No traffic in towns: il modello Buchanan rivisitato / No traffic in towns: Buchanan's model revised

Facing the incompatibility between car-based mobility and the compact structure of traditional cities, architect-planners of the modern movement proposed new models for car-oriented settlements. Early in the 60ies, that is at the peak of mass motorization in the UK, Buchanan Report Traffic in Towns set the foundations for a quite different approach focused on the concepts of accessibility and environmental quality of the urban context, which has been later upgraded, in the framework of the debate on sustainable development, within the paradigm of ‘transit oriented developments’. Nowadays, the possibility to address industrial production in the field of public transportation towards innovative solutions tailored on local needs (as exemplified by case-studies like Montpellier, Karlsruhe, Perugia, Renon, etc.), together with the development of ‘intelligent transport systems’, opens new perspectives for cities to match sustainable mobility with urban regeneration policies.