EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS 0 Streets, the Implosion of the Public Domain

Who owns the street? What makes it public or private? What is the influence of the architecture of our streets on its use? How have streets developed over the last 3000 years?
The evolution of existing and utopian streets shows the fragmentation of the concept of the street and indicates that the street is still transforming. The portraits of the different street typologies are shown as black and white line drawings: black indicates (semi) public space and white private space. Through this, the architecture of the street is made explicit.
Apart from the political context in which the streets were made or under which regime they function, there are two important conclusions to be drawn. First of all it becomes clear that the simple concept of the street as a linear element for transport, commerce, and entertainment has become a multi-faceted construction which connects various spaces horizontally but also vertically.
Secondly, an implosion of the public domain can be seen. The public domain is gradually introverting, as we can see in the examples of shopping malls, gated communities, theme parks and privately owned public spaces. The differences between formal, regulated streets on the one hand and informal streets on the other become more extreme.