RETHINKING THE FUTURE

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

SUSTAINABILITY IN DESIGN STUDIO - FALL 2022

IN THE FUTURE, AS HIGHWAYS BECOME OBSOLETE DUE TO WALKABILITY AND ROBUST PUBLIC TRANSIT, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SPACE AND INFRASTRUCTURE LEFT BEHIND?

Issue At Stake

THIS GRAPHIC AIMS TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT MANY METROPOLITAN CITIES EXHIBIT TODAY. THE AUTOMOBILE HAS CAUSED CITIES TO BE TORN THROUGH WITH MASSIVE HIGHWAYS, OFTEN SPANNING 16+ LANES ACROSS. THESE HIGHWAYS SEPERATE COMMUNITIES, AND OFTEN MAKE CITIES HARDER TO TRAVERSE ACROSS ON FOOT OR ON PUBLIC TRANSIT. HIGHWAYS ARE OFTEN CLOGGED WITH BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC, AND ULTIMATELY LED TO THE ENDLESS SPRAWL OF CITIES AND SURROUNDING SUBURBS. IN THE BACKGROUND YOU CAN SEE THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE SLOWING BEING OVERTAKEN BY URBANITY: AUTOMOTIVE CENTRIC DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION FOR OTHER USERS.

EXISITNG HIGHWAY EXAMPLE

75/85 CONNECTOR

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Example New Uses Of The Highway System

Typical Highway Transit

Urban Agriculture

THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS INCLUDE: TRANSIT WHICH UTILIZES THE LINEAR ROADWAYS FOR RAIL LINES OR BUS LINES WITH STATIONS TO PROVIDE MORE EFFICENT AND HIGHER DENSITY TRANSPORTATION THROUGHOUT THE CITY. URBAN AGRICULUTRE TURNS RIGHT OF WAY AND EXISTING ROADWAYS INTO URBAN FARMS WITH LARGE SCALE CROP PLANTING, AS WELL AS RAISED GARDEN BEDS FOR COMMUNITY GARDENS. THE ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR APPROACH OFFERS A WAY OF BRINGING NATURE BACK INTO THE CITY BY REFORESTING CORRIDORS AND CREATING BIODIVERSITY, INCREASING WILDLIFE, AND CREATING PLACES TO EXPERIENCE NATURE WITHIN THE CITY. AND LASTLY, THE LINEAR PARK APPROACH TURNS FORMER ROADWAYS INTO PUBLIC GREENSPACE IN THE FORM OF PARKS AND GREENWAYS.

Ecological Corridor Linear

MODELS CREATED USING SKETCHUP AND LUMION.