Saman

Seifollahi |H02M6a| Master Thesis: Studio Urban Design and Planning Department of Architecture, Urban Design and Regional Planning KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN|June 2011 Abstract Designing a new mobility system is usually conceived as creating new infrastructure by designers, while some doubt has been cast upon the efficiency of existing transportation systems. On the other hand, new mobility itself carries more precise meaning than only infrastructure. In other words, as scholars have mentioned, it should be taken into account that mobility network refers to discourses more than infrastructure. Furthermore, although the first aim of transportation is connectivity, infrastructure has been playing a key role as a generator in emergence of settlements and industries since human exists, from the beginning to present that it highlights the term more than connectivity. Nowadays, hence that new generation of communication were born, economical interactions and peoples lifestyle do not follow bygone trends and patterns, thus we are confronted with settlements and industrial zones next to the water, railway and motorway, which are not able to respond current needs and also play their roles as efficient and important as past, while they not sustainable enough to continue working. All aforementioned demonstrate that current and future cities have to be served by different mobility networks which are not only more sustainable, efficient and safer, but also able to lead cities to run out of dilemma. Thus, the importance of rethinking the mobility networks is more remarked. In addition, this paper argue that different mobility network is not necessarily creating new infrastructure, but also due to transformation of cities, inventing an improved mobility network by optimized and customized transformation of existing infrastructure in order to bring new modes of transportation in service can be a significant solution. In this sense, one research question is about possibilities, opportunities, and values that transformation of existing heavy infrastructure can bring. As the matter of fact, Transformation and optimization of existing infrastructure in order to have less interventions while taking maximum advantages of new rhythm of life in regional scale can be a responsive solution. For instance, transformation of railway to light- rail (some sections or whole existing system) in regional scale is one of these solutions. Keywords Mobility network, transformation, rhythm of life, (re)generation, railway, light-rail system

Designing a new mobility for the Flemish Diamond More than connectivity How can infrastructure transformation work as (re)generator?