Suburbs in Munich and Copenhagen are designed around and for diverse means of transportation. In contrast to this, the trend in American suburbs has been design around and for automobiles; travel by car is the only means of transportation built into the infrastructure, creating dependency on cars, unsafe roadways and traffic.
Since I have a strange obsession with urban cores and like to focus my attention away from suburbs (especially American suburbs, simply because I think they are characterless and ugly - wide, spread out lots and streets with cookie-cutter houses give me anxiety), I can't help but to notice how differently the suburbs in Europe evolved in terms of planning, design, and function.
A few pictures will help.
Brøndby, Denmark (suburb of Copenhagen)
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| Peds, Bikes, Cars/Buses |
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| Barrier between bike lane and street for added safety |
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| Street obstacles force cars to slow down |
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| Slower traffic increases safety to encourage bikers |
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| One-car-at-a-time |
Vaterstetten and Baldham, Germany (suburb of Munich)
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| Paths for Sunday afternoon walks |
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| Roadway incorporates greenery |
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| Smaller streets = slower traffic |
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| Mirrors help see around corners |
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| Designated "Play Street" - more on this later |
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| Mixed streets, varying priority for people/bikes and cars |
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| Several non-car "secret passage ways" |
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| Watch for bikes |
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| Watch for peds |
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| Sidewalk for peds, street for bikes and cars |
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| Cars never drive fast down these roads |
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| This stoplights only purpose is to stop traffic for peds |
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| Open for all kinds of traveling |
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| Similar road blocks in the street as Denmark |
Not many pictures are needed of American suburbs since they all pretty much look alike (images from Google).
How does one walk or bike around in this mess???
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