sun. sand. sustainability?

year / 2011
location / South Beach, Florida, USA
5th-year university project / individual work

project description /
South Beach: home to 34,000 people and a vacation destination for millions. The combination of Art Deco history, famous beaches, international culture, 5-star hotels and nightlife makes it a highlight of South Florida and a tourist mecca for people worldwide. Its downfall lies in the vehicular nature of its layout and function; its reality as an island means that everything must be transported in: people mean goods, and goods mean roads.

the plan.

What would make South Beach a more pleasant city is a change: from car to feet/public transit and from road to sidewalk. This would allow for the existing functions of the area and its businesses to continue as-is while providing a pleasant pedestrian experience, a larger variety of transit options and a fully “green” take on a walkable city. With so many of South Beach’s visitors and residents already on foot, this jump seems not only logical, but necessary.