suburb wellbeing

Project Marlborough Calgary Phase 3 - Elaborate & plan : Places for wellbeing

Indra131788 Kooge

Preface The following phase (Elaborate & plan) has the aim to further contribute on one specific concept or by recreating a new concept through combining perceived successful elements of the various concepts. From the ‘Concept phase’ three concepts derived: Lively hubs: Realize a transition from public spaces, such as cul-desacs, the mall area and parks, with a lack of interaction and identity towards more inviting, comfortable, multi-use and safe places to recreate Active neighbourhood: Redevelop the community centre into a physical and inviting more transparent and inviting landmark, attractive platform for bottom-up design and recreation initiatives, and above all a place to meet for all residents.

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Human streets: redesigning the street profile, with more space for nonmotorized transport, safer underground and on-street parking and more social control on the backstreets The concept is chosen based on factors that have the aim to balance the demand and wishes of the residents as well as the ones of the public and private organisations to advance the likelihood of political and commercial support.

The concept that was perceived most powerful by Urban Dutch is the Human streets concept and shall be the subject of this document. The designs for human streets within this document are done from a places for wellbeing viewpoint.

To further explore what is possible and what the effect are with these design elements.

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index

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• Preface • Index • Concept • Location • The 5 buidling blocks • 1 - Divide traffic flows • 2 - Make non - motorized traffic inviting • 3 - Public green • 4 - Private back alleys • 5 - Connecting private and public • Summery building blocks • Conclusion

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Concept The large, empty and unused spaces need to transform into a human friendly environment.

Less focus on motorized traffic and more focus on slow moving traffic. To achieve this the roads need to transform into streets that inviting to humans. To accomplish this the sidewalks need to be larger, bike lines need to be implemented, the street has to be broken up to a smaller space and adding several public green areas is wanted.

Besides the streets also the problems of the back alleys by transforming them from public accessible to semi – private underground garage like area. This also creates bigger back gardens and gives the possibility to trade that space for a couple of meters of front garden, if this is needed in the new street design.

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Human Streets

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Location?

The concept we are using for Marlborough, Calgary does not need a speciffic location, because the sub urban street will be re-designed. The North - American sub-urbs are all pretty simulair. They all use the same way of designing neighborhoods and all got the same pro’s and con’s. This results in a negative view on these kind of neighborhoods because they lack identity. When comparing Marlborough in Calgary with Orane County in California we dont even see mayor differences. Small elements may be different but the general lay - out is the same.

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Just compare the typical sub urban neighborhood with London or Amsterdam, that have a blooming social community and even attract tourists from all over the world.But all over North - America we see the same failing design over and over again, that effect the wellbeing of humans on an individual scale but also, maybe more important, on a social scale.

The social mammal, that is hardwired to live in groups, now all live on their own isolated world in these grey and desolated sub - urban neighborhoods.

index

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The 5 Building blocks To transform the streets into more human centered spaces several elements in the public space needs to change. The streets of Marlborough or any other sub urban neighborhood are expired and not of this time anymore.

We have lived with these kind of neighborhoods for over 50 years and have come to the conclusion these do not work.

To improve the wellbeing of the residents in Marlborough five building blockes have been created that each tackle surtain challenges in the neighborhood.

With these changes, some of them small, some of them large, human behaviour and wellbeing will improve.

Not only spatialy but also mentally.

In the next couple of chapters each building block will be explained what challenge they tackle, why this must be adressed and how these work.

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Divide traffic flows

Making non-moterized traffic inviting

index

Public green

Private back alleys

Connecting Private & Public

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Divide traffic flows What needs to change?

The streets in Marlborough, Calgary are not really streets but roads. They are focust on car usage and getting from A to Z in the most time efficient way, but people forget there are 24 letters in between. The wide open roads in the neighborhood look like race tracks now, creating an unpleassant place to be at and create a lot of dangerous situations, for example when people are trying to cross the road.

Why and how does it need to change?

The roads need to be transformed into streets instead of race tracks. A import thing is to implement road markings and making the roads more narrow. This will make the streets more safe, because people tend to drive saver in these kinds of areas. This also includes the implementation of cycle lanes. With the current state of mind of the residents cycling is not even seen as a mode of transport. When they think about it they see it as something dangerous, because not a sane person would dare to cycle through car traffic, let alone a race track. A final implemantation would be the creation of pedestrian crossings where they have right of way. This will shorten the journey for pedestrians and create saver situations for all modes of transport.1 11

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enviroment and planning B: planning and design 1998, volume 25

PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES

Effects • The road hierarchy will become clear and there is room for all modes of transport.

• People drive more safely on smaller roads • Less noise and co2 polution • Cycling and walking will be seen as an option • A saver and healthier neighborhood.

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Making non-motorized traffic inviting What needs to change?

The infrastructure for non- motorized traffic like biking and walking are not very inviting or non existing in Marlborough. The effect of this is that people hardly walk or bike and the street are deserted. People only traffel by car and have no connection with the streets nor public space.

Why and how does it need to change?

When houses are connected by sidewalks and/or cyle paths that are connected to the urban fabric, the walkability improves.

By using a system of infrastructure that is connected well and has positive physical elementes that improves the ecperience, it will encourage people to walk and bike and people will use it.

An other effect is the commutity it builds with it. The results of this are that people tend to use their car less and go on by or on foot more often. Because of this people get a better physical health, obesity levels and other health problems are lower.

