COUNTDOWN OF THE TOP 30 PEDESTRIAN ZONES (that I have visited recently). A THREAD π§΅
#30 KARL JOHANS GATE OSLO. This is a pretty standard central commercial pedestrian zone like you see across Europe. It would be great if this was standard across America too.
#29 BARRIO DE SANTA CRUZ SEVILLE. The old Jewish Quarter of Seville, a beautiful maze of alleyways.
Looking back at my photos from Santa Cruz makes me wonder if I ranked it too low...but there are some other good ones coming up.
#28 SONNWENDVIERTEL VIENNA. This one gets credit for being completely new. It's one thing to pedestrianize a medieval labyrinth of alleyways but quite another to have the option of adding cars and saying "nah."
At this point, you might note overlap with my thread of Top 20 New Urban Districts. I believe there are only two places on both lists. Not all pedestrian zones are new andβunfortunatelyβnot all new urban districts are pedestrianized.
#27 XIMEN TAIPEI. Ximending Pedestrian Area was the first built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan. It is especially lively at night.
In Ximen, there is a new delicacy around every corner. I very happily stood under an umbrella eating a rain-soaked wrap of some sort containing cheese sauce from this giant vat.
Asian pedestrian zones are going to be underrepresented in this thread for one primary reason: it's been tough to travel there lately due to covid. Perhaps someone in that part of the world could supplement my thread.
#26 DE WALLEN AMSTERDAM. Known to many as Amsterdam's Red Light District, De Wallen is changing under the leadership of Mayor Femke Halsema, who is seeking to improve working conditions and address human rights abuses.
Alrighty. It looks like I'm committed to doing this thread. It might take a few days.
#25 INNERE STADT/STEPHANSPLATZ VIENNA. Another classic European commercial pedestrian zone, growing gradually.
There's a lot to love here.
#24 EINDHOVEN CENTRUM. This place took some time to grow on me. With a few exceptions, the architecture is fairly drab but it's a lively place on a sunny afternoon.
Eindhoven was traditionally one of the more car-focused Dutch cities but it has made great progress recently putting people at the center of urban design.
#23 βS-HERTOGENBOSCH CENTRUM.
βs-Hertogenbosch has one of the more human-scale city centers you will find.
#22 STADSDRIEHOEK ROTTERDAM's pedestrian zone is built on a grand scale. Possibly too grand...but I'll let you be the judge.
The centerpiece of Rotterdam's central pedestrian zone is the Markthal, which is incredible.
#21 SEESTADT VIENNA is the other place that appears on both of my recent countdowns. There are a ton of great pedestrian spaces here!
All of those pedestrian spaces make Seestadt an exceptionally safe place for kids to be kids.
Ok, by now you're probably thinking those first ten pedestrian zones are pretty great but...there are 20 more that are even better?
#20 VREDENBURG/BINNENSTAD UTRECHT.
All modes converge on the center of Utrecht but the city carves plenty of pedestrian space.
Sure sign of a successful pedestrian street: people want to just sit and look at it.
#19 BURGWALLEN NIEUWE ZIJDE AMSTERDAM. While Amsterdam has a number of pedestrian streets and zones, I give extra points for being new. The current redevelopment around Spui sets an excellent example.
Editorial note: For this list, I'm excluding isolated pedestrian streets, even quite lovely ones like Calle de AsunciΓ³n. For my purposes, a zone is a network of connected, public, pedestrian streets.
I'm also excluding zones that are only closed to private cars part-time. So, that means super cool places like Hanoi's Old Quarter weren't included.
Ok, back to the list and wow...#18 BARRI GΓTIC BARCELONA is a stunner.
Barcelona's Gothic Quarter had a few centuries to prove it could manage without cars and it still has a substantial pedestrian zone today.
There comes a point where getting in a car and driving around starts to feel like an unnatural way to navigate a city.
I'm assembling this thread on the flyβsort of like livetweeting my camera rollβso it might take another day or so. I'm almost halfway there!
#17 PATERSHOL GHENT. Instead of letting cars pass straight through town on their way to someplace else, Ghent said "How about we make cars go around?" The result is a safe and peaceful city center.
Learn more about Ghent's traffic circulation plan here. simagazin.com
This is probably a good moment to note that pedestrian streets can, and very often do, include transit.
#16 GRANDE-ΓLE STRASBOURG. Speaking of which...Strasbourg, France.
Strasbourg's city center is so walkable, outdoor spaces sometimes feel a bit like indoor spaces.
WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH.
