Paris' famous Périphérique ring road could have its car lanes slashed by half and replaced by a playground in the switch to driverless cars, says Carlo Ratti.
The Italian architect, who is one of the world's leading voices on technology in urban environments, has explored how Paris could adapt its roads to an autonomous, electric and data-rich future in five new concept designs.
Ratti's New Deal concepts are part of an exhibition currently on at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, the city's centre for architecture and urbanism.
The two designs for Boulevard Périphérique include one creating a huge playground
Titled Les Routes du Futur du Grand Paris, the exhibition looks at how the French capital's major roads might evolve in the decades to 2050. As well as the reimagined Boulevard Périphérique, Ratti's design and innovation office Carlo Ratti Associati envisions repurposing most of the A6 highway for farming and energy production.
According to Ratti, these changes are possible because electric and autonomous vehicles (EVs and AVs) will make roads cleaner and safer.
"In the 20th century, urbanists made space for bigger roads and more cars," said Ratti. "Today, we can leverage innovation in mobility to imagine creating a more seamless and inclusive city."
The second design for Périphérique imagines sustainable buildings above the road
The design team drew on Ratti's research at MIT's Senseable City Lab, which he heads, to develop the five New Deal concept...