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A. VISION. OF. EUROPE
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE DEBATE
ON THE CITY, ITS ARCHITECTURE AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT
Towards a new policy to demolish obsolete sub-urban peripheries and develope compact walkable cities and neighborhoods

NEW ! - IV / 2008
 
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AVOE PRESS RELEASE
< ENTER > 20/6/2008 UP-DATE
URBAN
 LOVERS
THE BEST EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD
A PRIZE TO THE BEST NEW URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD BUILT IN EU
Fondation Pour l'Architecture
 Prix Rotthier pour la Reconstruction
 de La Ville 2008
in collaboration with
 A Vision of Europe & Civicarch
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TOP-10 EU-Prize
WINNERS !
URBAN
RENAISSANCE
Selected Projects
The 88 selected neighborhoods cover the 7 sections which the Prize is articulated into:

-NEW TOWNS AND CITIES
-NEW NEIGHBORHOODS
-NEW VILLAGES
-NEW TOWN CENTERS
-NEW NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS
-NEW VILLAGE CENTERS
-NEW FAUBOURGS
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Among the 250 entries, the Scientific Committee of the Philippe Rotthier European Prize has selected the 88 new urban neighborhoods that will participate in the final stage of the Prize on June 13, 2008 at the FOUNDATION FOR THE ARCHITECTURE in Bruxelles.
The 88 selected neighborhoods come from 30 European countries and from big cities such as Lisbon, Bilbao, Paris, London, Glasgow, Bruxelles, Berlin, Dresden, Bologna, Palermo, Tirana, Istanbul, etc., as well as from beautiful medium-size cities such as Santiago de Compostela, Hammamet, Gladbeck, Alessandria, Hoje Tarstrup, Knokke, Dorchester, Brandevoort, etc.
Bruxelles, 2008 June 13: jury at work
Archives of
THE OTHER
MODERN
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Regional
Architecture
In the occasion of the EUROPEAN PRIZE 2008, the Foundation for the Architecture and A Vision of Europe will present the operating pattern for THE NEW ECO-COMPACT CITY.
This operating pattern has been designed on the basis of the best 85 urban neighborhoods built in the last 25 years. It allows the construction of a 250,000 inhabitants ECO-COMPACT CITY over a surface of 2,000 hectars. A NEW ECO-COMPACT CITY featuring all the most advanced facilities of a truly modern city: university campus, hospitals, museums, an international airport, an efficient system of public transportation including a tramway and a metro. The operating pattern for THE NEW ECO-COMPACT CITY includes clear boundaries towards the countryside and keeps an organic balance between the built and the natural environment.
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Building the New
ECOLOGICAL
CITY
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Learning from USA - Special Report: Energy Efficiency
AMERICA'S MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT NEIGHBORHOODS
Matthew Swibel (www.forbes.com)

"As some politicians see it, where you live is now a matter of national energy policy. Places with plenty of mass transit and high rates of bicycle usage have received applause from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on the campaign trail lately. And some on Capitol Hill want to legislate shorter commutes that require less fuel
(...) Owning a home in walkable neighborhoods saves residents $300 to $400 a month, up to 4,800 a year, on gas expenses alone, according to research by the Congress for the New Urbanism. Kicking the car habit yields larger consequences: Traffic congestion sucked $78 billion from the economy in 2005, added 4.2 billion hours in commuter time, and wasted almost 3 billion gallons of gasoline, according to a 2007 Urban Mobility Report by the Texas Transportation Institute." (Read the full article)

America's Most Fuel-Efficient Neighborhoods:

 image © iStock

Brooklyn Heights (New York, N.Y.) - Cost: $643 per month
Koreatown (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Cost: $658 per month
Logan Square (Chicago, Ill.) - Cost: $742 per month
Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C.) - Cost: $747 per month
The Mission (San Francisco, Calif.) - Cost: $746 per month
Fishtown (Philadelphia, Pa.) - Cost: $674 per month
Jamaica Plain (Boston, Mass) - Cost: $728 per month
Woodward Corridor (Detroit, Mich.) - Cost: $728 per month
Greenville (Dallas, Texas) - Cost: $745 per month
Montrose (Houston, Texas) - Cost: $760 per month
 The new list of the 10 least walkable cities in the US
1. Jacksonville, 2. Nashville, 3. Charlotte, 4. Indianapolis, 5. Oklahoma City, 6. Memphis, 7. Kansas City, 8. Fort Worth, 9. El Paso, 10. Mesa

