Streets are important spaces in urban areas and form resilient collective spaces for all of us. Streets are adaptable by their ability to integrate new uses and new technologies. Now and tomorrow. Within the balance of new societal, sustainable and technological challenges and demands, street design must be redefined. In five sessions ´The Future Design of Streets´ will be explored and shared by various speakers from different countries. What are possible new strategies for street design? Who is using the street space? How can we design to improve streets? And, which questions are important to ask?

Streets are more than ever a social human space, to meet and to move. Spaces of interactions and conflicts. Spaces for cultural and economic activities. Ecological spaces for flora and fauna. Human spaces that are full of tales, with individual stories and collective histories. Streets are physical spaces that are constructed layer by layer, adding and replacing components and sub-systems, changing streets every time into contemporary spaces. The urban world is facing major challenges for equal and participative societies, sustainable environments and new technologies. What if work and education will be closer to our homes, turning the neighbourhood scale for more people the main daily urban system. How can spatial planning react better to challenges on sustainability and climate change? Shall streets be transformed into ecological spaces? Why should it be possible to move always and everywhere? Is fast mobility a right or a possibility? What can we expect on novel mobility technology and artificial intelligence? Shall we appreciate more walking and cycling? And, what is the impact on how we use and design streets? Shall we use streets more as a social space?

In this second edition of the Webinar Series, we will continue to open up our spectrum of views to understand and imagine the wide possibilities on Street Design. The aim is to define the future design assignment, for new streets and adaptation of existing streets, by recognising the diversity and complexity of urban life. Within a context of uncertainties and new possibilities a whole range of new street types can be re-imagined. This inquires a critical look on how we can design our streets of the future. In a series of short presentations and open talks, we will explore this through the lens of five themes.

The webinar series took place in the period May-June 2021. All sessions are still available to watch. See red arrows below.

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SESSIONS

Design!
about design tools, flexibility & resiliency

5 May, 17.00-18.30 (GMT+1)

speaker

Joyce van den Berg

Joyce van den Berg (Zeist, 1977) graduated with distinction as a landscape architect from both Larenstein College and the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. She works at the Amsterdam municipality, and had previous positions at offices as West 8 and MTD. Van den Berg gives lectures regularly and is active as a guest lecturer for the Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam and Bauhaus-Universität, Weimar.

speaker

Frederico Sá

PhD in Architecture (Urban Planning Profile), University of Porto (UP). MA in Urban and Regional Planning (University of Aveiro, UA) and a BA in Civil Engineering (Spatial Planning, Transports and Environment, UP). Assistant Professor and Full Researcher at GOVCOPP, University of Aveiro. Special focus on land use and mobility planning, and on infrastructures design and development. Author of several scientific articles and book chapters. He has been involved in several projects, including land use plans and sustainable mobility plans. He was responsible for the development of a strategic plan for the expansion of the light-rail system of Porto and for the evaluation of its overall impact. Managing partner at UEst.

speaker

Stefan Signer

Stefan Signer, Architect, M.Sc. (born 1981), has been working as a Teaching and Research Associate at various urban Design chairs at the Bauhaus University Weimar since 2014. Together with Hilde Barz-Malfatti, he published the book "New Public Spaces - European Urban Squares in the 21st Century“. His teaching and research focuses on public spaces.

Sun & Rain!
adaptation to climate change

12 May, 17.00-18.30 (GMT+1)

speaker

Marta Labastida

Architect (ETSAB-UPC, Barcelona 1998), Master of Landscape Architecture (ETSAB-UPC, Barcelona 2000) and PhD in Architecture (EAUM, Guimarães 2013). Researcher at the do Centro de Investigação Lab2PT (Landscape, Heritage and Territory Lab) of the Universidade do Minho. Since 2002, professor at Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho (EAUM). Director of the Centro de Estudos da EAUM (2015-2019), as coordinator of urban studies and projects. Since 2001, Marta works as architect, associated with arq. Carlos Maia, on various projects with different scopes (urban strategy, landscape, urban design and planning), and led teams with different national and international projects. In the period 2012-14, Marta was part of the editorial team of the JA magazine, and in 2016, was team member of the university competition of Trienal de Arquitectura in Lisboa.In Barcelona, Marta worked with the architect Manuel de Solà-Morales and at the CRPP - Centre de Recerca i de Projectes del Paisatge, UPC - with architect Rosa Barba.

