Arcipelago Città
Milan
The Archipelago City model analyses the city and acts strategically on different levels: from mobility to energy, from identity to territory, and from infrastructure to landscape.
MIC-HUB and Stefano Boeri Architetti are developing the concept of an Archipelago City applied to Milan.
The city of Milan is full of contradictions: public transport is efficient; walking, cycling and smart mobility are growing rapidly but urban spaces are designed for cars.
The concept of an Archipelago City is based on reversing the logic of expanding restricted traffic areas. Instead, it fragments the territory, recognising and reinforcing the boundaries of individual neighbourhoods in the city.
Neighbourhoods become ‘islands’ based on slow mobility solutions and are accessible by car only by the residents (30 km/h). These are hybrid spaces where cars, bicycles and pedestrians coexist.
The crossing of vehicles within the islands is prohibited. This allows the vision of a new quality of life for the people who live there.
Location
Milan
Client
Research Project
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Archipelago City fragments the territory, recognising and reinforcing the boundaries of individual neighbourhoods in the city
- Neighbourhoods become ‘islands’ based on slow mobility solutions and are accessible by car only by the residents (30 km/h).
- The crossing of vehicles within the islands is prohibited.
- Island are hybrid spaces where cars, bicycles and pedestrians coexist.
Project gallery
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Arcipelago Città
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The crossing of vehicles within the islands is prohibited
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The Arcipelago City model will contribute to the following changes in the city
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The Arcipelago City model will contribute to the following changes in the city
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Critical factors: air quality
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Critical factors: urban heat island effect
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Critical factors: availability of green spaces
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Motorisation and land use
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Critical factors: parking services
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Critical factors: road width
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Critical factors: pavement width
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Our contribution
The Archipelago City is composed of ‘islands’, between which the crossing of vehicles is prohibited. This city model fosters a more liveable and inclusive city. The Islands are connected by a 'common sea', a perimetral network for public mobility.
The common sea around the neighbourhoods will accommodate the main public transport network, private mobility and cycling, as well as tree-lined and green corridors of urban biodiversity.
Only cars belonging to residents are allowed inside the islands at a maximum speed of 30 km/h. A network of cycle paths will be developed along the periphery of the islands with dedicated paths, and in a more widespread and capillary manner within each island.
Each urban island should be equipped with a high-quality environment and services for its citizens.
The area will have a network of green spaces to replace the space previously occupied by vehicles. A new parking-charge system will be introduced for all urban parking spaces, and the number of existing spaces will be gradually reduced. This will ensure a gradual reduction in car use.
The Archipelago City aims at a radical redistribution of the urban space, reducing areas currently dedicated to vehicles.
The resulting space can be used for cycling, public space and community life.
