Streets have been optimised for one thing: traffic. A kind of ‘urban rewilding’ could return them to the complex social ecosystems they once were
But just as swathes of our countryside were repurposed for farming, over the past century our city streets have been optimised for one goal: to move people around as quickly as possible, unhindered by anyone using public space for other purposes. This has its benefits – who wouldn’t argue that it is useful to be able to get from one side of a city to another quickly and efficiently – but they have come at a cost.
Where we live, for example, in the Netherlands, there are almost as many parking spaces as people; if you were to put all these spaces together, they would take up more room than the total surface area of Amsterdam. Most are on public land, but cannot be used by the public in any other way. You may be surprised to hear this, since the Netherlands is widely known as the cycling capital of the world.
But, as Peter Norton explores in his book Fighting Traffic, within the span of a single decade, the idea took hold that the city should adapt to the car. Traders were no longer allowed to offer their wares in the streets, only in dedicated, regulated markets. Children stopped playing outside and had to be taught from an early age to watch out for motorists, rather than motorists keeping an eye out for them. Pedestrians were consigned to the pavement.
Look at your street. What do you see? Probably a pipeline for fast and free-flowing car traffic. Maybe a cycle lane that supports another kind of – admittedly more environmentally friendly – traffic. Parking spaces. Possibly bike hangars. Not a place for neighbours to congregate, children to play together. Not a place for citizenship.to include urban patios and parks, reclaiming its streets from traffic.
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