Reconciling the Car and the City: A Vision of Productive Urban Mobility
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Date
2011-04-26T18:19:20Z
Authors
Pavlov, Ventzislav
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
The relationship between cars and cities is changing. The auto-centric development predominant in America in the 20th century is beginning to subside and disappear. It is being replaced by efforts to make cities more sustainable, enjoyable, and accessible by their citizens without the need to always own a personal vehicle. Given the issues inherent in building more infrastructure to support the ever-growing demand for automobiles, continuing to rely on fossil fuels to power them, or living in neglected spaces designed for machines, an alternative solution is needed. While entirely giving up the car today is socially, politically, economically, and physically impossible, new ways of dealing with it are becoming viable. These developments are currently in their nascent stages, but they hold immense potential to transform the way urban mobility operates in the near future.
This thesis explores architecture's response to this emerging reality and proposes that it is time for the car and the city to foster a productive relationship. In the past, architects and urban planners have designed and re-designed the built environment to accommodate the needs of the automobile. Today, there is a need for an architecture which integrates mobility and the means of powering it with vibrant and social urban space. Through the design of a networked mobility hub for Long Island City in Queens, New York, this thesis will re-imagine the relationship between cars and architecture, creating a new paradigm for dealing with the automobile in the city.
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Keywords
electric, car, car-sharing, urban, mobility, hub, New York, architecture