Sustainable urban roads

A detailed urban road study cannot prescind from the theme of recovery of its role as heart of urban life. This premise implies a subversion of the common trend to consider the road as a non-place designed for the mere car transit. This presumed car hegemony is the main cause of degradation in urban areas. The increase in vehicular flow and the related harmful phenomena (accidents, harmful emissions, noise, land consumption) cause the disappearance of “relational spaces”, therefore a net decrease in volume and content of activities of which the road is the scenario. On the contrary, the road has to be a scenario for a wide range of high social context and calibre events; these presuppose that the road is also a stage for a wide range of voluntary and social activities. These activities pretend high standards of thermal, acoustic and visual comfort areas with accessibility, safety and aesthetic value necessary to persuade people to a more fruitful use of the road.  It is fundamental, in the recovery of a road system strip, to provide a holistic approach, and at avoiding the use of standard solutions, taking each area as a unique and distinctive.