The Rampart, The Traffic Artery, and the Park; Designing for the city regions of Antwerp

One of the growing concepts is that of Smart Mobility. A term that is quite a
fussy concept, but generally strives to create transportation and infrastructure
that is safer, sustainable, affordable, and more attractive, by using technology
(sensors, big data, AI) and the integration of different transport modes, for
instance with mobility as a service (MaaS) (HERE mobility, n.d.; Lyons, 2018).
Smart Mobility is one of the components of the Smart City, 14 a concept in
which cities are trying to create a more sustainable, greener urban environment,
with competitive and innovative commerce, and an increased quality of
life. The concept arose during the 1990s, when ICT and the internet of things
(IoT) were becoming increasingly useful for cities (Albino, Berardi, & Dangelico,
2015)
Another approach with similar goals, but different methods is called
Sustainable Mobility. An approach that tries to reduce the need to travel (less
trips), encourage modal shift, reduce trip lengths and encourage greater efficiency
with relation to energy-use and emissions in the transport system (Banister,
2008). The main focus here is on accessibility, rather than mobility itself,
in addressing urban sustainability. This with particular attention to land-use
planning as a means to enhance the sustainability of urban mobility (Crutis,
2008).
14.
The concept smart city has six components
that are interrelated and influenced
by each other. The components
are: smart economy, smart people,
smart governance, smart mobility,
smart environment, smart environment,
and smart living (Zawieska &
Pieriegud, 2018).
Both of these trends in mobility fit into the larger narrative of cities struggling
with the effects of climate change. Cities around the world are increasingly
experiencing the effects of the extremes in weather, like floods, droughts, and
heat waves. As a result, cities are trying to become more climate resilient.
Meaning they are trying to reduce heat stress and increase their water storing
capacity, by creating storage basins, reducing paved surfaces and adding
more greenery in the urban environment. The trend of creating a modal shift
to more public transit, the bicycle, or walking, fits into this, because it frees
up space. Besides the climate aspect, the pollution in terms of health is also
improved by these kinds of measures (Wageningen Environmental Research).
Coming back to the trend the trend on making mobility more efficient
in both space and time related dimensions, and the shift to slower modes of
transport like the bicycle or walking, we also see a link to the rising scarcity of
space in cities. A trend that was set in with the emergence of New Urbanism,
the Compact City, and Smart Growth at the end of the twentieth century, but
has become increasingly important in with the increasing size and complexity
of cities. In recent years, terms like the 30-minute-city are gaining popularity,
meaning no matter where one lives, all daily facilities are accessible within 30
minutes from one’s home. The motive behind this is to increase the number
of opportunities for everyone (Australian Smart Cities Plan, 2016). Another
popular concept under somewhat the same banner is that of Transit-Oriented
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