Bartlett School of Architecture graduate Damien Assini has proposed that the UK government reallocates funds from the proposed HS2 railway, and instead creates a natural landscape incorporating carbon-free modular housing and a green economy.
Assini's project is called Re-imagination of the HS2, and is based on skepticism uncovered in his research about the potential benefits of the high-speed railway linking London with the Midlands.
In particular, criticism in the Guardian newspaper of this costly infrastructure project prompted Assini to develop an alternative proposal that involves transforming the route of the HS2 into a green corridor accommodating housing and sustainable businesses.

"Using the HS2 as a case study, the project aims to suggest an alternative construction of 'a country that works for everyone' ? a blueprint for change in the context of ongoing national uncertainty," said Assini. "The design narrative materialises directly from the difficulties the UK faces. It drafts a masterplan for a sustainable urban framework, crafting a system of symbolic architectonic infrastructures."

Rather than going ahead with the sort of vast infrastructure project that he feels could result in "gentrification, displacement or loss of existing city heritage," Assini's speculative proposal focuses more on local needs.
The land currently designated for the railway would be transformed into a landscaped urban masterplan aimed at creating a &qu...