Growth has a physical form. Every additional person requires space, infrastructure - and land somewhere that produces food.
The last building meets the first field. City and productive land are planned as one system.
ROG the city and the land
a radical proposal for Zurich
Zurich cannot keep adding people to yesterday's city and expect a smooth ending. If growth continues, the physical city has to grow with it.
A CITY DOES NOT FALL CRACEFULLY
Growth without matching infrastructure does not end smoothly. Pressure accumulates - then the city changes anyway. If we want continued population growth, we must build the physical world that growth requires. If we are unwilling to do that, then we must confront limiting growth. Both choices are difficult.
What is becoming impossible to defend is the middle position: more people, but no fundamental transformation. Growth has a physical form. Every additional person requires space, infrastructure - and land somewhere that produces food.
START IN DIETIKON BUILD TOWARDS BADEN
Rplace all existing buildings with:
Ten kilometres. One direction. Around 50,000 inhabitants per kilometre. A structure capable of growing, step by step, toward a city for roughly 500,000 people.
10 KM
From Zurich to baden - one direction
50'000
People per km
500'000
Potential people capacity
1 SYSTEM
The last building meets the first field
The future will be built either way
The last building meets the first field. City and productive land are planned as one system.
THE CITY HAS ITS FIELDS
Every new urban section is tied to productive agricultural land. Where enough land exists nearby, it is protected and connected directly to the settlement. Where it does not, additional agricultural areas are contractually linked elsewhere. The principle is simple: if you plan the people, plan the land.