Shared Space-Reconciling People, Places and Traffic

For several generations, the spaces between buildings have
been dominated by the requirements of traffic engineering,
with its language of signs, traffic signals, bollards, barriers,
curbs, and road markings. As a result there has been little
opportunity to express community values, history, or a
sense of place through the configuration of streets and the
spaces between buildings. In many mainland European countries
this is beginning to change. The assumption that highway
engineering and urban design are irreconcilable has
been challenged by new approaches to safety and traffic
management. Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a specialist in urban
design and movement, describes some of these changes
and sets them in their broader historical context. Examples,
drawn from work in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and The
Netherlands, outline a radical approach to the design and
management of the public realm.