PERFORATING the city
Permeable bike lanes for climate-resilient cities
Urban mobility is shifting from fossil-based, motorized transportation towards more sustainable ways to commute. Striving for a climate-resilient and safe city, mobility infrastructure transforms by decentering the car and redesigning cycle paths and cycle networks on a large scale.
At this moment in time, green mobility in particular needs to take on a planetary perspective and must avoid sealing even more surfaces.
Therefore the project „Perforating the City“ calls for a water-sensitive approach to urban bike lanes. Reacting to increasing weather extremes, the systematic approach aims to build mobility surfaces with permeable modules. By introducing decentralized rainwater management, the rain can percolate through the surface and be stored both in the ground and in the modules themselves, preventing flooding and contributing to groundwater. In times of heat and drought, solar radiation is reflected off the light-colored surface, stored water evaporates and supplies urban flora with cooling effects for the microclimate. The result is a mutual benefit from both the mobility and the planetary perspective that makes it especially valuable for cities to invest and combine funding.
The capitalogenic climate crisis increasingly triggers unprecedented climate changes, notably in urban areas, with a surge in extreme weather events – ranging from intense rainfall and floods to prolonged droughts and soaring temperatures. Faced with increasing urbanization and densification –two-thirds of the European population already live in conurbations– the element of water is of central importance in urban climate adaptation strategies. The way we deal with urban rainfall will determine whether we succeed in transforming particularly vulnerable areas into climate-resilient cities.
work in progress
PERFORATING the city
Permeable bike lanes for climate-resilient cities
Urban mobility is shifting from fossil-based, motorized transportation towards more sustainable ways to commute. Striving for a climate-resilient and safe city, mobility infrastructure transforms by decentering the car and redesigning cycle paths and cycle networks on a large scale.
At this moment in time, green mobility in particular needs to take on a planetary perspective and must avoid sealing even more surfaces.
Therefore the project „Perforating the City“ calls for a water-sensitive approach to urban bike lanes. Reacting to increasing weather extremes, the systematic approach aims to build mobility surfaces with permeable modules. By introducing decentralized rainwater management, the rain can percolate through the surface and be stored both in the ground and in the modules themselves, preventing flooding and contributing to groundwater. In times of heat and drought, solar radiation is reflected off the light-colored surface, stored water evaporates and supplies urban flora with cooling effects for the microclimate. The result is a mutual benefit from both the mobility and the planetary perspective that makes it especially valuable for cities to invest and combine funding.