Central neighborhoods of Napoli

This is the most important single page of images for my students at Kabul University. There are many paths to a modern city, both physically and institutionally. What these images show is a city of extremely narrow streets, similar to the width of the informal streets in Kabul, but with five-storey buildings on all sides.

Strada tipica di Napoli

Typical street. Four meters wide, with shops on the ground floor, and balconies up above extending 80cm over the street.

Piazza tipica, Napoli

At some intersections, the streets open up into squares.

Even though the streets are narrow, they are used by motor-scooters,

And by cars!

Some side streets are even narrower. This one is about 3 meters.

Because the whole width of the street is paved, it can be used by pedestrians with strollers, as well as vehicles.

At this intersection you can see how much the buildings create shade.

As in Kabul, people sometimes build out over the street. Often this marks off separate neighborhoods.

Porta grande

Garage doors open off the streets into central courtyards of houses.

Courtyards within the buildings are actually much more spacious than the surrounding public streets.

hard stone street-pavers

The streets are paved with very hard stone. Notice how it has become polished.

These streets work well for the local economy. Trucks can get in to supply stores, but they must drive quite slowly–which makes the streets pedestrian-friendly as well.

Maybe this can work in Kabul, too.

 

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