In an article published on the website of the Hey/Hamburg mobility festival, taking place June 15 to 17, 2022, in Germany, the organizers ponder the future of the city, suggesting it should perhaps be more about people-friendliness than artificial intelligence alone, as advocated by more and more prominent architects.
After the smart city, and the 15-minute city, the latest approach to rethinking urban centers comes in the form of the "love city." This term is used to describe cities at human scale, cities which are not cold, clinical and governed solely by algorithms.
To achieve this objective, the work of urban planners will be essential. Many architects, like Denmark's Jan Gehl, are now advocating a diverse, inclusive, green city, resilient to climate change, with reduced traffic and short distances between its various services.
This must be reflected in urban infrastructure that is designed to improve quality of life for people in the long term, even anticipating the needs of families or the elderly, as well as road users, cyclists and pedestrians. Jan Gehl has notably worked in Copenhagen, one of the world's most livable cities, which is characterized by greenery, quietness and spaces adapted for day-to-day living.
The idea is also that each neighborhood can be assimilated to a kind of village, with public services and shops nearby, all in a healthy and convivial atmosphere, without pollution. The city, however smart it may be, must therefore remain at a human scale.
In North America, the principle of the "senseable city" has emerged, addressing the need for new technologies to adapt to the demands of residents -- literally putting this technology at their service. Certain experiments have already been set up, such as in Toronto, Canada, with a project for streets that can be modified according to the time of day, the number of people using them, and the way they are used.
