[This project was completed in a group with Laura Lapadat and Iulia Lup]
This project looks at the development of sustainable future cities using computational thinking and urban theory. As a consultant for the Northern Gateway development, we are proposing a tool that will help people from the construction industry to develop compact sustainable cities quicker, easier and in a more efficient way.
Given the climate emergency and the rising risk of warming urban environments, we want to bring back awareness towards the complexity of the urban form. Non-active modes of transport and private car use in the urban environment contribute to over 60% of the total carbon emissions, posing a threat to both economic development and human wellbeing. There is a strong co-dependence between urban form and modes of transportation which highly impacts carbon emissions. Addressing the shape of the cities and urban mobility is key in moving towards sustainability and increased efficiency.
As a result, we designed a tool that would allow people to design their own compact and sustainable neighbourhood based on a set of rules that will affect the infrastructure plan, density, distribution of amenities, green area, accessibility and proximity. To augment the performance of the Northern Gateway neighbourhood, individual buildings within the proposed development will also be optimized for maximum efficiency.
The end goal was to create a tool that will prioritise active travelling, access to green areas and public spaces and last but not least a smart infrastructure to develop a neighbourhood that is well connected to its surroundings.