speaker

Sanda Lenzholzer

Sanda Lenzholzer studied landscape architecture at the Leibniz University Hannover (Dipl. Ing.) and Housing and Urbanism at the Architectural Association School in London (MA). After that she was a designer associated with various agencies in the Netherlands and Germany (e.g. Sant & Co, Mecanoo, ST Freiraum). Since 2004 she has been working at Wageningen University and specialized in the relationship between research and design and especially climate-oriented urban and landscape design. Through her research projects (e.g. Climate Proof Cities, Climadaptool, REALCOOL, SOLOCLIM) she contributes to improving the knowledge base of climate-oriented urban design. Since 2020 she leads the landscape architecture group of Wageningen University. In the recent past her focus shifted towards a broader approach that integrates different fields into the design of public spaces. She publishes widely, advises design agencies, municipalities and provinces, and gives guest lectures and master classes in many countries.

speaker

Jan Benden

Jan Benden studied urban planning and urban design in Hamburg, Sevilla and Barcelona. He worked as an urban planner for MUST stedebouw in Amsterdam from 2000 until 2003. After a two-year traineeship at the municipality of Bonn he worked as a researcher at the department of city and infrastructural planning at RWTH Aachen University from 2006 until 2014. During his time at University, he gave lectures and he worked on different projects that focused on the adaptation of cities to climate change. In 2014 he finished his PhD-thesis on the integration of urban floodwater management into the design of streets and public spaces. Since 2015 he is urban designer and partner at MUST Städtebau in Cologne.

Let's meet!
activities & social places

19 May, 17.00-18.30 (GMT+1)

speaker

Andres Sevtsuk

Andres Sevtsuk is an Associate Professor of Urban Science and Planning at MIT, where he also leads the City Form Lab. His work bridges urban design, active mobility and spatial analysis technology. Andres is the author of the Urban Network Analysis toolbox, used by researchers and practitioners around the world to model pedestrian flows along city streets and to study coordinated land use and transportation development along networks. He has recently published a book entitled “Street Commerce: Creating Vibrant Urban Sidewalks” with Penn Press.

speaker

Juan Carlos Romero

Juan Carlos is part of the Strategy+Innovation team at CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati. An architect and MSc in Management in the Built Environment from TU Delft, where he graduated with a thesis on collaborative planning for urban regeneration projects in Latin America, Juan Carlos has developed throughout his career a strong interest on the way that people interact with each other and with the built environment, with explorations on different scales from interior design to urban planning. Previously, he studied architecture at Universidad de los Andes and worked with a number of design firms in Latin America and Europe.

speaker

Aat Vos

After over thirty years of designing libraries, Creative Guide and Architect Aat Vos developed a unique view of spaces with a public program. His mission: to create places where people feel welcome and inspire others to do the same. Vos works as a consultant for the renewal of libraries and public places throughout Europe. In collaboration with residents and professionals, he elevates public spaces to a higher level and transforms these into ‘third places for all’ that contribute to and cater for localism. The right balance between physical elements like context and content, and non-physical elements like communication and competencies, is what makes public spaces a success. Vos has distilled the essence of this balance in his concept of The Butterfly Principles of Design for Programmability. Among his most inspiring projects are Hubland Library in Würzburg, Health Hub in Roden and Deichman Biblo Tøyen in Oslo.

