E. Penalosa: "An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but one where...

(KZN.RU, December 9, by Taisiya Basharkina) The world renowned expert in the field of urbanism, President of the Institute for Transportation and Development in New York, Enrique Penalosa, gave a public lecture at Kazan City Hall today. The former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, a city of 8,000,000 people, spoke about what, in his view, an ideal city should be like and gave practical advice on improving urban environment. The discussion was attended by President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin.

The underlying idea behind a "good city", according to Enrique Penalosa, is the priority of pedestrian space and reduced use of private cars. "A good city is one in which people want to be outside. If the more vulnerable people – children, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with low income – feel good in it, the rest will feel comfortable in it too," he said.

Speaking about the current congestion in Kazan, the well-known urbanist noted that the construction of new roads will not solve it. "Kazan needs wide streets, not highways," he said, suggesting that the number of parking spaces be limited, thus encouraging people to switch to public transport.

Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov agreed that the construction of new roads and junctions in Kazan is a temporary measure to address traffic problems. The President asked Enrique Penalosa what, in his opinion, should be done in the first place to improve the urban space.

"The historical center is a treasure of your city, and you need to create good pedestrian areas and dedicated public transport lanes," said the expert and recommended introducing new measures gradually. Currently, the priority is to create wide pedestrian streets and exclusive bus lanes. “An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but one where even the rich use public transport,” he concluded.