Challenge / Goal
Public space is a rare resource. Currently, private cars take a lot of public space as they are parked, on average, 23 hours a day. In the inner city of Berlin, less than half of the households have a car. The SrV (System of Representative Traffic Surveys) found that the majority of daily trips, roughly 82%, are made by foot, bicycle or public transport. Therefore, the question arises how public space can be designed to benefit as many people as possible and promote active mobility.
The location of the street experiment is characterized by a large traffic area, on which there is a small square. This space has hardly been used for activities other than parking cars. The goal of this project is to explore how changing traffic patterns enable new uses of public space.
Solution
Through the partial closure of a traffic intersection for five weeks, a new city square was generated. Alternative parking options (underused supermarket parking spaces) have been provided for the eliminated parking spaces. The creation of a pedestrian zone temporarily changed the traffic rules in parts of "Wundtstraße" and "Horstweg" in Berlin-Charlottenburg. For the duration of the project, various elements were provided that invited people to stay and use the free space in a new way. On the city square there were freely accessible seating options, a table with chairs, deck chairs, wooden benches and hammocks, as well as a play box with badminton, basketball, football, skipping ropes and street chalk.
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Log inTime period
Planning time
6 months to 1 year
Implementation time
Less than 6 months
Implementers
Institute of Transport Research (German Aerospace Center) & district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Service providers
Institute of Transport Research (German Aerospace Center) within EXPERI research group
End users
pedestrians & cyclists
Improving life quality