Plan it!
planning the right conditions

26 May, 17.00-18.30 (GMT+1)

speaker

Pedro Homem de Gouveia

Pedro Homem de Gouveia coordinates the Road Safety & Security Working Group of POLIS, the leading network of European cities and regions committed to transport innovation. He’s an architect with extensive experience in Universal Design, Public Space, Pedestrian Accessibility, Street Safety, Urban Governance, Public Participation and inquiry for design (surveys, focus groups, structured observation, user testing). He worked for more than 20 years at the local level, as a strategist, designer, trainer, consultant and political advisor. In the City of Lisbon, he developed and implemented the Pedestrian Accessibility Plan and several traffic calming projects, and kick-started the Vision Zero planning process.

speaker

Maarten van Acker

Maarten is Professor of Urban Design at the Faculty of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp and spokesperson for the Research Group for Urban Development. His research focuses on the interface between urban design and infrastructure design. During his PhD he studied the impact of mobility infrastructure on the urbanization of Belgium since the 19th century. Afterwards Maarten continued his research on urban (infra) structures in New York at Parsons - The New School for Design. Maarten regularly supports city councils, design and engineering firms and project developers with complex projects. He is partner at JUXTA architectuur, a leading architecture studio in Flanders. Maarten is part of the steering committee of EUROPAN Belgium, the international architecture and urban design competition, endorsing emerging designers.

speaker

Paul Lecroart

Paul is a Senior Urbanist for the Paris Metropolitan Region Planning Agency, advising authorities on strategic planning and transformative projects (including Paris Olympic Project, Regional Masterplan 2030, Ring Metro Project, Regional Park Systems). Paul works on the future of highways in the Paris Region, drawing on research he conducted in Seoul, New York and other cities; he currently chairs the METREX ‘From Roads to Streets’ Expert Group working with EUROCITIES on highway-to-boulevard change. His experience includes planning and design in many cities (Rabat, Cali, Medellin, Erevan, Tehran, Guangzhou, etc.), and he was a member of the International Advisory Board for the 4th New York Regional Plan and a Coordinator for Metropolis, the global network of cities. He teaches strategic and tactical planning at Sciences Po, Paris and has contributed to books, films and research publications, including ‘Cities Change the Word’ (December 2019). Street photo: Embarcadero Boulevard replacing Embarcadero Freeway, San Francisco (44000 cars a day). Credits Paul Lecroart.

Play!
streets for young & old

2 June, 18.00-19.30 (GMT+1)

speaker

Natalia Krysiak

Natalia Krysiak: A practising architect and founder of Cities for Play, Natalia specialised in the design of child-oriented and community environments. She is a passionate advocate for playful cities and spaces, engaging in placemaking and research initiatives around the world. In 2019 Natalia was awarded a Churchill Fellowship exploring global best practice for designing child-friendly, high density neighbourhoods. Her research explores how we can create more playful and child-friendly urban environments.

speaker

Patrizia Di Monte

Architect by IUAV, Venice. Mibact fellowship for a Masters and PhD at ETSAB. In 1998 she founded with Ignacio Grávalos Lacambra "Grávalos-Di Monte arquitectos" in Zaragoza (Spain). They have promoted and implemented the "ESTONOESUNSOLAR" program which transformed abandoned voids into public spaces, including over 40 urban interventions. Awarded by Eurocity 2011, Urban Innovation and Quality 2010, SAIE Selection, II Biennale Spazio Pubblico 2013, Living Labs Global Award 2013, their works are internationally published in architectural magazines. Invited Architects to the Venice Biennale, Italian Pavilion, Taking care in 2016, Arcipelago Itaia in 2018, to collective exhibitions of the NAi in Rotterdam, Daz in Berlin, Maxxi in Rome, Ministerio de Cultura and BEAU, Madrid, the Citee de l 'Architecture in Paris. Currently. Visiting Professor in several international universities and currently project partner of gE.Co, research program funded by EU, Horizon 2020.

speaker

Martin Arfalk

Martin Arfalk is a founding partner of Mandaworks. Mandaworks is internationally recognised for its innovative approach to masterplanning, urban design and space making. Martin is an experienced landscape architect that brings to the team a thorough understanding of quality urban space creation, progressive neighbourhood design and the integration of landscape and urban conditions. Martin Arfalk has many years of international experience. He has participated in several award-winning projects and his strength ranges from conception to completion. Martin’s recent work includes leading projects to redevelop a historical waterfront brownfield site in Stockholm (Sweden), the large scale masterplanning of a new city center in Nacka (Sweden) and the masterplanning and public space design of the extension of the city of Vaasa (Finland).

