The developments in urban models, the layout techniques, the values behind them and practices had evolved at different periods of urban thought. These developments are viewed here from the angle of road safety concerns, which may appear as a driving force for decisions, arguments or sometimes alibis. As soon as motorised vehicles appeared in urban areas, the engineers in charge of road networks implemented systems to adapt the layout. At the same time, the literature on town planning took up lack of safety as one of the unbearable evils of the future, contributing to found the functionalist view of urban development. In the 1970s, while American engineeringconstituted a reference for many European countries, a reaction appeared in Holland with the woonerf (home zone) idea, which was to deeply affect layout practices. At the time, many experiences laid the groundwork for a technical doctrine of traffic calming. Today, concerns for eco-mobility tryto bring together such diverse objectives as urban quality, the development of soft modes of transportation, accessibility and mobility, not to forget safety. Planning systems have thus been implemented so that, over the long term, negotiated management of increasingly sprawling urban areas will be adopted. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.
Abstract