What makes a town an eco-town? Solar panels? Wind
turbines on rooftops? Hybrid/electric/hydrogen fuel-cell cars?
No. No. And 'no' underlined and written in bold.
The first step must always be to reduce, and to reduce as much as
possible. The energy and water we use in our homes, the distance
our food travels, and the need for cars all need to be minimised.
Now probably the best way of achieving this is by building towns and
cities of 6 to 8 storey mixed-use blocks, and by banishing cars to the
edge of town.
Unfortunately, the world is coming round to these ideas far, far too
slowly.
But what if you could have dense, walkable communities and still live
in a house with a garden? What if you could have connected, carfree streets and still park your car on the driveway? Welcome
to ecotownZ.
Pedestrian Eco-town
The design below is for an eco-town for 24,000 residents.
Row Housing
Neighbourhood
Centre
Clean Industry
Pedestrian Street
Green Space
Road & Car Parking
It's a pedestrian town:
walking and cycling are the main modes of transportation, and cars are
only needed for travelling out of town and for moving heavy goods.
Multiple Centres
At 1,500 metres across the town centre is never more than a 10 minute
walk away. Smaller neighbourhood centres keep local shopping -
grocery stores, farm shops and many other services - within a 5 minute
walk of every home.
Density Without the High-rise
Pedestrian towns need to be dense and compact. Here that
density is achieved without resorting to high-rise apartments -
residents can still live in a house with a garden.
Segregated Road Layout
The main thoroughfares within the town are the pedestrian streets.
Free of cars, these streets make walking and cycling safe and enjoyable.
Roads are hidden behind the backs of houses, allowing residents to
park their cars on rear driveways but without compromising the
pedestrian environment.
Where the pedestrian streets cross roads, zebra crossings give
pedestrians the priority.
