Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
8-80 Cities
I've recently been making gentle fun of the fashion for initiatives to have numbers instead of names. Haringey's 12 in 2012 is an obvious - if embarrassing - example.
Through the webpages of HoL, Sophia_C recently introduced me to the work of Jan Gehl. Who in turn mentions 8-80 Cities. This is: "a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to transforming cities into places where people can walk, bike, access public transit and visit vibrant parks, streets and other public places."
The reason for their numbers? "If you create a city that’s good for an 8 year old and good for an 80 year old, you will create a successful city for everyone. This is an 8-80 City."
Has any HoL member personal experience of their work in Toronto?
Tags for Forum Posts: 8-80, 8-80 Cities, Canada, Toronto
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
-
Public Transit Public transport - please !
Of course, I'll repeat the same old question. Why do you have to look so far away for examples?
Everything planned or built for the American continent is not on a scale possible in the UK or London.
OK, they may not belong to the Anglo-Saxon family or speak English, but the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, in fact all the Eurozone countries, have exactly the examples relevant to the UK, that you are looking for. If only you'd look.
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
-
Eurozone countries
Stephen this is a naughty use of the term. Eurozone means the group of countries, being a subset of the European Union, who unfortunately are currently economically tortured by their membership of the Euro currency.
In the context of this thread, it would be more straightforward to say Continental or European. Was this a slip of the tongue or are you trying deliberately to conflate the two areas?
BTW, I don't agree with the premise. There is a difference in population density between US & UK. But Not everything planned or built for the American continent is on a scale impossible in the UK. Holland and Sweden's population densities are quite different.
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
-
I take your point, Stephen. Though are you really suggesting we ignore what happens in Jane Jacobs' adopted city?
In any case, the recommendation comes - via Sophia_C - from Jan Gehl (København) whose enthusiasm for 8-80 embraces its Executive Director Gil Penalosa (Bogotá). So there's more going on than a U.S. centred debate.
Have you viewed the video I suggested? Jan Gehl is hopeful there's strong international movement towards re-making cities to give priority to the eye-level, 5km/h perspective. What's your view?
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
Yes Stephen does have a point. Here's my point, won't a city suitable for 8 year olds and 80 year olds be completely unsuitable for teenagers?
-
-
-
I have now.. and his solutions seem to be coming from that part of the world I suggeted above. I would also say his ideas, are well, not really new.
His argument.. roads = more traffic is also not new, but on the right track. It needs, however to be widened out. Opening up streets to pedestrians, by removing railings, widening pavements. Priority in London is still given over to the car. That's what needs to be changed. Priority no.1 needs to be given back to people, pedestrians.Bloody minded restrictions on cars just make drivers resentful. An environment needs to be created in which they feel out of place driving in, before you'll convince people to leave their cars at home, or make women feel safer.
The American idea of people driving around from one place to another in their secure capsules, thereby avoiding the realities of city life, can't be right and what we want for the future of European cities.
-
Permalink Reply by Grant on
-
Gehl Architects produced a (presumably very expensive) report for the Mayor and TfL in 2004 (link here). Sadly key recommendations were ignored by the then Mayor and long forgotten by the time of Boris ‘smooth traffic flow’ Johnson.
The frustrating thing about this is, we know what needs to be done to make our cities more people friendly. You only have to travel 200-ish miles to see an entire country that over the last 40 years has had the vision to implement consistent improvements to the urban realm, improving the objective and subjective safety of people walking and cycling, leading to world-leading levels of active travel and thriving local economies. Around 12% of British kids age 7-10 travel to school unaccompanied, while the average age for a Dutch kid to travel to school unaccompanied is eight and a half. The Netherlands didn’t get to that point by ‘encouraging’ people to walk and cycle by telling them it’s good for them, a strategy that has comprehensively failed to deliver a modal shift in how people travel wherever it’s been tried, but continues to be the default option in the UK. It’s the infrastructure that makes walking and cycling normal and safe. Gil Penalosa really gets this as can be seen by the changes to Bogata when his brother was Mayor there. An interesting (15 min) presentation on 8-80 from Gil Penalosa can be viewed here, includes worldwide examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQWWhnjNUtc
I do however think that what’s going on in America is useful here, not least because UK politicians seem incapable of doing anything that has not already been given the seal of approval across the pond. New York, Chicago and other places reducing space for motor traffic to implement pedestrianisation and protected cycle paths further disproves the many false reasons given for why we can’t have ‘continental’ style streets here. Despite the protests of financial catastrophe and traffic gridlock predicted before the recent changes in New York, redistributing space from motor traffic has led to streets becoming safer, with increased retail sales and more reliable travel times for motor traffic (more here).
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
