Zonghao Wei

Urban Transformations & Sustainability: Planning Complex Cities

Water-Centrum, Dam Square, 2070

Shifting Urbanity - Urban Experiment on Walkability and Traffic Efficiency, Enlarged Amsterdam Centrum in the Automated Era

Vehicles and pedestrians have been competing for spatial resources for centuries. Automation technology represents a historic opportunity to reclaim the street and to correct mistakes of a century of urban planning. The project aimed to explore a new relationship between traffic efficiency and walkability in Amsterdam Centrum. Finally, it proposed a dynamic system in 2070 when AVs will be fully applied. The basic idea is that urban programmes can move automatedly. So, a double-surface ball-structure with different versions is designed to contain variable urban programmes. At the regional scale, a multiple-centre system is created to distribute overcrowded pedestrians in the current Centrum, and each centre is a pedestrian theme park. In addition, there will be efficient programme transportation by canal between centres. At the street scale, the streetscape is dynamic, with usage of street space differing at various times to satisfy different groups of people.

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