People vs Transit Space: City Block Reversal

PEOPLE VS TRANSIT SPACEinversion for better usability

Hoby Van Hoose - hoby@ihoby.com

HOW TO GET

• Space for people where there is only space for cars

• Green space where there is concrete

• Community where there is division

• A balance of population density and personal space

• Potentially sustainable and self-sufficient units of city

WHAT TO BUILD FROM

• The city block - 300’ x 300’

• A basic apartment - 12’ x 42’ x 83’

• Grids - Sewer, gas, electricity, etc.

WHAT TO AVOID

• What we have now

• Spaces dominated by roads

• Desolate areas

• Too much density - over 150 people in an area

• Status stratification by amounts of altitude or land owned

EXPERIMENT!

• Take the apartment and see how it stacks up to allow patio space for all occupants.

• Reverse the city blocks - turn street intersections into the centers of the buildings and the middle of the blocks into green spaces.

• Allow walkability to extend across all surface areas

• Demote transit lines to below surface level

THE APARTMENTS MAKE PYRAMIDS

Take the pyramids and arrange their

centers over the previous street intersections...

NON-CITY CONFIGURATION

• Could be extruded to follow curving paths

• Shores of oceans or rivers, valleys and hillsides

• Could be formed into large rings

SURFACE USAGE

• Paths to allow walking over structures as if they were hills

• Native bushes, vines, and trees in “patio” areas

• Food plants

• Solar, wind, micro-hydro power generation

COMMUNITY CUSTOMIZATION

• Neighborhoods can be individual blocks or several blocks

• Neighborhoods are likely to specialize

• Farming, entertainment, markets, services, fabrication

• May exclude elements - transit, markets, etc.

IS THIS A BETTER FRAMEWORK TO START FROM? LET’S TRY IT!

Hoby Van Hoose - hoby@ihoby.com