#15 LES HALLES PARIS. This is another situation where I give extra credit for newness. Paris is on a roll and one part of that is the growing pedestrian area around Les Halles.
Les Halles is already a lively pedestrian zone and it is set to get better.
#14 BINNENSTAD/SINT-MICHIELSPLEIN GHENT. We're going back to Ghent! This is the main pedestrian zone in the city center.
Some parts of Ghent's main pedestrian zone are quite bustling, some peaceful, and some in-between. It is a great mix of public spaces.
#13 EL CENTRO CARTAGENA. I was on the fence about including Cartagena, Colombia because the closure to cars can be weak at times (wooden barricades), but it is, on balance, a pedestrian-dominated zone.
There are few places more beautiful than Cartagena.
City Goalsβ’οΈ
#12 HAARLEM CENTRUM.
I admit I'm a little mesmerized by this place.
Haarlem seems like a good place to be a kid.
#11 PUERTA DEL SOL MADRID.
The core of Madrid has a beautiful and growing pedestrian zone.
Madrid also has the Plaza Mayor, one of the world's great public spaces.
One final plea, with a Madrilenian example.
Alrighty, so those were the bottom 20. Are we ready for the top 10?
#10 BINNENSTAD DELFT.
I have a bunch of Dutch pedestrian zones on my list but Delft is the one that breaks the top ten.
Scenes from Delft's pedestrian zone.
Sadly, it is time to leave Delft and move on to #9.
#9 TJUVHOLMEN/AKER BRYGGE OSLO. As I mentioned earlier, I give extra credit for new pedestrian zones and this one is fresh as morning dew.
New pedestrian zones like this one in Oslo demonstrate that any cityβof any vintageβcan do it.
Oslo shows that you can remove a highway along the waterfront and replace it with a lively pedestrian zone.
#8 EL BORN BARCELONA. I know there are one or two policymakers reading this thread and I want you to know that lively, healthy, prosperous, equitable cities are a product of leadership, not luck.
El Born, Barcelona.
Located adjacent to Barri GΓ²tic, Barcelona's El Born neighborhood is a lush network of pedestrian streets and squares.
El Born is very old but there is a sense that it is in the process of being remade.
One last snapshot.
#7 MEIR/OLD TOWN ANTWERP.
Antwerp's sprawling pedestrian zone cuts straight through the center of town.
Like any good pedestrian zone, Antwerp's has bustling squares and quiet nooks.
#6 STRΓGET COPENHAGEN.
Copenhagen's StrΓΈget is the O.G. pedestrian zone, the one that inspired all of the others. I had an early iPhone and an underdeveloped sense of composition when I took this trip so the photography isn't quite as inspiring.
It was a thrill for me to meet Jan Gehlβthe urban planner most associated with StrΓΈgetβlast year. He was game for a #shoepic.
#5 CASCO ANTIGUO SEVILLE.
Seville's main pedestrian zone has a distinctive golden glow.
I like how the light changes throughout the day.
I don't think there is anything unique about Seville but the people of that city decided (fairly recently) that they wanted fewer cars and now they are reaping the benefits.
I feel like I would spend more time outside if the city didn't jam every possible space with cars.
#4 STARE MESTO BRATISLAVA.
Bratislava has one of Europe's largest pedestrian zones.
I suppose this is where you start to wonder why your city doesn't have a pedestrian zone, huh?
I heard Bratislava was known for its cakes so I tried one and it was delicious.
Ok, the top three are coming up! I just need to get some sleep.
#3 CENTRAL ZAGREB.
Regrettably, I am only allowed to share four photos of Zagreb's pedestrian zone at a time.
Narrow street filled with terraced seating.
There's a lot to love about Zagreb.
Zagreb's pedestrian zone is great already but it's getting even bigger.
Not even steep hills can stop Zagreb's pedestrian zone. It keeps going in this network of caves.
#2 PENTAGONE/ANSPACH BRUSSELS.
Regular followers of this account will be familiar with the rapid transformation happening in the center of Brussels.
Brussels is a great example for American cities because it's a place with highrise buildings and car-choked arterials that decided they could do better.
What Brussels is doing is what every city needs to do.
#1 PREΕ EREN SQUARE/CENTER DISTRICT LJUBLJANA.
Putting Ljubljana at number one was a no-brainer for me. It's the best-executed pedestrian zone I've seen.
Ljubljana's pedestrian zone is beautiful and full of life.
Clearly, the people of Ljubljana have decided they can have nice things. It makes you wonder if we can too.
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