As part of a new initiative of the multidisciplinary laboratory based in Mexico, dérive LAB presents "Shared Streets", a project with a focus on urban design that seeks to spatially transform the street so that it is governed by human relations, rather than using traffic control devices; this suggests that the street is not only a space for transportation and mobility but one in which many other social, economic and cultural activities take place.
A shared street is one that is designed with alternative elements to transform the road space into a common space that can be negotiated among all the people who use it. Counterintuitively, it is assumed that the elimination of signage, curbs (segregation between sidewalks and vehicular lanes), as well as other control devices, added to the integration of textures, pavements and urban furniture, favors the reduction of the speed of motorized transport, making these streets safe spaces, where vehicles and people on foot, bicycle and other modes of active transport, are able to regulate and negotiate their passage and permanence in the space. This undoubtedly favors social infrastructure and provides ample opportunities to integrate green infrastructure and equipment.
- dérive LAB
In 2015, the first Shared Streets manual was published in Spanish, as a first approach to the concept and its possibilities in terms of traffic calming, increased road safety, and recovery of public space. As of 2021, the laboratory has worked hand in hand with the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development (GIZ) GmbH in Mexico through the program "Climate Protection in Mexico's Urban Policy (CiClim)", specifically developing different approaches to the topic of shared streets and exploring their capacity to bring safety to streets, increase the resilience of cities and mitigate the impact that motorized mobility imposes on public spaces.
In the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and with the support of different organizations and neighbors of the San Roque neighborhood, a pilot version of a Shared Street was implemented, testing some of its premises: by means of a continuous surface, in this case, achieved through a yellow grid that managed to blur (symbolically) the limits between the sidewalk and vehicular lane, and using a series of flexible furniture, it was possible to configure the street in different ways. This reduced the speed of cars and buses and gave more space for rest, leisure, and coexistence in a place normally occupied by parked cars.
Over the course of a few weeks, the street was used in very different ways from the usual ones; neighbors took ownership of many of these pieces of furniture, placing plants on them or using them to offer seating for their diners; children took back the space previously occupied by cars, playing and asking motorists to slow down; cultural and recognition activities took place such as the rap of the shared streets, Nocturna, walk for women and La danza de lAs albatros; Choreographic ensemble in three times. Based on these experiences of participation and imagination, an urban design project was developed and delivered to the Tuxtla Gutiérrez city council for its implementation, which could bring great environmental and mobility benefits to those who pass through daily and frequent the streets, as well as to the city in general.
- dérive LAB
For more information on Shared Streets, visit dérive LAB.
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Project Name: Shared streets; meeting streets
Architecture Office: dérive LAB
Office Country: Mexico
Year: 2021-2022
Constructed Area: 920 m2
Location: San Roque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Architects in Charge: Ximena Ocampo, Francisco Paillie
Design Team: Marcelo Sánchez, Alejandra Hernández, Andrés Sáenz, José Álvarez, Jesús Méndez
Collaborators: XLXS, Andrés y José, Laboratorio Ciudadano, Astrolabio. Artes vivas en contexto, Te’etik and Memoria Construida
Photography and Video Credits: Jessy Carmelina Victorio Robles and Luis García Escobar
