The first roads were paths made by animals, later appropriated by humans. Records of such paths have been found around some springs near Jericho dating back to about 6,000 BCE. Derived from the Old English word rád (‘to ride’) and the Middle English rode or rade (‘a mounted journey’), ‘road’ is now used to indicate all vehicular ways. So say encyclopedists.
Not so much for Professor William Riggs in his latest book, End of the Road: Remaking the Street as the Heart of the City.
Roads – really streets, as envisioned by Riggs – are a defining element for each of us in modernity. Sure, there are dirt, cobblestone, concrete and asphalt paths, the macadam of our daily lives. But how they wind their way into our hearts, into our daily routines and into the unconscious stream of our life, and how our daily way of life is charted, mapped and coursed by streets is the stuff of End of the Road.
The book takes us on a journey though the recent history of streets. The journey stops along the path to ponder the street for transport, and as a space for economic exchange, social life, cultural influence and nature. It examines challenges to ‘ending the road’, and gives us a window into a future of new vehicles and new streets. Riggs ends with a call to action – with streets being the heart of the city.
“A great street is not just about the asphalt, the number of lanes, the division between the bikes and pedestrians or even … cars, it is about… a place of enjoyment for people of all ages and abilities, … it is about … creating a place of enjoyment … making a place where someone can go for a walk, a bike ride, play or engage with the street… .”
Riggs brings lessons from medieval Europe, modern Africa, Italy, France, London, the Netherlands, France, Germany and of course the United States. At the end of the lessons, End of the Road asks ‘who owns the streets?’.
In his analysis of the recent history of streets, Riggs posits a possible genesis of the walkable city concept. In early 19th century, Ebenezer Howard designed ‘garden cities’, conceived to promote peace and egalitarianism. They featured ring roads connected by radial streets tying together the commercial and industrial forces on the outer rings of the town. Then Howard placed walkable gardens and elegant public spaces at the centre of his ideal city. Recent information illustrates that walkable and bikeable neighbourhoods have economic value by encouraging business transactions, bolstering community happiness, and can be associated with an increase in property value.
That streets are used for transport is undeniable. But Riggs shows examples where transport must compete on an equal footing with walkers and cyclists in what is referred to as a woonerf – making the road a liveable street. The pandemic saw streets throughout the world invaded by and shared as eating spaces. This economic use for streets is given steroids in End of the Road.
The book gets to the heart of the question of ‘road or street?’ when it recognises that we have engineered the uncertainty, spontaneity and fun out of our streets. Riggs proposes that we conceptualise streets to prioritise the social and informal while honouring the engineering and modelling perspective. This gives possibility to ciclovias, farmers’ markets, street art and communities celebrating the street.
With unbridled ambition, End of the Road tackles the Gordian knots of the street’s relationship with housing and neighbourhood change, because the street is ‘about the people, community and neighbourhood that shape it’.
And so, how do we get there? Behaviour change is examined as a function of basic behavioural economics. What are the necessary incentives to overcome the challenges and create great streets? Employers, governments large and small and the creative community are called to action. New modes of transport, where streets dissolve into green space, cities are less fragile, making change on the streets of our own neighbourhoods – a praxis of streets is the hue and cry of End of the Road.
Riggs conveys the nuances of how streets are designed but also how citizens, planners, engineers, policy makers and ‘we the people’ can work together to shape streets to be more vibrant and safer for human interaction, to generate economic prosperity at the local level and to help bring our cities together.
After reading End of the Road, we understand the street as something much more than a path for transportation. We then begin the journey of creating streets as economic, social, cultural and natural spaces that help heal many of the social and political barriers that separate our society allowing our cities to thrive.
This short read is an illumination for everyone who wonders why modern streets are configured and conceptualised as they are and asks whether it can’t be done better. It is also a wonderful brief and entertaining read for everyone involved in a local municipality or county area: elected officials, city or county managers, city or county attorneys, public works, etc., all the way to human resources and animal control. Finally, it is well suited for undergraduate or graduate studies for future planning professionals.
What are the ills of today’s modern society? End of the Road posits that many are issues born at street level. The clarion call:
“We, the students, policy makers, planners, engineers and civic leaders of the future cannot let the brokenness of politics thwart strategic decisions to better run government, cities and transportation systems.”
End of the Road is highly entertaining, highly educational, highly motivational and highly recommended.
Tony Manzanetti, J.D., Adjunct Professor, University of San Francisco.
End of the Road: Reimagining the Street as the Heart of the City by William Riggs is available on the Bristol University Press website. Order here for £22.97.
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