Carlo Ratti unveils his vision for a greener, smarter Paris

Last week, Carlo Ratti Associati revealed their vision for Paris in the years to come.

Founder of the self-named Italian design studio and director of MIT's Senseable City Lab, Ratti currently has his vision for the future of Paris' highways on show at Pavillion de l'Arsenal, Paris, as part of the Les Routes du Futur du Grand Paris exhibition.

The "New Deal" exhibit challenges the future of roads, living and recreational spaces as well as farming areas. Using research carried out by Senseable City Lab, the predictions span the next 30 years and show how autonomous transport could transform crucial infrastructure along some of the worlds most famous roads, like Paris' Boulevard Périphérique ring road.

The exhibit is segmented into five visions. One, dedicated to the previously mentioned Parisian ring road. Habiter Le Lateralité (Living Laterality) shows how, with technology, it's possible to cut the number of car lanes by more than half and creating recreational areas with the remaining space.

In the 20th century, urbanists made space for bigger roads and more cars. Today, we can leverage innovation in mobility to imagine creating a more seamless and inclusive city. - Carlo Ratti

Another segment, Habiter les Dessus (Living Above), demonstrates how green building with residential areas above the Peripherique could create a historical fracture between the two opposing views of the city - one of the old historic town and that of the banlieues. 

The remaining three visions focus on what are becoming increasingly suburban highways in the Ile de France region which includes ideas around energy production and farming. La voie monde (the street of the world) shows the A6 French highway reducing its amount of lanes from 12 to four by whilst providing green energy sources by using greenhouses for a photovoltaic plant which would generate solar energy and slash heat production.

There's also Multimodalite Partout (Multimodality Everywhere) and La Voie Dynamique (The Dynamic Road) which leverage on real-time mobility data to create new public spaces and allow commuters to get to their destinations in a more efficient manner. 

The Carlo Ratti Associati has worked alongside a curatorial team led by SEURA Architects alongside Jornet Llop, Pastor Arquitectes landscapers Anna Cervera and Marina Zahonero as well as Leonard, VIMCI Group's foresight platform. The exhibiton will remain on display until 31 August, 2019.