Soviet central planning gets recycled into Vision Zero

Vincent J. Curtis

23 Feb 21

RE: Smart streets better by design.  Hamilton Spectator 20 Feb 21

The architectural firm of Shaker and Premi has once again raised its tattered flag above the parapet and announced that their ideal city is Moscow, circa 1975.  Yes, the height of soulless, Soviet brutalism.  They call their concept, “Smart Streets.”

In Moscow, 1975, except for official vehicles and a few private cars, everybody used public transit, or rode bikes, or walked.  Few could afford to drive the Soviet-era Ladas, Trabants, and ZIL-114s on the smart streets of Moscow.  If you hate driving, Soviet-era Moscow is your kind of town.

Shaker and Premi are simply wrong to suggest that streets have but one purpose.  There are different kinds of streets, and they serve different purposes.  Both Laurier Ave., and Main St. W. are streets with sidewalks on both sides and pavement in the middle.  Main is wider than Laurier because one serves as a major thoroughfare while the other is a quiet residential street.  Kids can play road hockey on Laurier, but that wouldn’t be “smart” on Main (unless you’re BLM!)

An analysis that reduces all streets to one-size-fits-all isn’t suitable even for Moscow.  It’s classical Marxist reductionism, but if you’re into central planning and starry-eyed designs with zero applicability to the real world, then Shaker and Premi’s “Vision Zero” is the globalist Marxist, central plan you’ll love.

Architects often draw inspiration from the past, but shouldn’t sacrifice the realities of the present or the real needs of the future to a Year Zero vision.

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