Is Zurich becoming a showplace for creative streets?

Take care of it yourself! 

However, it is not quite that simple. In order to use public land, which also includes public streets and car parks, the requester must first submit an application for authorisation. This not only takes time until it has been checked by the public authorities but also requires the payment of a fee. [3] Simply buying a parking ticket and moving the living room outside one’s front door for a day is unfortunately not an option. 

It is therefore not surprising that restaurants, for example, which were allowed to use streets for their guests during the pandemic due to legal adaptability, have now removed their terraces and the streets have become less lively as a result. So, who will bear the costs for a street transformation that can be used by all? If a neighbourhood association does not do this, for example, even the greatest streets will die again after the summer. This is unsatisfactory and hardly sustainable. The public authorities justify this tactical urban project as a learning process and to sensitise the population to long-term sustainable urban development. Despite mostly positive evaluations, the projects are not well appreciated by everyone. 

Why all this?

The topic of cars and car parking is a hot topic among the population. Everyone, from young to old, has an opinion and knows exactly what streets are for. Really? 

One such group is the ‘umverkehR’ association, which, for instance, drives mobile trees with benches from car park to car park in an activist innovation and leaves them there for weeks. The aim is to raise awareness of the need to cool cities and the improvement of people’s living spaces. As a side effect they frustrate people looking for a parking space.[4] It is uncertain whether projects like these achieve their goals or simply widen the gap between supporters and opponents of sustainable urban development.

Another group are the shop owners. They fear or complain about a loss of sales due to poorer accessibility or the loss of car parking spaces. In fact, various case studies from different parts of Switzerland and elsewhere show a rather negative picture over a short period of time. Financial successes for businesses usually only become evident over a longer period of time.[5] In various cities around the world, it has been found that although car drivers spend a larger amount per single journey in well-integrated urban areas, sustainable transport has a higher shopping frequency. [6] 

Save costs, strengthen neighbourhoods

It therefore makes sense to inform the population about the actual costs. Not only what long-term financial benefits a mobility shift toward bikes and pedestrians can have for businesses, but also how much it costs to manage car parks and maintain the street. What the municipality can save can be used to finance further sustainable street projects through a mobility fund. A larger proportion of the population benefits from this. Similar to a mobility fund, the city can provide associations with financial support to improve the neighbourhood. Furthermore, to introduce simplified application procedures for revitalising streets. Bureaucratic hurdles that need to be jumped through multiple administrative levels consume money that could be used to develop the neighbourhood. Finally, new legislation should make it easier and quicker to implement tactical urbanism such as benches, chairs, mobile trees and parklets. This would be particularly beneficial for urban population growth and climate targets. 

If you can change the street, you can change the world.

– Janette Sadik-Khan 

The City of Zurich uses strategic methods in its planning and has learnt from its projects how important it is to actively involve the population in the process from start to finish. Good communication is important so that the people affected feel understood, fears can be overcome, and the best possible solution can be found together. The example of Kyburgstrasse, in particular, demonstrates how easy it is to revitalize a street and how flexibly the furniture and plants can be adapted as the project progresses. The street redesign that happened there can be adapted and scaled to other streets. However, it was not a radical intervention. In fact, the streets chosen were not planned to be repurposed in the long term, but only for temporary use. The past has shown that the city is cautious in its approach to change and that street upgrades are often implemented on the pavement, as is currently the case on Hardturmstrasse.[7] Great examples such as the superblock of Sant Antoni in Barcelona are inspiring for Zurich planners. The disagreements that are to be expected in the event of restrictions on motorised traffic make the development process very difficult. 

The words of Janette Sadik-Khan are encouraging. Referring to Broadway in New York, she said: “If the design works, keep it, if it doesn’t, no problem, we’ll reverse it quickly. The city of Zurich has great potential, and with more courage and a willingness to take on new challenges, perhaps it too can write its own story of exemplary, tactical urbanism.