Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study AbdelRahman, Beatriz, Fatemeh Technical University of Darmstadt “Mundus Urbano” International Cooperation in Urban Development On the Move Summary Inner-city multimodal transport hubs are complex structures. In them, we can depart & arrive, change means of transport & wait, and eventually get to do some late-night shopping. These experiences vary depending both on the individual situation as well as on the design, spatial, and social factors in the respective node. The paper presents a theme of public place and transit hub, how these elements could work together in order to enhance the spatial experience of the users in Willy Brandt Platz, Frankfurt, Germany. Keywords: transit hub; public place; multimodal; infrastructure
Introduction Transit facilities, from simple bus stops to major train stations, can be natural focal points for communities, becoming a gravity point for activity and revitalizing adjacent neighborhoods. But for transit stations to play a truly effective role in improving the livability of communities, they must be an integral part of community life, a Place that people come to a part of their everyday life. This paper discuss the integral relation between transit hub and its role as public place, not just as a infrastructure. In our case, Willy-Brandt-Platz in Frankfurt, Germany was chosen to show how multimodal transport hub has been used by daily commuters, and how their interactions with the physical spaces in the area could change the meaning of transit hub. Our research answers a rising question about, how transit hub could be a public place?. Therefore, the paper is divided into four main sections; what do we mean by space, place and public place?; Transportation hubs as public places; contextual analysis for Willy-Brandt-Platz; and a study on how to transform a transit hub in a public space through our case of study.
ABDELRAHMAN, BEATRIZ, FATEMEH
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Three methodologies were used in this paper, literature reviews and research team's observation, but that was not enough to build on our own argument, so we had to conduct interviews with users. But, we have to admit that the scheme of our research has a limitation. There was a limited time of study, weather conditions not supportive, and limited research team.
What are public places and what makes a space a place for people? To analyze our main question, first we have to understand the difference between 'space' and 'place' and how two words connected to the users. Concepts that in this approach doesn’t mean the same. Space is something abstract, without any substantial meaning. While place refers to how people are aware of/attracted to a certain piece of space. A place can be seen as space that has a meaning. Yi-Fu Tuan a philosopher in humanistic geography tried to define two concepts, as follow: 'Space' can be described as a location which has no social connections for a human being. No value has been added to this space. According to Tuan it is an open space, but may marked off and defended against intruders. It does not invite or encourage people to fill the space by being creative. No meaning has been described to it. It is more or less abstract (Tuan, 1977). 'Place' is in contrary more than just a location and can be described as a location created by human experiences. The size of this location does not matter and is unlimited. It can be a city, neighborhood, a region or even a classroom. In fact ‘place’ exists of ‘space’ that is filled with meanings and objectives by human experiences in this particular space. Places are centers where people can satisfy their biological needs such as food, water etc. According to Tuan a ‘place’ does not exist of observable boundaries and is besides a visible expression of a specific time period. Examples are arts, monuments and architecture (Tuan, 1977). According to Project for Public Spaces, main characteristics for a good public places should be: •
Community-driven
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Provide function before form
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Adaptable
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Inclusive
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Focused on creating destinations
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Context-specific
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
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Dynamic
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Trans-disciplinary
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Transformative
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Flexible
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Collaborative
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Sociable
A public place can also be considered what Oldenburg in 1991, introduced as a “Third place” , a place where people can simply interact with each other with no other concerns, where good company and lively conversation are its most important feature, the “heart of a community's social vitality and the grassroots of democracy” (Swapan , 2013). According to Oldenburg, the “first place” is home, “second place” is work and the third place summarizes the combined effect of common interest, social interaction and cultural value, a place of public realm. One of the biggest problems of our current urban environments is the loss of spaces.
