Design
Pedestrian Views
By KENNETH J. ROBINSON What exactly is Motopia2 It is not; as you might suspect, the myopia suffered so visibly by the MOT—though you arc getting warm. It is a Utopian combination of traffic roads (at rooftop level), housing, public amenities and land- scaping, devised in 1957 by G. A. Jellicoe and others as a publicity stunt for Pilkington Brothers Limited. The sponsors appear in the book only in very small print, which is all to the good because a conspicuous trade name on such a Publication might act as a hidden dissuader And no one should be . dissuaded from seeing this Motopian plan for separating vehicles and Pedestrians.
It is a pity this imaginative plan is dealt with in fewer than thirty of the book's 170-odd pages. The remainder is described on the jacket blurb. as 'a study of the evolution of the urban land- scape since the beginning of time,' and it is even less adequate than such a generous claim would make you suppose.
There are two bold statements in this other- wise timidly superficial book I really must ques- tion; though I know the author is aware they are not quite accurate. One is that 'in English New Town planning the pedestrian shopping precinct is an accepted fact'; the other is that 'since Rad- burn [i.e., an American housing scheme which separated pedestrians from cars] all English Planning in the New Towns and elsewhere has been directed towards this end.' I'm sure that G. Vincent, the chief architect of Stevenage New Town Development Corporation, would be amused by both statements. He is probably having more effect on this kind of development than anyone else in the country. but his influence (the result of a lot of hard Work and persuasion that has brought his own New Town a pedestrian 'hopping centre, as well as a housing area where front doors face each other across turfed, paved walkways) is only just beginning to be felt. He is now visited net only by housing and shop de- velopers who want to see how his pedestrian schemes work, but also by representatives of • Studio Books, 42s. existing towns who are campaigning to close their main shopping streets to traffic A lot is happening quite suddenly in the planning of areas with pedestrian-car segrega- tion. Stevenage is about to start on an estate for 80,000 people who will be able to walk to schools, shops, churches and places of entertain- ment without going near a main road—though their own cars will be handily parked beside cleverly hidden service roads. The LCC has just announced a scheme for converting the Royal Victoria Dockyard into a housing estate where shops, houses, playing fields and a school will be linked by overhead pedestrian ways. And any day now members of the New Hampstead Society will be lying down in the Finchley Road to pro- test against road 'improvements' that will mean greater danger to the man on the footpath. All this makes Mr. Jellicoe's Motopia plan seem more realistic than it was four years ago. I shall not attempt to describe it here: it deserves proper consideration, and you can give it that without hard work because it is the one section in the book where the author writes with care and enthUsiasm. Don't forget, if you look at this scheme for roof-top roads on four-storey build- ings (with service roads and garaging just below roof level), that nothing about it is really far- fetched today. Almost anything seems possible now that the Americans have devised a hotel where you can practically take your car to bed with you. (You drive up a ramp in the hollow centre of the building and park beside your room, just the other side of a small corridor and a fire- proof door.) Incidentally, there is a little speculation in the United States at the moment about the possible rediscovery of the American foot An industrial designer has patented a shoe which may end a lot of the problems associated with car ownership. Walking is said to be a real pleasure in the new foot container, which looks like a comfortable packing case. It has a series of small holes around the base which change the air inside at every step and a piece of metal in the heel to keep electricity out of the body. Best of all there is a convertible model. It has, believe it or not, a hood that can be rolled down in warm weather.
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