Street as open space and modelling principles
Dr. Dalia Bardauskienė, Anton Nikitin (Vilnius City Municipality, Lithuania) Training of teaching staff and public employees 17-18-19 January 2022
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Urban challenges • Since 2015 Paris agreement mitigating Climate change has been established as a common goal. • Urbanization & growth of population. • All the prominent cities addressing those issues, rethinking urban practices.
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Why rethinking practices ? Affected citizens beheivior and existing urban infrastructure. Raising concerns about the future (Pandemics could become inevitable due to the growing urbanization ( 2050 -1 billion citizens, etc.). Forces urban planners to decide what needs to be improved or added to the exiting practises.
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Questions to be answered • What Unconventional Public Spaces Have We Discovered, Could We Still Discover? • What small-scale urban interventions in residential neighborhoods would help people feel better, healthier? • If people work more from home, what is the role of the residential area as an independent neighborhood? • What are the challenges of urban renewal, conversion (internal development) when a pandemic has "pulled" even more people into the suburbs (urban explosion)? • Etc.
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Barcelona emphasizes on pedestrians
•Pedestrians will be given priority in many parts of the city. •Low-speed zones will limit vehicles to 10 kilometers an hour. •New street lanes will facilitate people to keep their cars off city roads and reduce emissions. •A tree-planting program is accelerated. •Guidelines for helping people follow socialdistancing •Etc. https://www.eib.org/en/stories/covid-19-urban-planning 5
„Gehl architects“ emphasizes on local meeting spaces (https://gehlpeople.com/projects/knight-impact-assessment/) Report “Adaptive Public Space: Places for People in the Pandemic and Beyond”: • Pandemic has shown how public spaces are more than just nice amenities; they are vital community hubs. • After improvement popularity of local meeting spaces in adjacent neighborhoods is 2 -2,5 times as much use (comparing to pre - lockdown data), • indicates that school yards, pocket parks and small squares serve more of an outsize role in urban life than have previously appreciated . 6
New York created street design manual „ The Street design manual“ - New York City’s comprehensive resource for street design standards, guidelines, and policies. It draws from a wide range of resources and experience to present a coherent set of choices for street design. http://nycstreetdesign.info/
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Vilnius emphasizes urban humanization • Sustainable development strategies - Master plan 2030; SUMP 2030) • CITY + direction - to make the streets alive, residential areas greener with a local identity, cozy courtyards. Supported by „Neighborhood” , „Create Vilnius” and “Public Spaces” programs. • Green wave - Urban Greening Policy • Public participation - (project review online, public information about projects, 3D model, Vilnius Happiness Index, urban governance digitization strategy). 8
Implementation actions The southern part of Vilnius is being reborn Station, Naujininkai, Markučiai districts. The streets are given to the people. Organized loop traffic in the Old Town; Beaches are suitable for everyone; 100 leisure oases are being created next to the house; Art moves into the unexpected spaces of the capital; 9
Investments in public spaces of Naujamiestis 30 mln. Eur.
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Detailed investment guidlines
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Challenges • Air quality - 69% (10th place), • Noise - 76% (7th place), • Green areas - 78% (6th place). https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/maps/ quality_of_life/ ).
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Case: Naugarduko Street as open space
Project launched by Vilnius city administration in collaboration with the architectural studio „Do architects“ (source: http://www.doarchitects.lt ).
Why Naugarduko street? • Is main street in the Naujamiestis district - Quite zone. • Functional connections with Old town • Public Services (good supply of schools, kindergartens, health care institutions, ) • Infrastructure in many places is worn out • Potential (about 1 million square meters for residential, commercial and environmentally friendly production) • etc. 13
Situation
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Situation
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Situation
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Naugarduko Street Vision Central New Town Street, become the important public space in this neighborhood. It would be cozy and green, alive in the evening and have markets on weekends. It would be where to sit, to drink coffee in the sunshine. Bike and scooters lines makes it easer accessible. 17
1 stage: Design & Implementation 2020 New pedestrian crossings were installed in the sections of Street. Bicycle lanes were painted on both sides of the street, many bicycle stands were installed. Shrubs and trees planted, equipped with "islands" with benches. Events organized for street revitalization.
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2 stage: Design & final implementation 2022 • New pavements will be laid, new parking spaces installed. • Arranged sidewalk lighting. • Street islands will be built in pedestrian crossings, bus stops, intersections. • Small squares, children's playgrounds and rest areas at the newly installed intersections will be built. 19
3 stage: continuity and dissemination The COVID-19 pandemic speeded up Vilnius attempts for green and mobile city. In 2021- 2022 municipality scheduled to humanize all the main streets: • to reduce the width of the streets line to 3,00 m. • to plant: 10 million shrubs; 300 thousand creepers; 100 thousand trees. • Etc. 20
Conclussions After street humanization process, obvious changes have taken place: • new cafes, shops, office buildings are being built, • projects of nearby public spaces are being implemented, • accelerated new developments and the rise of real estate prices. The practice in humanizing city is relatively new, but it gives hope that people (who during the Covid 19 experienced long stay in isolation), will move more on foot and by bicycle, will be more happy and healthy being more in green outdoors than indoors.
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CONCLUSSIONS • It presupposed a new street standard (12 principles), where the message, that the street is the main public space of the city, is clearly established. • Nevertheless, what are the challenges of urban renewal, conversion (internal development) when a pandemic has "pulled" even more people into the suburbs (urban sprawl) is still under the agenda...
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Thank you! Go forward! You can finde Vilnius activities: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/ 0/?tab=rm0&ogbl#inbox/ FMfcgzGkXSdhqZsNBXfsbCZQQTT BJsfp
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Urban Foot print...
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