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Countdown of the Top 30...
COUNTDOWN OF THE TOP 30 PEDESTRIAN ZONES (that I have visited recently). A THREAD 🧵
Note: vibes pedestrian area for xenter xity
#30 KARL JOHANS GATE OSLO. This is a pretty standard central commercial pedestrian zone like you see across Europe. It would be great if this was standard across America too.
#29 BARRIO DE SANTA CRUZ SEVILLE. The old Jewish Quarter of Seville, a beautiful maze of alleyways.
Looking back at my photos from Santa Cruz makes me wonder if I ranked it too low...but there are some other good ones coming up.
#28 SONNWENDVIERTEL VIENNA. This one gets credit for being completely new. It's one thing to pedestrianize a medieval labyrinth of alleyways but quite another to have the option of adding cars and saying "nah." https://t.co/93zxyDac36 (View Tweet)
At this point, you might note overlap with my thread of Top 20 New Urban Districts. I believe there are only two places on both lists. Not all pedestrian zones are new and—unfortunately—not all new urban districts are pedestrianized. https://t.co/3MfeFodFLZ (View Tweet)
#27 XIMEN TAIPEI. Ximending Pedestrian Area was the first built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan. It is especially lively at night.
In Ximen, there is a new delicacy around every corner. I very happily stood under an umbrella eating a rain-soaked wrap of some sort containing cheese sauce from this giant vat.
Asian pedestrian zones are going to be underrepresented in this thread for one primary reason: it's been tough to travel there lately due to covid. Perhaps someone in that part of the world could supplement my thread. https://t.co/8OGPOcj67Q (View Tweet)
#26 DE WALLEN AMSTERDAM. Known to many as Amsterdam's Red Light District, De Wallen is changing under the leadership of Mayor Femke Halsema, who is seeking to improve working conditions and address human rights abuses.
Alrighty. It looks like I'm committed to doing this thread. It might take a few days. (View Tweet)
#25 INNERE STADT/STEPHANSPLATZ VIENNA. Another classic European commercial pedestrian zone, growing gradually.
There's a lot to love here.
#24 EINDHOVEN CENTRUM. This place took some time to grow on me. With a few exceptions, the architecture is fairly drab but it's a lively place on a sunny afternoon.
Eindhoven was traditionally one of the more car-focused Dutch cities but it has made great progress recently putting people at the center of urban design.
#23 ’S-HERTOGENBOSCH CENTRUM. https://t.co/wn2NnNjQTO (View Tweet)
’s-Hertogenbosch has one of the more human-scale city centers you will find.
#22 STADSDRIEHOEK ROTTERDAM's pedestrian zone is built on a grand scale. Possibly too grand...but I'll let you be the judge.
The centerpiece of Rotterdam's central pedestrian zone is the Markthal, which is incredible. https://t.co/v1y0GAzsu0 (View Tweet)
#21 SEESTADT VIENNA is the other place that appears on both of my recent countdowns. There are a ton of great pedestrian spaces here! https://t.co/szAW3HitlR (View Tweet)
All of those pedestrian spaces make Seestadt an exceptionally safe place for kids to be kids. https://t.co/zLErm17R1r (View Tweet)
Ok, by now you're probably thinking those first ten pedestrian zones are pretty great but...there are 20 more that are even better? (View Tweet)
#20 VREDENBURG/BINNENSTAD UTRECHT. https://t.co/aVBq7UWFsW (View Tweet)
All modes converge on the center of Utrecht but the city carves plenty of pedestrian space.
Sure sign of a successful pedestrian street: people want to just sit and look at it. https://t.co/HbXGhHpcK2 (View Tweet)
#19 BURGWALLEN NIEUWE ZIJDE AMSTERDAM. While Amsterdam has a number of pedestrian streets and zones, I give extra points for being new. The current redevelopment around Spui sets an excellent example.
Editorial note: For this list, I'm excluding isolated pedestrian streets, even quite lovely ones like Calle de Asunción. For my purposes, a zone is a network of connected, public, pedestrian streets. https://t.co/eZuk1ieDFs (View Tweet)
I'm also excluding zones that are only closed to private cars part-time. So, that means super cool places like Hanoi's Old Quarter weren't included.
Ok, back to the list and wow...#18 BARRI GÃ’TIC BARCELONA is a stunner. https://t.co/Mhrsm1WJMN (View Tweet)
Barcelona's Gothic Quarter had a few centuries to prove it could manage without cars and it still has a substantial pedestrian zone today.
There comes a point where getting in a car and driving around starts to feel like an unnatural way to navigate a city.
I'm assembling this thread on the fly—sort of like livetweeting my camera roll—so it might take another day or so. I'm almost halfway there! (View Tweet)