Urban Design & Master Planning
The Metropolis of the Future is Car Free
A New Urbanism
MBH International Architects have been members of the Washington DC based Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) since 2003.
As long standing members of the Congress for the New Urbanism, which advocates public transit and pedestrian sympathetic mixed use urban architecture, MBH Architects are passionate about Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), as well as Inner City Re-development and the proper use and integration of the side walk, to promote pedestrian safety.
Transit Oriented Development (T.O.D.)
We are committed to the creation of TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTS (TOD), where many clusters of neighborhoods are inter-linked by means of parks, cycle lanes, walkways, trams and metro rails that form pedestrian friendly and safe [sub]urban environments, effectively separating pedestrians from cars, with a balanced mix of uses such as residential, retail, working, schooling, healthcare, worshiping and recreation - all within a walkable and transit oriented configuration, that decreases the risks to pedestrians and private stresses of time spent in traffic, and that minimises the public borne expenses of road construction and atmospheric pollution.
The Car Free City
We are further committed to creating CAR FREE inter-city AND inner-city modes of public transportation, especially tramways & high speed inter city railways, ensuring a reduction of demands placed on road accident funds and emergency services.
We hold the belief that every person's daily commute to and from work, should be a relaxing and pleasant experience, and should not be spent in the frustration of grid locked peak hour traffic in a car.
To this end, we are also committed to restoring South Africa’s passenger rail infrastructure and returning trams to all major South African cities.
Mega Smart Cities
In April of 2025, MBH International Architects were approached by private developers, at the behest of city officials from an existing city (location currently confidential), and were commissioned to investigate and report on the potential of expanding and modernizing the existing old city, into a new CAR FREE MEGA SMART CITY.
We are pleased to report that we have recently completed our guideline recommendations and the city expansion master planning proposals for this process, which includes a 1st phase of 8,492 hectares / 20984 acres, expanding to 16,492 hectares / 40,752 acres. Drawing from our affiliation and alignment with the Washington DC based Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), we proposed the provisions of:
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A new elevated metro rail line through the old city, linking with a new metro network surrounding the new INNER CITY;
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a CAR FREE, 3 Tier development, with Tier 1 forming the new INNER CITY, surrounded by a calculated and balanced mix of other Use Zones such as Healthcare, Residential, Commercial & Retail, Hospitality, Industrial, Educational, Worshiping, and Recreational zones, forming what we have termed the MID and OUTER Cities, all within a walkable and TRANSIT ORIENTED configuration, that form pedestrian friendly and safe urban & suburban environments,
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The new TRANSIT ORIENTED public transit system will consist of a combination of ICE railway stations at points along the new INNER CITY periphery, linked with the new Metro rail line surrounding the new INNER CITY, integrating all these various Use Zones, into a more sustainable public transit network, consisting of combinations of tramways, metros, cableway pods and drone taxis.
The entire 2 PART guidelines proposal can be viewed at:
PART 1 : Urban Design Principals - This part outlines the advantages and benefits of the CAR FREE CITY and identifies the various Use Zones.
PART 2 : Use Zones Configuration - This part describes how the various Use Zones can be best configured to form a cohesive and pedestrian friendly metropolis.
