“Future city streets will be in four levels,” says Mr. Corbett, architect, in Popular Science Monthly in 1925. “The top level for pedestrians, the next lower level for slow motor traffic, the next for fast motor traffic and the lowest for electric trains. Great blocks of terraced skyscrapers half a mile high will house offices, schools, homes and playgrounds in successive levels, while the roofs will be aircraft landing-fields.”
Traffic can be a nightmare – especially in big cities. A visual arts student filmed a 3-way intersection in NYC to show why 74 per cent of accidents happen in intersections: pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists running red lights, and motorists plowing through crosswalks.
But there are other places in this world where traffic is even less organized and looks more dangerous but still works – for example in India. Every one who owns a vehicle, whether a two wheeler, 3 wheeler or four wheeler has just learnt to manover the vehicle on the road, not in respect to the rules but in respect to the movement of other vehicles around.
Some European countries have adopted this form of traffic regulation, to minimise fatal accidents within city limits. It’s called “Shared Space”.
You might think the savest areas for pedestrians are pavements and sidewalks but this urban street design concept will prove you wrong: Studies show that drivers in “Shared Space” streets are 14 times more likely to give way to pedestrians.
“Shared Spaces” is a dutch design concept for urban areas which removes lane markers, curbs and pavements. Cars, cyclists and pedestrians are using the same street level. It makes the streets riskier and therefore safer – because it forces everyone to slow down and be aware of other people on the road.
Some European cities already adopted this design concept: You can find “Shared Space” streets in London (Exhibition road), Brighton New Road and even Graz (Austria).
4 minutes worth watching: “Manhattan in Motion” is a excellent time-lapse by Mindrelic (with a hint of tiltshift I guess). No surprise that it’s called the city that never sleeps.
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