Transportation hubs as public places A transportation hub is commonly known as a place to access a variety mode of transportation and exchanges a large number of passengers and / or cargo. However majority of transportation hubs lose their meanings when looking beyond their transportation mode, without trams, trains, cars or bikes most hubs becomes just an open empty space. A place usually completely disconnected from its community and reality, a lost space. Transforming a transportation hub from a lost space to a third place can have a positive environmental, social and health impact. It can influence people attitudes towards public transportation and encourage them to use more collective public transportation and less cars. Transportation hubs can become an attraction for using public transportation, instead of just having public transportation as attraction for transportation hubs. It enables a multi-functional use of space. It can improve pedestrian safety once it shift the priority of design from vehicles to people. It can enhance local market as it becomes a place to stay not only to go through and social interaction as it becomes not only a physical connector but also a social one.
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
At first, the idea of a transportation hub as a public place can seem to be odd and somewhat new but in fact it has been around for a long time. Some of the most famous transportation hubs in the world are actually also public places and attracts people every day, the Grand Central Station in New York City is a good example of it. The station enjoys far more visitors drawn to its shopping, dining, and cultural events, than actual transit users, having more than 750,000 people visiting it (Cavaluzzi, 2012). Just by looking at the same city , another example emerge as the East River Ferry Dumbo station that provides a park, restaurant, bars, public furniture and other amenities.
Left image: East River Ferry Dumbo Station, NYC (1) Right image: Grand Central Terminal, NYC (2)
Willy-Brandt-Platz, Frankfurt, Germany
ABDELRAHMAN, BEATRIZ, FATEMEH
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany, the largest City of Hessen. These important world metropolis consists of 46 districts. The Willy-Brandt-Platz (until 1992 Theaterplatz) is a place in the southwestern city center of Frankfurt am Main, created in 1810. Willy-Brandt-Platz is a Place in Frankfurt, which is named after Willy Brand (1913-1992), who was the fourth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located in the Frankfurt city ring between Untermainanlage and Gallusanlage and belongs to the so-called financial district. The area is characterized by the municipal opera and playhouse and the Eurotower. Under the square are the underground station Willy-Brandt-Platz and the Theater tunnel. There was the “Galgentor” from the 14th century, which is called “Gallustor” since 18th century. The second citygate was at today's Willy-Brandt-Platz about 16611662. After the demolishing of the city fortification, Sebastian Rinz planned the Wallanlage, a green space protected by the “Green Belt” from any encroachment. Green Belt is a green concept around Frankfurt. The part of the Wallanlange, which also belongs to Willy-Brandt-Platz is called Gallusanlage, because it connected the downtown with the Gallus (a district of Frankfurt). In the 19th century the Gallusgate was an important connection between the historic city center and the railway stations, because here was the ensemble of the three Westbahnhof. Today Willy-Brandt-Platz is an important financial and cultural area in Frankfurt. The design of the transportation space was for a long time based on the needs of car traffic, but the construction of the Theater tunnel ( 415 meter long two-lane road tunnel in Frankfurt, connects the Berliner Straße in the old town with the Gutleutstraße in the Bahnhofsviertel). That’s why most of this traffic could be transferred underground. Today willy-Brandt-Platz is also a hub in the network of the Frankfurt subway. It is a space for pedestrians, individual road traffic, trams and subway. And the transportation concept is based on the located cityring. The cityring is a road system around the downtown of Frankfurt. It consists of two concentric roads, each one-way-street, in the form of an open ring. The inner ring road is going clockwise, follows the course of the City wall of 14th century. The outer ring goes counter clockwise.
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Analysis Willy-Brandt-Platz currently serves as a transportation hub. Despite being surrounded by an Opera house, a green spaces (parks), the Euro sign, museum of modern art and the English Theater, there are only two amenities presented in; a row of benches, and the fairytale fountain (more distant). For further analyze to the quality of space and the current use of the space of Willy-Brandt-Platz it was conducted 6 interviews with local users alongside the observations (personal impressions) made by the research team. A total of seven people were interviewed: a security guard from Eurotower, a staff from the Opera house, a waitress from a nearby restaurant, and four people who works in the financial district. They were asked regarding the transportation used, relationship with Willy-Brandt-Platz, and the frequency of space usage. The interviewees confirm the observations made by the team. One of the points was clear that the commuters not feeling comfortable to stay, due to many reasons, namely; to catch up with next transportation, bad weather condition, not enough or pleasant landscape furniture to stay. As an observation, the space considered as transit-driven design, which creates a noise pollution, and overlapped circulation patterns that make space's user extremely alert. Also the disconnection between the green area, and grey-paved alley makes the users not comfortable to socialize.
