Design Guide Public Space, Groningen

Commissioned by the municipality of Groningen, Felixx worked together with Goudappel, Stipo & Marco te Brömmelstroet on the ‘Leidraad Openbare Ruimte’ (Guide for the Public Space) of Groningen. The Guide is an inspiration document for a new kind of public space with less space for parked cars and bicycles and more space for green, sports, play and social interaction. STREET AS STARTING POINT The starting point of the Guide is the street. That is where the human scale is most prevalent. In order to design streets for people, it is important to rethink the street as “a shared space,” a public space for people rather than a mere functional connection from point A to B. [diamantlaan|compare] Ten Dimensions The Guide proposes a design method in which mobility is no longer normative but where accessibility, safety, perception, health, social interaction, ecology, climate adaptation, economics and cultural history together make up the street. By naming these ten dimensions at the outset, a new balance between all these interests is created. Street typologies A selection of fourteen street typologies has been developed that together represent the entire street network of the municipality of Groningen. This enables us to position each street within the urban fabric. Now, Soon and Later  In order to visualize the spatial tasks of the future street, street analyses, inventories and inspirational images are made of the current situation, the new street after a redevelopment and a possible development of the public street domain in a further future. We call these stages Now, Soon and Later. [bedumerstraat|compare] Street profile of Bedumerstraat with graph of the ten dimensions. Now, soon & later. Iconic places The ambitions of the Groningen municipality require a long-term change of mentality. The Guide offers an attractive future for Groningen, the city and the village centers. Something to look forward to. Therefore, iconic places have been selected in the Guide where a future dream is visualized. The ten dimensions of the street have been applied to three characteristic Groningen places with corresponding street typologies. Each place represents a specific identity and role within the planning context of the city in the past, the now, soon and later. Inspirational image of the Hogeweg © Plomp On  December 22nd, 2021, the City Council approved the Guide for reorganizing mobility and public space throughout Groningen. The document shows which dimensions are necessary for a high-quality public space and helps the conversation with inhabitants about the opportunities for a better quality of life in the streets, the neighborhoods, the city and villages. A copy of the intergral Guide (in Dutch) can be downloaded as a pdf document here (LowRes 38Mb) or here (HighRes 100Mb).