Milan Commits to a Less Car-Centric New Normal

Milan is making changes to its streets to ensure that the city's residents and employment base don't overwhelm the city with new automobile traffic when the city reopens for business.

1 minute read

April 22, 2020, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Street Fiori Oscuri

Olgysha / Shutterstock

"Milan is to introduce one of Europe’s most ambitious schemes reallocating street space from cars to cycling and walking, in response to the coronavirus crisis," reports Laura Laker. 

But the development has an additional layer of motivation that makes Milan a city to watch in the future, whenever the world's cities begin to emerge from pandemic: the city wants to make it harder for people to drive when the crisis is over. "City officials hope to fend off a resurgence in car use as residents return to work looking to avoid busy public transport," as explained by Laker.

To achieve those goals, the city has announced a plan to convert 22 miles of streets into an experimental citywide expansion of space for pedestrians and people on bikes to protect residents as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

More details on the Strade Aperte plan is available in the source article.


Tuesday, April 21, 2020 in The Guardian

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