Today, after touring the sustainable farm, we went to Pienza. Pienza was designed to be the “ideal Renaissance town”, and built at a more human scale. The first thing I noticed was the scale of the square. It was not big at all, and the buildings were only 3 stories. The city center was also not designed for vehicles at all. Today, cars could not drive through the square or around it. It is solely meant for people to walk, and there are so many connected paths. Theres also a beautiful path that you can walk and look out onto the hills. These paths and the way the city is set up was definitely planned. The designers really took into account the landscape, as well as what feels comfortable for people.
I think that Pienza is a good model for sustainable cities. When the city is designed for people to be able to walk/bike to wherever they need to be then there is no need for cars. People in Pienza also do not have to walk in fear of the cars, like it is in Florence where cars drive on tight, windy streets and people have little room. Of course, the buildings in Pienza are mixed use, with shops on the bottom and living above. The buildings are also an example of adaptive reuse. I saw a restaurant in a building that used to be the Pope’s stables! It was very cool. I hope to travel back to Pienza and spend more time there when its sunnier!
Swanson School of Engineering 