demand measures that reduce car de- pendency, favour public transit and increase densities. The potential for the most change exists in personal and public transportation – more bicycles on the road, more designated bike lanes. Bicycles and pedestrians will share the public realm with al- ternative mobility options such as Segways and electrical bikes, re- placing some or most cars (even if alternative technologies reduce the nasty side effects of internal combustion engines, personal cars still require significant and unconscionable space to circulate and park while consuming massive amounts of resources for production and maintenance). Public transit can be diversified: high capacity buses with reserved lanes, people-movers along pedestrian corridors and personal rapid transit systems (PRTS), where small automated vehicles in dedicated lanes transport people directly to their desti- nation. Streets, therefore, will be forced to accommodate different overlapping systems of mobility at the expense of driving lanes. As with most human inventions, accumulation of knowledge results in better and more elegant solutions. It is impossible to know how streets and cities will evolve and change as society shifts paradigms; technology, education and social aspirations seasoned with ample doses of chance will play equally important roles in defining the emerging dominant trends. No mat- ter how they develop, streets as design artifacts will have an obliga- tion to be responsive to climate and location and, most of all, to be tailored to reflect local values and cultural standards. Streets should be the sites where people act in concert, as Hannah Arendt defined politics in its broadest sense. Maybe then, by understanding the streets as spaces of true social interaction, they will echo a new and better urban ideal. p
over-developed streets in Toronto: we must take care when street uses change and when even more uses are added
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street, street smarts, street life: onsite 19
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