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I haven't done so much on the city design or Traditional City theme
this year. There's a ton of material already in the archives, and I
get the impression that very few people have really absorbed what's
in there. They get the basic message, but maybe not some of the
design subtleties.
Click
...
Here for the Traditional City/Heroic Materialism Archive
For today, let's just look at some nice Traditional City
neighborhoods. These are from all over the world, but, as you'll
see, they all look about the same:
"Really Narrow Streets," or what you could call "pedestrian
streets." Maybe "people streets." Most of them are Really Narrow, in
the 8-25 foot wide range from building to building. However, you can
also have "people streets" that are wider than that, even fifty or
sixty feet wide, although those are rarer because you just don't
really need that much width for people alone. Without literally
thousands of people, they can feel very barren and empty, actually
somewhat forbidding. "People streets" are streets that don't have a
central, segregated automobile roadway, although cars may in fact be
allowed there, as is quite common actually. Even if cars are
allowed, drivers will tend to avoid such streets unless they have a
specific reason to be there, such as a delivery or perhaps because
they live there. So, there isn't much traffic.
Buildings tend to be side by side (attached or nearly so), and right
up against the street with no front setback. This is not necessarily
the case, as we saw in some Japanese single-family residential
areas, but in general front and side setback is minimal.
Hanoi, Vietnam. "Really Narrow Street" about twelve feet wide in
this case. Cars (motorcycles) are not banned, but as you can imagine
you would avoid a street like this if you wanted to drive faster
than walking speed! No front or side setback. Fun!
Kufstein, Austria. Very different cultural tradition than Vietnam
(although not really; much of Vietnamese urbanism was influenced by
the French). Again, about 14 feet wide here, no front or side
setbacks. Doesn't that look like a nice place? Could you live there,
in a an apartment (large or small) on the second or third floor of
one of these buildings? I bet that would be pleasant. A lot more
pleasant than where you are living now? Of course. Why aren't there
places like this in the United States? Why don't we build some?
Naolinco, Mexico. There's actually a curb here, although I bet that
is more for drainage than anything. Same formula: Really Narrow
Street (about sixteen feet wide here I think), no front or side
setbacks.
Cartagena, Colombia. These look like townhouses. They can often have
very nice central courtyards (quite common in Latin America) and
backyards.
Provenza, France. Note the beautiful cobbled streets. You can do
this sort of thing when the street is only about 13 feet wide, as is
the case here. If you have an eighty-foot wide street, it becomes
very difficult and expensive.
Zanzibar, Tanzania. Looks a lot like France, Colombia, Vietnam and
Mexico. Why is that? It's because people are about the same size
everywhere. You would find that their beds and pants are about the
same size too. If that's the case, then why do we keep making
streets that are four times as wide as this? Do you wear pants with
a 120-inch waistline, or a bed that is 28 feet long?
We, in the U.S., have actually been making our streets way too wide
since long before cars -- beginning in the late 18th century,
actually.
target="_blank" July
26, 2009: Let's Take a Trip to an American Village 3: How the
Suburbs Came to Be
target="_blank" July
19,
2009:
Let's Take a Trip to an American Village 2: Downtown
target="_blank" July
12,
2009:
Let's Take a Trip to an American Village
It was never a matter of "we have cars now, so we need to make our
streets wider." Rather, it was a matter of: "We have these
enormously wide streets, which are full of mud because they are too
wide to pave, so walking sucks, and everything is really spread out.
It would be great to have an automobile." Suburbia actually dates
from far before automobiles. We made Suburbia first (the 19th
Century Hypertrophic pattern of single-family farmhouses on
quarter-acre plots, with very wide streets, front setbacks, etc.),
and then -- a century later -- made automobiles so we could get
around Suburbia more easily.
Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Street width of perhaps twelve feet here.
Nice place for kids to play. Living "close together" doesn't have to
be miserable, as it is in virtually all U.S. cities.
