The importance of fresh and inspiring discourse cannot be overstated. In Vienna the urbanize festival brings critical and fresh urban discourse to the city each year.
In 2022 LAUT contributed to the program by leading a guided tour through the Supergrätzl Favoriten and by participating in the discussion “Reclaim the Streets!” together with colleagues from Barcelona, Berlin, Milan and Paris. Many thanks to the team at derive for bringing about the urbanize festival as well as inviting us to share our insights with colleagues and an interested audience!
The climate-friendly »15 minute city« modell is starting to reclaim public space in cities worldwide: Streets and squares are becoming green recreation zones for the neighbourhood; public transport, walking and cycling are given priority. But the farewell to the car-oriented city creates conflicts and requires strategy as well as political courage.
In Paris, the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo wins elections with the promise to cut 60,000 parking spaces and to make France's capital a climate oasis. In Berlin and many other German cities, the civil society network »Changing Cities« is pushing for a climate- and bike-friendly urban transformation; Milan's »Piazze Aperte« programme has been transforming 38 streets and intersections into recreational zones for the neighbourhood in only three years time and, like Valencia and it's »ciudad the plazas«, is using tactical urbanism for rapid change; in Vienna the »Supergrätzl Favoriten« resembles the first test site for the implementation of the superblock concept.
What do strategies for a successfull climate-friendly urban transformation look like? How important is the role of participation? What experiences and learnings do already exist internationally?
An evening full of good practice with:
15 min City, Paris: Mobility and public space
Yann-Fanch Vauléon, APUR, Paris
Superblock: Creating new public space in Barcelona and Valencia
Jokin Santiago Elorriaga and Marta Sola Páramo, Leku Studio, Barcelona
The Piazze Aperte Programme, Milan
Demetrio Scopelliti, AMAT Milan
Developing streets as a community asset
Florian Lorenz, studio LAUT, Vienna
Changing Berlin, Changing Cities
Ragnhild Sørensen, Changing Cities e.V., Berlin
Moderation: Joshua Grigsby
