Living in a city with 150,000 other people gains you access to
amenities that could never be made available in the countryside:
cinemas, theatres, museums, art galleries, libraries, restaurants,
coffee shops, swimming pools, bowling alleys, roller discos, bars, nightclubs...
The list goes on.
And in this city at least, you get excellent public transportation.
By mixing in retail, offices, and, where possible, light industry
with residences, all areas of the city are occupied 24/7, helping to
reduce crime, and making it a real, breathing city.
The Best of Country Life
But by dividing the city into districts, you also get to live in a
community of about 4,300 people – effectively a large village.
At 600 metres across, these districts are built on the human scale.
It takes about 4 minutes to walk from the edge
of a district to its centre where the transport halt and the majority of shops
are located.
Equally, the countryside is only ever a 4 minute walk away.
And since these districts are fully pedestrianised, then instead of
the fumes and engine noise and horns and danger of other cities, here
you get fresh air, quiet, and streets safe for children.
A city is more civilised not when it has highways, but when a child on a tricycle is able to move about everywhere with ease and safety.
-
Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá
Medium Density
Density is hugely important in eco-city design. More people living
closer together means...
walking, cycling and public transport become the
preferred modes of transportation.
a wider variety of shops and services can be
supported near to homes.
a more vibrant street life.
public transport gets more riders so everyone gets a
higher quality service.
more of the surrounding countryside is left intact.
Houses would average 2.5 storeys, meaning 2 storey with usable attic
space.
Row houses would be the most common, each with it's own back garden
and very small front garden. Semi-detached houses with side gardens are also possible at this
density. And courtyard houses can provide almost total privacy, at
the cost of slightly smaller gardens.
The centres of these districts are built to a higher density.
Blocks average 4 storeys high and are built around interior courtyards.
City Centre
The central district is larger at 950m across, increasing the walk from its edge to
the transport hub at its centre to
just over 6 minutes.
It is also much more vertical. If the outer districts are
eco-villages, then the central district is a whole pedestrian eco-town
unto itself.
Blocks would be 5 storeys or higher, again built around interior
courtyards.
Generally the ground level would be retail, with offices and apartments above.
And the architecture could be much more daring here – streets in the sky,
bridges
stretching between buildings, rooftop gardens...
