“The streets teem with life and prosperity”: for this Englishman, Toulouse is a great city (or almost).

“Usually this city is not cited as an example. But The quality of the street system is astounding“. pass through Toulouse On occasion Zero Carbon ForumA Londoner Nicholas Boyce Smith I fell in love with the architecture and urban planning of the Pink City.

“All the buildings in the city center are beautiful! »

Think Tank Director “Make Streets”, This Englishman is a champion of “soft density”. Through numerous publications distributed across the channel. We can say that downtown Toulouse attracted the attention of this urban planner.

In a long and detailed post on the Create Streets Twitter account, Nicholas Boyce Smith elaborates Almost the best city center, which should undoubtedly make many Toulouse residents proud and react! The publication was widely picked up and commented on on social networks.

“The buildings in the city center are almost all beautiful,” he noted on Twitter, while extolling the splendor of the famous Toulouse brick, “which is big and flat (like Roman brick) and comes in. A beautiful range of saffron, reds, pinks and oranges. “You can understand why the French call it ‘la ville rose,'” he says.

“Pedestrians first!” »

In addition to the beauty of the buildings, Nicholas Boyce was mesmerized by the improvements made to the Smith Hypercentre.

“Overall Strategy People first. Cars are allowed in many (not all) parts of the city centre, but they are second-class citizens compared to the throngs of pedestrians, cyclists or scooters.

“The 20 km/h speed limit is in effect (almost?) everywhere, but cars and mopeds (lots of mopeds) must drive carefully. See how close this moped is to a buggy. It would give most road engineers in the UK or the US a heart attack, but it’s actually a very safe street,” referring to Rue Alsace-Lorraine.

Passing the rue du Taur, he notes: “Here is another street where cars are allowed, but the layout allows them to slow down. Look closely: you will see a car in the distance. In front, children walk safely along the road.

“Big trees with benches underneath”

“Apparently not There is not much parking in the city centre (Although some are still out there). But this certainly does not harm the vitality of the shops. On the other hand, there is Plenty of places to park bikes (including city rental bikes),” says the Create Streets director, and is inspired by the tree-lined heritage of the Pink City.

“Wherever the city opens up, we plant Big trees with benches underneath. “The juxtaposition of the trees and these ocher bricks is downright magical, even against the autumn slate sky,” he slips into his thread.

Shops at every corner

Inspired by the many brands that have storefronts in the heart of London. ” All corners where it is possible to set up shop!“, he exclaims. Adding: “Have you noticed that there is no paint or ugly signage littering the city? Details matter.”

“City streets are full of life, prosperity and movement, fulfilling the role that cities have played since the beginning of history: efficient places where people come day and night to buy, sell, work, walk and have fun”.

“Happy, gentle, elegant Toulouse! »

Some may find the description of Toulouse by this urban planning expert A little unattractive, this publication has the merit of highlighting the pink city and recalling some of its assets. However, Nicholas Boyce Smith brings some subtleties once he moves away from the hypercenter.

“Here is the sad flip side of the coin. Once one moves from the city center, Corbusian urbanization, streets not roads and architecture without faceless barcodes is essential: the enemy of stable life and a sense of belonging to this world. It can be anywhere and therefore nowhere”.

This did not prevent Toulouse from ending up with a formula that could serve as a slogan for tourism. “Happy, gentle, elegant, Toulouse! ». And to finish with a wonderful “Pink City”. What else?

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