read the article ! (The Huffington Post)
under construction
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CLASSICAL
WORLD
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Gas Prices May Revive Cities:
Urban planners finally see
a way to curb sprawl
www.usnews.com
Andres Duany is thrilled by the prices he's seeing at the gas pump. The urban planner and high priest of the New Urbanism movement sees today's (and likely tomorrow's) gas prices accomplishing what he and others in his field have long sought: a wholesale re-creation of the American lifestyle. "The urbanism of the United States has been premised on two things," Duany says. "One is inexpensive land. And the other is inexpensive fuel. Both have led to sprawl." (Read)
under construction
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Twentieth Century
Architecture as a Cult
Nikos A. Salingaros (INTBAU.ORG)
"..To repair the catastrophic destruction of the European urban and cultural landscape in the 20th century, by war and modernism, and build all the new sustainable urban settlements needed, we will have to expose the responsibility of modernist ideology, especially in urban planning, reintroduce education in well proven design skills, and empower local communities and the end users of architecture. Modernism should be reduced to the position it deserves: A failed ideology, but also an architectural style that should compete on equal terms with other styles on the market place." (thanksAudun Engh)
Read the Essay !
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EUROPEAN COMPETITION FOR ARCHITECTURE
with a High Environmental Value
The competition is being launched at the initiative of VIZZION Europe s.a., a company that develops and funds architecture projects, with its registered offices in Brussels.
VIZZION Europe was born of a dream of architects to realise mixed and sustainable urban projects, essentially in Europe.

www.vizzion-awards.com		The competition’s aim is to make future architects aware of the development of an architecture and town planning that respects the environment and local specificities while encouraging the study of urban projects with a high environmental value with mixed function neighbourhoods and limited car use. The competition is for the design, in an urban environment and preferably in a mixed activity zone, of a building or group of buildings offering facilities for housing, shops, craft activities and offices.
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Bologna, Il Resto del Carlino,
May 7, 2008:
 Gabriele Tagliaventi interviewed on the new black eco-monster of the Municipality
Read the article
This competition is opened to architecture students in the penultimate and final years of study in schools and faculties in the uropean countries included in the regulations.
VIZZION Europe has entrusted the competition’s organisation to the Archives d’Architecture Moderne that has recognised experience in the field of architecture and traditional town planning acquired through its many exhibitions, publications and conferences as well as organising the triennial “European Prize for the Reconstruction of the City”.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS !

A&C Documents N.6 dedicated to
REGIONAL COMPACT CITIES
FOR AN ECO-SMART GROWTH
edited by
 G.Tagliaventi and D. DiolaiticAlinea Editrice, 2008 March
***


ARCHITETTURA DI BASE
Alinea Editrice, 2008 March

including a special issue on
 the CIVICARCH
 MIUR-PRIN research programme:
Analysis and Development
of Regional Architecture
in the Northern Plains
between Ferrara and Venice
 edited by
 G. Tagliaventi, A. Bucci, D. Diolaiti
Contacts :
Archives d’Architecture Moderne
Contact person: Bertille Amaudric
55 rue de l’Ermitage - 1050 Brussels - Belgium
Tel : 0032.(0) 2.642.24.80 - Fax : 0032.(0) 2.642.24.82
E-mail : info@vizzion-awards.com
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A Vision of Europe and Fondation pour l'Architecture present
ROME 2008: DEMOLISHING TO REGENERATE
A campaign to demolish Corviale Sub-Urban Slab
and build a New Eco-Compact-Neighbourhood


Corviale, Rome

REFORMING THE SUB-URBAN DISEASE

Urban Renaissance in Vitinia, Rome
CIVICARCH, AVOE,
AGENZIA PER LA CITTA'2003

Designing and building new Eco-Compact Neighbouhoods represents the most important challenge for architects, engineers, developers and public administrators in an age as ours when people take conscience of the fundamental need of an ecological balance. Those who will keep on building sub-urban periheries will inevitably face a rising level of poverty in the social structure, insecurity in streets and public realm, higher taxation for citizens.

(Download the Corviale Press-Release Italian language / See also next CIVICARCH Workshop)

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MAKE YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD GREEN
Colora di Verde il Tuo Quartiere
The Best Drawing on a Balanced Relationship between the City and Nature.
THE 2nd EDITION OF THE ROTARY PRIZE "THE TREE AND THE CITY"
with the Patronage of:
Municipality of Bologna - Deputy Mayor for the Environment
Bologna St. Stefano Neighborhood Administration
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A CNU Review of Urban Structure to optimise public transport, movement networks and retail (read)
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1000 drawings and maquettes done by students from the Elementary Schools of Bologna have been produced for the 2nd Rotary Prize:
THE TREE AND THE CITY.
Life in the 'Burbs:
Heavy Costs for Families, Climate by Elizabeth Shogren
Millions of Americans have moved to the suburbs in the past 60 years, drawn by the lure of larger houses and cheaper prices. But until recently, few were aware of the impact those choices had on the environment (read)
 Today EU-suburbs have the same problem.
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Great AVOE goal !!
AGAINST the skyscreaper :
53,05%
IN FAVOUR of the skyscreaper :
46,95%
From BOLOGNA to NEW YORK CITY, from LISBON to LONDON:
the civilized world fights for the beauty of italian cities !
STOP
THE BRUXELLIZATION OF TURIN
CONTRIBUTE NOW !
If you want to save Turin,
mail or fax the letter
you find HERE
The awarding ceremony will take place on May 16, 2008 at the main hall of the University of Bologna and a 200 pages full color catalogue is available published by IgF.