Unknown place. Street width about twenty feet here. See what I mean
that twenty feet is actually pretty wide? You wouldn't want it any
wider than this. It would start to feel very barren and harsh -- not
comfortable and cozy, like many of our examples thus far.
Busan, Korea. This is not an antique French village, it is very
modern and contemporary. However, the basic pattern is the same.
Street width about fifteen feet here. Buildings side-by-side and no
front setback. No sidewalks and segregated central automobile
roadway. The whole street is a "sidewalk." Note that there are cars
and motorcycles in the distance. Cars are not banned. But, they stay
to larger, "arterial" streets (with a central roadway and sidewalks)
unless they have a specific reason to go to a street like this,
typically because of some kind of pickup or dropoff.
Not all streets should be "really narrow." I suggest a ratio of
about 80% Really Narrow "people streets," 17% "Arterial" streets
with sidewalks and at least two lanes of automobile roadway, and 3%
"grand boulevards" of four-to-eight lanes of traffic. Actually, even
if 80% of your streets are Really Narrow, you are usually only about
a few hundred meters away, at most, from an Arterial street. So,
driving really isn't a problem. You just sneak in to the Really
Narrow Street for the last hundred meters of your journey. Also,
most of these places have excellent train systems, so you don't have
to use a car in the first place.
Hanoi, Vietnam. Motorcycles aren't banned, but this is still a
lovely Really Narrow Street. Note how walkers and drivers can get
along fine together, sharing the same roadway. The three people on
the right don't seem to have any problem with the fact that a
motorcycle just passed them by inches. He probably isn't going very
fast.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Whether a very large city of millions, or a
tiny village, the basic pattern is the same. Really Narrow Streets
of 8-20 feet wide, no sidewalks and central automobile roadway, and
buildings side-by-side with no front setback.
San Jose, Costa Rica. San Jose is the capital and largest city in
Costa Rica. This is actually a fairly wide street, but it has a lot
of people in it so that is fine.
Antigua, Guatemala. Another rather wide street, by "people street"
standards, but quite nice.
Chania-Crete, Greece. What's the width of this street? Maybe four
feet in places. But it doesn't feel "crowded" does it? Look how the
addition of just a few potted plants makes the mood very verdant.
Zarcero, Costa Rica. This looks like a quiet residential street. The
width is about eighteen feet perhaps. It doesn't look like people
here have high incomes, judging by the houses, but they can still
live in a pleasant and lovely place. It's not really about
architecture, or expense.
Zanzibar, Tanzania. People, bikes, and mule carts all getting along
together on a street about twelve feet wide.
Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi doesn't have any subways or trains, so a lot
of people use bikes and scooters. Here's an idea of how bikes,
scooters and people can mix together. Actually, it doesn't work so
well. It is far better to have a proper train system, so you don't
need to own a bike or scooter -- or, at least, not use it very much
to get around in town.
target="_blank" August
1, 2010: The Problem With Bicycles
Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is a fairly wide street -- wide enough
that, even with a lot of people, there is enough space to use some
of it for a street market. But, you can't have a street market on
every street. That's why most "people streets" should be 8-20 feet
wide.
Chiang Mai, Thailand. Lots of people here. Doesn't that look like
fun? Why don't we make something like this, in the U.S.? Actually,
we have.
target="_blank" August
21, 2011: How To Make A Pile of Dough With the Traditional City 6:
Better Than a Thousand Words
But, it is very rare.
Let's make more. Most streets should be "Really Narrow" people
streets of about 8-20 feet wide, for both commercial and residential
areas.
target="_blank" July
31,
2011:
How
To
Make a Pile of Dough With the Traditional City 5: The New New
Suburbanism
target="_blank" July
1, 2012: How To Make a Pile of Dough With the Traditional City 9:
Townhouses With Parking
target="_blank" November
11,
2012: HTMAPODWTTC 10: Let's Bulldoze a Big Box Shopping Center 2:
No, Seriously
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