WE WERE MOVED

September 1, 2007
How can people and things move through a city block, safely, sustainably, equitably and beautifully? That was the question we posed with Re:Route, our second international competition.

The results were, unsurprisingly, very moving. But what was surprising to our panel of expert judges was the depth of well-executed and visionary plans that emerged, plans that went beyond personal flying helicopters and took a more feasible, sophisticated approach.

The solutions were varied and diverse, but some interesting trends our experts noticed included:

• Reclaiming the typical city block back for children and
  away from the automobile
• Integration of bicycles and mass transit
• Use of technology and social networking to foster community
• Tiny, aggregated sources of human powered energy production
  to propel mass transit

Although each Re:Route entrant took a different path, each arrived someplace that addressed the real issues surrounding urban transit.
Our winners especially found deployable solutions for urban transportation that can be successful today.

Do we have far to go to find better alternatives to move to and through city blocks? If Re:Route has shown us anything, it's that a little imagination and innovation can take us all a long way.