MODERATION, INITIATIVE, ORGANISATION

speaker

Daniel Casas Valle

Daniel is an urbanist - urban designer and planner - with a broad experience based on urban planning practices and academic activities. He is for more than two decades connected to urbanism, as a designer and researcher. Currently, he is working on various urban design projects and planning studies at his office Urban Dynamics in Porto/Amsterdam, at the MDT/CEAU/FAUP as a researcher, and as invited assistant. professor at the Escola Superioir de Gallaecia in Vila Nova de Cerveira and at the University of Minho, Escola da Arquitectura, in Guimarães. Daniel holds a master on urbanism (Amsterdam, NL), and completed his PhD at the Faculty of Architecture, Porto University, in 2018 (cum laude). As responsible team leader he also won several urban design and planning competitions, as: Willemspoort (´s-Hertogenbosch, NL), Marinhas (Esposende, PT) and Eixo Imaginarius CC - Cineteatro AL (Santa Maria da Feira, PT).

speaker

Ivo Oliveira

Architect (FAUP, Porto, 2000) with a Master in Architecture Territory and Memory (FCTUC, Coimbra, 2007) and PHD (EAUM, Guimarães, 2015). Professor at the EAUM since 2004, and since 2015 researcher of LAB2PT at Minho University. Is researcher on topics as road infrastructure and public space in widely urbanized territory. Ivo contributed to different research work as “NO Void - Ruins and vacant land in Portuguese cities: exploring the dark life of abandoned urban spaces and alternative planning proposals for the perforated city” (2015-19) and “The Sea and the Shore, Architecture and Marine Biology: The Impact of Sea Life on the Built Environment” (2018-20). He is director of the Integrated Master in Architecture program and member of UM-Cities board from 2017, a platform that seeks to promote and value exemplary practices in the city and territory, namely how they can contribute to a more sustainable and fair society.

WEB, COMMUNICATION

speaker

Bruno Moreira

Bruno Moreira is graduated and master in Architecture by FAUP, with experience in all stages of architectural design and communication, and is currently finishing a PhD in Urbanism. He’s a researcher in the Center of Studies for Architecture and Urbanism (CEAU-FAUP) since 2010, member of its research groups Urban Dynamics and Morphologies and Center for Spacial Communication and Representation, focusing his research in territorial management instruments and in communication and representation of architecture. He was assistant of Computer Aided Architectural Design and of Communication, Photography and Multimedia and invited teacher of Computer Aided Architectural Design and Computer Aided Design in FAUP, and is currently an invited teacher of its REVIT Training Course. He is member of the Portuguese Institute of Architects, of Cityscopio, a cultural association dedicated to documentary and artistic photography on architecture, city and territory, and a certified instructor with practical, research and teaching experience in interdisciplinary fields such as architecture, photography, geographic information systems, BIM technologies, 3d modeling, archviz and webdevelopment.

speaker

Teresa Correia

Vice-President of the Board of Directors and Director of Communication at Gallaecia Higher School. In 2017 obtained the Title of Specialist in the area of Design. In 2012 she attended the 1st year of PhD in Design, in the Department of Communication and Art at the University of Aveiro. She completed the Masters degree in Design in 2009, also at the University of Aveiro and graduated in Communication Design from ESAD (Higher School of Art and Design) in 2004. Since 2005 she has collaborated with the Architecture Atelier Loftspace, projects.

ORGANISATIONS

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Escola Superior Gallaecia, Vila Nova de Cerveira
Escola da Arquitetura, Universidade do Minho, Guimarães
Research group Morfologias e Dinâmicas do Território, Centro de Estudos de Arquitectura e Urbanismo, Faculdade de Arquitetura, Universidade do Porto