Bologna, May 16, 2008 : awarding ceremony at the main hall of the University of Bologna
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Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?
By Lara Farrar For CNN
"Devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, hundreds of homes have been foreclosed and thousands of residents have been forced to move, leaving in their wake a not-so-pleasant path of empty houses, unkempt lawns, vacant strip malls, graffiti-sprayed desolate sidewalks and even increased crime."
READ the article!
The alarm spread all over the world by the media on the risks caused by the proposed new skyscrapers in TURIN reveals a severe menace for both the un-matchable skyline of the city and the Italian's reputation in the world. A Vision of Europe and the Fondation pour l'Architecture do strongly recommend the intervention of the PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC and of the MAYOR OF TURIN, in order to avoid the aggression to the elegant skyline of the Italian cities. ( READ MORE )
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A new approach for the age of $4 gasoline
By Armando Carbonell , bostom.com

"The summer of 2008 already has the feel of a real turning point - a time Americans will remember when gasoline first sold for over $4 a gallon. Political calls for a gas tax holiday have been greeted with universal scorn. The search for longer term, sustainable solutions is on.
[...] More attention to land use. Improving vehicle efficiency is an important means to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. But the long-term upward trend in vehicle miles traveled, driven by income and demographics, is projected to cancel all such savings.
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A VISION OF EUROPE
consulted for the new
 masterplan of Astana (KZ)
 .
Maurice Culot and Gabriele Tagliaventi have been appointed as experts from the Kazakhstan Government in order to evaluate a developement concept of the Masterplan of Astana, the Capital City of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Although vehicle miles traveled is down this year, it can only drop so far without a change in development patterns to provide for more use of transit, pedestrian, and bicycle modes, and fewer and shorter automobile trips. Compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented development needs to be encouraged by recalibrating zoning and building codes from the suburban era. " (READ the full article)
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The Missing Links
Public transit ridership is up, but no one's talking about a better system
 by Ryan Avent, www.grist.org

" One year ago, as America prepared for the traditional summer-driving crush, op-ed pages nationwide fretted over a disturbing trend. Only a decade earlier, oil had plumbed depths near $10 per barrel, and dirt-cheap gas had allowed us to roll over the nation's blacktop in vehicles of monster-truck proportions.

But now something odd was happening: In just nine short years, real oil prices had quadrupled.
The steady upward march threatened all that we held dear, like Chevy Tahoes, the open road, and driving alone. How, the nation's pundits wondered in 2007, could America cope with oil at $60 per barrel "
(READ the article)http://governing.typepad.com/

Gabriele Tagliaventi, Astana 2007
Workshop in Astana, 2007
The project is organized by the Astana Department of Architecture and City Planning.
Astana has been founded in 1996 and is expected to reach 1.3 million inhabitants in 2030.
( AVOE Press-Release )
image credit: http://governing.typepad.com/
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CIVICARCH 2008 INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
University of Ferrara
1) THE END of THE MALL ERA, 2008 February, 6
2) COMPACT CITY vs SUBURBAN SKYSCRAPERS, 2008 March, 4
3) SPRAWL and URBAN REGENERATION, 2008 May, 21

Gabriele Tagliaventi and Maurice Culot		The International Workshops organized by CivicArch with the collaboration of A Vision of Europe and Fondation pour l'Architecture, aim at providing architects, engineers, urbanists, public and private administrators, public and private developers, real estate agencies with the most recent experiences of transformation of problematic sub-urban areas and historical centres into true livable communities according to the principles of New Urbanism.
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Bologna, Alexandria, Istanbul, Oslo, Bruxelles, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Irun, Lisbon, Berlin, Strasbourg, Paris, Chicago, New York, Alessandria, Napoli
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Vision of Europe - Via Cesare Battisti, 17 / 40123 Bologna - Ph. +39 051 6569392 Fax +39 051 6568778
avoe@libero.it - civicarch@unife.it - www.avoe.org
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