How to transform a transportation hub in a public place through Willy-Brandt-Platz example Willy-Brandt-Platz is a transportation hub that is already located in between a green area and existing amenities and attraction , but fails to be an attraction , a public place, itself. To alter it into becoming a “third place”, it is necessary to remodel / review its design and incorporate more people and community centered features. There are a variety of possibility for doing this, however community participation and opinion are essential to have an effective placemaking process. Based on the interviews it was identified a need for restaurant / food amenities in the direct area of Willy-Brandt-Platz. Places to provide services, outside seating tables ABDELRAHMAN, BEATRIZ, FATEMEH
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
and community gathering, therefore providing sociable spaces. The benches encountered in the area were not considered comfortable, neither attractive and also makes a barrier to the Eurotower green area. The implementation of more people friendly public furniture, and removal of the existing barrier one, should be considered, especially on the right side of the hub (next to the Opera) , were no seating were found and also around the fountain to improve its positive impact. Replacing the existing benches, shading , organic features could be implemented to demark the limits between Willy-Brandt-Platz and the Eurotower park.
When breaking the barrier from the green space we also suggest incorporating more green spaces and nature in the hub itself, connecting to the green areas surroundings and providing a more organic atmosphere to Willy-Brandt-Platz. The free green area created serve as a good example on how to have a more adaptable and flexible space. In order to break the homogeneity of the hub, it should also be considered the incorporation of different types or colors of pavements to bring a more visual dynamic. Willy-Brandt-Platz has a large number of street artists, therefore a small step / stage could be created in the area, providing a proper public use place for those artists. The creation of small public events in general, such as the “Diner in blanc”, is highly recommended as community gathering tool for the area, there are already some sparse events occurring as protests and small summer sports, this measure could enhance this characteristic. At last, but not least important is recommended the demarcation of pedestrian safe crossing areas to enhance safety and make clear the pedestrian are priority.
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Willy-Brandt-Platz (current situation)
Transportation Hub and Public Space - Brief Study
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
Conclusion Through the Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study, this paper comes with the aim of advocating for a more multifunctional use of Transportation hubs and exemplify how can a transportation hub became a third space with the implementation of simple measures. The idea was not to provide a final design to Willy-Brandt-Platz, but add to it, features that can translate the concept of public spaces into design adding another function to the hub. The brief study was done based on the literature review in addition to the community opinion collected during the interviews. We acknowledge that, there is more than one concept to integrate transit hubs to public places. But, It is important to highlight once more the time, the resources and the weather limitations of the scheme of our research. However we believe that traffic planning and public place should not be separated and is an important topic to be discussed.
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Transportation Hub as Public Place, not just as Infrastructure: Willy-Brandt-Platz case of study
References Zandt, M. S. a. F. v. d. (2012). Space vs. place. Retrieved from http://geography.ruhosting.nl/geography/index.php?title=Space_vs._place Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and Place: the perspective of experience. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Project for Public Places. (2018). What is placemaking?. Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking Project for Public Places. (2018). Placemaking in transit. Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/article/placemaking-in-transit IOBY. (2014). How to Apply Plaza Principles to Transit Hubs. Retrieved from https://www.shareable.net/blog/how-to-apply-plaza-principles-to-transit-hubs Project for Public Places. (2018). Ten strategies for transforming cities and public spaces through placemaking. Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/article/ten-strategies-for-transforming-citiesthrough-placemaking-public-spaces Gehl, J. (2004). PLACES FOR PEOPLE: City of Melbourne. Stadt Frankfurt Am Main. (Cartographer). (2019). Willy-Brandt-Platz. Retrieved from https://geoinfo.frankfurt.de/mapbender/application/stadtplan Swapan, A. Y. (2013). 'Third Place'-an Urban Regeneration Strategy. ICERIE. Image 1 https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/park/pier-3-greenway-terrace Image 2 https://ny-cool.com/
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