Metropolitan Design Center 2007 Undergraduate Travel Fellowship : Fran Doherty

Fran Doherty, Undergraduate, College of Design, 2007 Metropolitan Design Center Undergraduate Travel Fellowship Recipient.

Transit-Oriented Development in Spain and Portugal
Travel Fellowship Reflections

Throughout my life I’ve had amazing opportunities to travel, within the states and abroad, but my roots firmly tie me to Minnesota. Living and traveling through Spain and Portugal for two months was the longest time I had ever spent away from home. Throughout my summer I became a sponge, absorbing every detail about my new environments, not wanting to forget a single moment. To help retain all those memories I kept a journal. These entries chronicle my thoughts and personal transformation as I journeyed across the Iberian Peninsula.

July 23, 2007
I rode my bike up the Nevion River, following Metro Line 2. One stop opened to a huge hospital facility, with a large plaza, church, shops, and dense housing. The next stop was at the new Bilbao Exhibition center (Santiago Calatrava must have designed this station). There are new or remodeled apartment complexes that minimize interior car use, walking and biking paths to reach anywhere in the city [Barkaldo], and all of this is within a short distance of the metro stops. There’s even a huge mall with an IKEA!
Bilbao as a whole needs about ten to fifteen more years to fully mature into a sustainable, transit oriented city. Though many areas are beautiful, and development is moving in the right direction, this area has historically been neglected. Many places within the city are derelict and dirty, and up in the hills poverty is raging. Yet Bilbao is on the right track, and changing at exponential rates.

July 25, 2007
Vitoria-Gasteiz reminds me of Minneapolis in many ways. There is a progressive, young, rebellious attitude among the citizens, especially the youth. It is a highly artistic urban community with a unique culture that begs to be celebrated day and night. Parks and green spaces are important, and are found everywhere within the city. There is also a green belt park system surrounding the town, which is the area’s growth boundary.

July 29, 2007
Barcelona has never had a bike culture, but with the influx of Europeans from other countries and the Bicing program this is changing. The destinations of many of the bike lanes are tourist hot spots. Another new trend is the folding bike. The hinged frames are easy to pack and carry once finished riding, and their smaller wheels make navigating tight spots a breeze.

August 8, 2007
Avenida Diagonal feels comfortable for all modes of travel. Instead of one large eight-lane highway components are broken down into more manageable pieces. This fragmentation emphasizes the importance of pedestrian walkways and reduces the street to a human scale. This former highway has been transformed into an integrated transit corridor.

August 22, 2007
I interviewed a resident who lives in the Alta area. Tom Fisher is an Englishman who moved to Portugal eleven years ago with his wife. He has lived in Alta de Lisboa for the last four years. Though the integration of social housing with private residences has been slightly rocky, the hope for all these spaces is that once they become established they will steadily evolve to become intermingled and treated respectably by all residents.

 





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