On Thursday morning, March 14th, we gathered for an engaging meeting of XCARCITY at TU Delft X building. A group of students from Prof. William (Billy) Riggs’ class at the University of San Francisco joined us to discuss approaches to car-free cities.
By Azarakhsh Salem
The session began with Bart van Arem introducing the XCARCITY project. Following this, the attendees introduced themselves. Arjan van Binsbergen then presented two case studies on car-free cities, focusing on Almere and Amsterdam-Zuid. He elaborated on Zuidas, a business district undergoing transformation into a mixed-use area, highlighting the challenges of creating a better and more attractive living environment.
Jaap Brouwer from the Municipality of Amsterdam further discussed the challenges faced in this area. Arjan van Binsbergen then continued by explaining Almere’s urban development as a new town. Subsequently, Bart van der Poel from TNO presented the Urban Strategy, a strategic spatial-transport-impact planning tool.
Following the presentations, the students were divided into four groups. Each group prepared a SWOT matrix, analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the transition to a car-free or low-car future in the example areas. At the end of the session, participants employed a ‘persona’ approach, stepping into the roles of specific stakeholders. They engaged in discussions regarding their motivations, priorities, desired collaborations, and identified potential areas of conflict.