Mobility Environments and Network Cities

The lives of people and the workings of organizations are increasingly independent of urban physical and administrative boundaries. Cities are developing into extensive webs of interaction, supported by fast transport and real-time communication networks. Urban planners and designers must come to terms with this evolution, as we are traditionally more used to dealing with zones rather than flows, with proximity rather than accessibility. Recognition of the increasingly borderless nature of the contemporary city does not mean that we should abandon the planning and design of physical urban places altogether. Physical places still fulfil an essential role in our open urban systems. In particular, places where mobility flows interconnect--such as airports, railway stations, and also motorway service areas or urban squares and parks-- have the potential for granting the diversity and frequency of human contacts that are still essential for many urban activities. It is proposed to call such places 'mobility environments'. Their quality depends on the features of each location, but also on the characteristics of their visitors. These ideas are elaborated on, and it is shown how the 'mobility environments' concept can help better articulate planning and design strategies that try to cope with the reality of an increasingly borderless urban system, and particularly those following the 'network city' concept, as presently being introduced in the Netherlands.