Besides this people see their neighbors more often and human interaction is improved. So putting emphasis on sidewalks and bikepaths instead of roads people get more healthy and social.1 E. McCann, New Urbanism, International Encyclopedia of Human Georaphy, 2009

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PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES

Effects • When a street is designed for slow traffic, it will be used by slow traffic and less by motorized vehicals • Less Car usage • Higher rates of bike usages • Need for public space goes up • People that cycle and/or walk more are more healthy, social and happy • A less motorized place will be more calm • Residents will get to know each other, because the will see each other more often • Les co2, thus a healthier enviroment

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Public green What needs to change?

Marlborough has a lot of greenery in the streetview, but hardly any of it is used in some way or another. It mostly excisit in the form of dividing grass that has only been implemented for the greenery statistics when the neighborhood was designed.

People do not use these areas nor do they improve the livebility or wellbeing of their residents.

Why and how does it need to change?

All these spaces can be used in several ways that improve the wellbeing for the residents. The public green can be used as a divider for roads, making them saver and blocking co2 and noise polution.

When green areas are redesigned within the streets they can make the streets less wide and thus make the spaces more cosy. Besides these functions green spaces can also be used by the residents for recreation and health. For example when trees are placed, plant fruit trees that transform polution into healthy free food for the neighborhood. The unused front yards can be transformed into vegtible gardens in cooperation with the local government, providing work and food for the residents without a job or kids.1 15

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N. Sheppard, Productive trees in urban environments: Streets and public space, heartfoundation, 2011

PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES

Effects • The street can become less wide and thus create a more cozy street

DOORSNEDE

• Noise and co2 polution go down, creating a healthier neighborhood.

• Nature has a positive effect on both human mind and body • Roads can be divided up by greenery and thus creating a safer place.

• By implementing specific plants, they can creat food, work and hobbies for the residents.

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Private back alleys What needs to change?

The back alleys in Marlborough are notorious for crime and the neglected state they are in. It does not improve the livability of the neighborhood. The only function it has now is for residents to park their car. This can be done in a improved way.

Why and how does it need to change?

Because the alleys attract crime and are not visually pleasing they will be totally transformed. The former back alleys will dissapear in total and will be repleased by an semi - underground parking facility for residents, that is only accesible by them.

This will not only create a safe area for residents to park their car, but it will also enlarge their backyards.1

PRINCIPLES

A. Nasution, Public open space privatization and quality of life, Department of architecture, university o Sumatra Utaram Indonesia.

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PRINCIPLES

Effects • “Back alleys” are only accesible by residents.

• Crime rates will drop • Bigger back yards • Larger place to park cars • The car will dissapear from the street view.

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Connecting Private & Public What needs to change?

At the moment there is no connection between private and public. Houses are build relatively far from the street and have no interaction with it. This urban settup creates roads instead of streets, where people are not very common in the streetview. This creates areas where neighbours do not know each other and where people do not feel responsible for the state of the public spaces and streets.

Why and how does it need to change?

The houses need to be connected to the public space. Most houses are located far from the public space by a front yard.

These front yards are partly owned by the city and go unused. By making the front yards more narrow and the sidewalks more wide the public space is closer to the houses. This will improve social safety and connection to the public space. Within this public space furniture can be added to create an more inviting space. By doing this several points are being improved, like the walkability, social interaction, community feeling and the feeling of responsibilty for the public space.1

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Sjoert Soeters, Lecture ideale straat, Amsterdam 2016.

PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES

Effects • Focust must not only lie on sowely the buildings but more on the space between the buildings and what happens inside the buildings on ground level • Smaller front yards make a better connection between private and public • By having the public space closer to the houses, people will see it as their own.

• Adding furniture will boost people to use the public space • Social interaction will improve when the public space is closer to the housing units

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Summery Buidling blocks

Divide traffic flows

Every building block improves the streets on its own, but when these building blocks get combined with each other they can strenghten each other. we use the divided traffic flows as a basis and adding other building blocks to this single building block the results are very positive.

Effects

Effects

• The road hierarchy will become clear and there is room for all modes of transport.

• When a street is designed for slow traffic, it will be used by slow traffic and less by motorized vehicals • Less Car usage • Higher rates of bike usages • Need for public space goes up • People that cycle and/or walk more are more healthy, social and happy • A less motorized place will be more calm • Residents will get to know each other, because the will see each other more often • Les co2, thus a healthier enviroment

• People drive more safely on smaller roads • Less noise and co2 polution • Cycling and walking will be seen as an option • A saver and healthier neighborhood.

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Make non-moterized traffic inviting

Public green

Private back alleys

Connecting Private & Public

Effects

Effects

Effects

• The street can become less wide and thus create a more cozy street

• “Back alleys” are only accesible by residents.

• Noise and co2 polution go down, creating a healthier neighborhood.

• Crime rates will drop

• Focust on the space between the buildings and what happens inside the buildings on ground level • Smaller front yards make a better connection between private and public • By having the public space closer to the houses, people will see it as their own.

• Adding furniture will boost people to use the public space • Social interaction will improve when the public space is closer to the housing units

• Nature has a positive effect on both human mind and body • Roads can be divided up by greenery and thus creating a safer place.

• By implementing specific plants, they can creat food, work and hobbies for the residents.

• Bigger back yards • Larger place to park cars • The car will dissapear from the street view.

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Conclusion When adding inviting non - motorized traffic lanes the streets will get divided up even more, resulting in a saver space for all traffic.

When public green is added in the right way, these divided traffic lanes get even more saver and the street have a smaller feel to them. This results in less speeding, more inviting area for non - motorized traffic and people tend to use the public space more often and thus gettin more social.

When transforming the back alleys people can have bigger back yards, a saver way to park their cars and get rid of the dangerous areas surrounding their houses that bother residents. And lastly adding the building block connecting private and public, people will have a closer connection with the street, both physical and mental. Social safety is improved and people tend to get more social with each other because they see each other more often.

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Sfeer

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