- Smart Tracks. A strategy for sustainable mobility in Naples    1232 kb by    Bobbio, Roberto & Diano, Donatella | r.bobbio@arch.unige.it    Short Outline The mobility system on development in Naples is based on the reuse and upgrading of existing railways. A new metropolitan line connects the system; the stations are designed to be attractive and enhance the popularity of public transport. Abstract Even if the confrontation with the London Subway (M. Binyon, «Naples takes the Tube», The Times, July 16th 2002) sounds a paradox, the Naples Regional Transport System (RTS) is an interesting case for its smart approach to the problem of sustainable mobility. Central Naples (1 million inhabitants) is the core of a metropolis (4 millions people within a radius of 50 km from the city) that is dense (peaks of 17.000 inhabitants per km2), very productive and well equipped in any field of education and research but affected by poverty, unemployment and organized criminality. Inadequate and expensive mobility is a major problem: to reduce the traffic jam and the pollution (the majority of the circulating cars are under the EU standards) can enhance economic competitiveness, improve quality of life and reinforce civic sense. The Regional Government and the City are carrying on a programme for the development of the RTS based on the improvement and the connection of the existing railways (built in different periods and for different scopes, some almost abandoned). Central Naples is crucial to create a network that integrates different mode of transportation: a new subterranean line (half of it now on function) links the airport terminal, the head stations of the local and national trains, the cable railways (which connect the Old City with the neighbourhoods built on the hills) and the ferryboat terminal (the islands and the smaller cities of the gulf have regular trips to and from the port of Naples); a new track will connect the metropolitan network with the station of the national high-speed train system (under construction). The stations of the new subway have been conceived as the “monuments” of contemporary Naples. In the last decades, the disaffection for public transport has largely increased: it is considered uncomfortable and unsafe (more than actually is). The “Art Stations” (“Stazioni dell’Arte”) of the subway have been designed by famous architects, embellished with the works of well reputed artists and stands in places that have been renewed and qualified. The intention is to make the station not only a pleasant passing point, but a meeting place and a site to visit. Reuse and public investment in urban quality characterize this new approach to sustainable mobility that is a major bet for a better Naples. Keywords pubic transport integration and reuse Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2009: Low Carbon Cities   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper