Free(ing)-way: nature & energy diagnosis of Santo Domingo's freeways

Abstract

Road infrastructure, specifically freeways, were once understood as a revolutionary urban element leading to a better future, until its promised progress was proved misleading. Since then, freeways became the “enemy” of urban planning, being demolished from many cities’ center in order to reclaim the street for the people and more sustainable means of transportation. The infrastructure itself was to blame for its meaning and urban impact, however, other similar structure were still being built and/or renovated for different purposes. In this research, we explore the possibility for freeways and road infrastructure to be reinserted as public space elements, understanding them as a double ground layer able to open a wide and unique range of activities. For this purpose, a freeway located in Santo Domingo, adjacent to its downtown, is tested and transformed into the current definition of a positive urban environment with the infrastructure as footprint of the past which once modeled and still impact the future of the city.