UPGRADE RHODES CITY The City of Rhodes lies on the island of Rhodes in Greece. It is a small city of about 60.000 people, covering about 1.000 Ha and it is the capital of the Dodecanese Prefecture which includes a cluster of smaller islands.

To make things worse sidewalks are very narrow, most of them no more than 1,50 meters wide. In these narrow sidewalks, trees, streetlights, trash bins, parked motorcycles and cars take up all the space, making most sidewalks unwalkable. This is really a pity since natural elements are generous for our city, which , being small, flat and blessed with a perfect Mediterranean climate is perfect for walking and cycling.

This obviously creates traffic jams and a terrible parking problem, since there are very few dedicated parking spaces. Cars park everywhere, occupying every inch of available public space, including sidewalks, and a large part of the seafront. This creates a very ugly urban scenery, aesthetically devaluating the city’s historic buildings and seafront landscape.

Rhodes city is situated at the Northern triangular tip of the island, and its market and administration center is at the tip of the triangle. This functions as a funnel concentrating a large number of cars and people, locals and tourists, visiting for shopping, business, and tourism in a tiny space.

PIER EXTENTION PARKING LOT

UNDERGROUND PARKING LOTS

PARKING LOT BUILDING

SEAFRONT UPGRADE

INCOMING TRAFFICOUTGOING TRAFFIC

PARKING SPACES

Three axis of measures to resolve this situationA. Ban cars from the center of the city, an area 600 by 300 meters which is perfectly walkable as it is very small, relatively flat and blessed with a perfect climate, making cars completely unnecessary.B. Construct parking spaces for residents and visitors at the edges of the pedestrian area. The traffic has to be redistributed to serve the new situation and create more parking space. C. Change the use of some

administration buildings to reduce the number of visitors, and give a new cultural and entertainment aura to the city center. This would also make it more attractive to tourism, improving income.Freeing the seafront from parked cars, will open the way to upgrade it and, in combination with new uses for public buildings, create new attractive public spaces..

Small electric bus route circulates pedestrian area, connecting with parking spaces

PEDESTRIAN AREA

A VISION FOR RHODES CITYUPGRADE RHODES CITY

BEFORE

AFTER

UPGRADE RHODES CITYAXIS A : CREATING A PEDESTRIAN AREA

PIER EXTENTION

Ban cars from a major part of the center of the city, an area 600 by 300 meters as shown on the map, in which all ground level of the buildings is taken by shops, and above them mostly offices. The district is perfectly walkable as it is very small and relatively flat. The seafront street (Freedom avenue is the façade of the city of Rhodes, lined with historical buildings with administrative, cultural and entertainment functions.Getting rid of cars, which take over all available space, will upgrade the urban scenery, enhance business and make the city center friendlier to visitors and residents. More trees can be planted and green spaces created which will improve the microclimate, especially important in the hot summer months.

PEDESTRIAN AREA

In order to ban cars we must create parking spaces at the edges of the pedestrian district for visitors and residents. This demands space, which is hard to find in the confined space of the tip of an island peninsula. There are some solutions though

Two underground parking lots can be constructed. The sites are public owned and are already elevated from the street. One is a basketball court, which can be reconstructed over the parking lot, and the other is the edge of a public park, sloping upwards, so that the space over the underground parking lot can be landscaped and returned to the park. These are appropriate for parking sites for the residents of the center.

A large parking lot can be constructed at the small Mandraki harbor, by extending the pier apron and creating a submerged parking lot. This can be quite large, 10.000 sq. meters or more, solving the problem of parking for visitors, and also creating a new seafront landscape that will give new life to the region.

By rearranging the traffic, parking spaces will be created in the North part, while many of the existing ones are retained.

Another site is available where a parking building of 2-3 stories can be built, if needed.

MEDIEVAL CITADEL

UPGRADE RHODES CITYAXIS B: PARKING SPACES

The port is serving mostly small yachts and tourist boats. Yachts will move to the new Marina that has just been constructed, so there is no problem in reducing the port size.This is the most crucial measure and the ideal spot for a parking lot, since this is the major “starting point “, a spot from where visitors and locals have access to the new city center, the Medieval citadel, and the Moat Park, whose main entrances are also here.

AXIS B SUBMERGED PARKING LOT

PARKING ENTRANCE

MEDIEVAL

CITADEL

CITY

CENTER

HISTORICAL PLAZA

MOAT PARK

The extended pier above the submerged parking lot will create a new seafront plaza, as an extension of the existing historical Freedom Avenue plaza. It should be designed in a contemporary style to clearly distinguish and separate from the historical part.

It can be used for the departure of tourist boats that are now crammed along the old seafront where space is clearly not enough for the people that concentrate, ticket booths and street vendors, who take up all the available space. A low building can accommodate the ticket booths and shops , and there is ample space for street vendors and pedestrians.

AXIS B SUBMERGED PARKING LOT

It could alternatively be designed with a reference to the history of Rhodes ( Rhodes was the Island of the sun in ancient times . The sun rising from the sea would be an interesting theme to explore). Thus the new seafront could become a landmark for Rhodes city.Of course the design of the new seafront and parking lot calls for an architectural competition .

Changing the use of some administration buildings will reduce the number of visitors, and incoming cars, and give a new cultural and entertainment aura to the city center. The two buildings that are changed are the court house and the District Administration offices.

• The District Administration building is a beautiful Italian building of the 1930’s on the seafront. The seafront behind the building is now a sea of cars, mostly of the people who work there, an unattractive backspace of the city.Freeing the seafront from cars and making the ground floor of the building commercial, with cafés and shops will create a new beautiful public space.

UPGRADE RHODES CITY

Overall these actions can radically transform and upgrade the city of Rhodes, making it friendlier to the inhabitants, and more attractive to tourism, promote culture and create new jobs and business opportunities, improving income.All of the above I consider are completely feasible, as they involve only public spaces, handled mainly by the local authorities (Municipal and District). Construction cost would be a serious restraint, but maybe some of the projects could be self – financed, since they create businesses and can become sources of profit.

• The court house is a large building of the 1930’s, situated on the historical seafront, that is inadequate for today’s needs anyway. It is ideal for a music conservatoire (which is something that is missing from the island), since it has large spaces suitable for small concert halls and enough spaces for teaching, studying, offices etc. and a beautiful small atrium for entertainment.

AXIS C : NEW USES FOR HISTORICAL BUILDINGS