Sustainable Transformation of City Streets – Towards a Holistic Approach

Abstract

Streets are complex urban spaces that occupy a fairly large piece of land in cities, i.e. up to 50% of the built-up area. In the past century, city streets have been subjected to the gradual increase in motorisation, while their many important aspects and potentials have been neglected. In line with the sustainability agenda, there is a need for a gradual transformation of streetscapes into more humane and ecological environments. The paper addresses different parameters that need to be taken into account when talking about the sustainable transformation processes of streetscapes, including environmental, social and economic aspects. The holistic approach focuses not only on the issues of mobility, which reveals more frequent use of alternative means of mobility and an adaptive use of street space, but also on factors such as the street ecosystem which is facing new requirements due to climate change. The social aspect is promoted by participatory approaches, as streets are considered the most important public spaces. In the paper, two examples of streetscape transformation from Slovenia and Austria are presented. The paper concludes with the idea of integrating different disciplines in order to achieve the holistic sustainable transformation of city streets in the future.