The modular nature of Dutch streets—precast bricks, pavers, and curbs—transforms every infrastructural upgrade into an opportunity for a liveability upgrade. In Delft, scheduled sewage pipe replacement on Eliza Dorus- and Anna Beijer-straten allowed for the creation of woonerven ("living streets").🧵 - ThreadSky

modacitylife.com • 14 days ago

The modular nature of Dutch streets—precast bricks, pavers, and curbs—transforms every infrastructural upgrade into an opportunity for a liveability upgrade. In Delft, scheduled sewage pipe replacement on Eliza Dorus- and Anna Beijer-straten allowed for the creation of woonerven ("living streets").🧵

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modacitylife.com•14 days ago

They consist of five features: 1) A clear and distinct entranceway—such as a speed hump—providing a sense of leaving car space. Out-of-scale signage is discouraged, seen as clutter to the streetscape, and replaced with design elements that emphasize the space is for people rather than motor traffic.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

2) Shared space between cars and pedestrians: With no clearly defined vertical separation or "travel lane", forced ambiguity between walking, cycling, and driving is critical to slowing drivers and cyclists down, and giving people on foot—especially kids—free reign to move (and linger) in the space.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

3) Physical traffic calming measures: These include width reduction, speed humps, raised intersections, chicanes, one-way features, and texture change. Bricks are ubiquitous, as they create noise and vibration inside a car, leading the driver to believe they're speeding and voluntarily slowing down.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

4) Limited on-street parking: Availability should be limited and only to local residents. This helps to restore the sightlines and “openness” of the street, inspiring free movement across its entire width for playing and gathering residents, and preventing cars from becoming the predominant element.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

5) Outdoor furniture and landscaping: These elements should be used to make the street more attractive; reclaiming it as a space for spending time. This includes trees and gardens, sitting areas, play equipment, and places for communal dining. Visible and secure bike parking should also be provided.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

Made in Delft and spreading across the globe, the woonerf is a simple solution to many complex problems cities face in the 21st century. Streets are not set in stone, and from the loneliness epidemic to the climate crisis, changing them must be how we respond to a world rapidly changing around us. 🔚

bonrod.bsky.social•14 days ago

Thank you for this informative thread!

tallentire.bsky.social•13 days ago

How do they keep the klinkers level?
I usually much prefer tarmac to flagstones but the dutch paths work.

students4justice.bsky.social•7 days ago

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musiqolog.bsky.social•14 days ago

These cosy narrow streets were never designed for cars in the first place. This is a 1930s working class neighbourhood, no Dutch labourer could dream of a car back then. Allowing them to drive unrestrained at 50 km/h would be a huge mistake.

honyocker.bsky.social•14 days ago

To be clear: there is a "no entry" sign for cars at the entrance. It's effectively a wide sidewalk - not a street at all.

modacitylife.com•14 days ago

To be clear: it's one-way traffic for cars, and two-way for everything else. See element number three.

amendez.bsky.social•14 days ago

Eliza Dorusstraat looks like it had cars parked all up and down it before. What do they tell the presumably angry parkers about where they can park and what keeps them from parking there now?

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