by Frank van Steenbergen and Jigesh Bhavsar
It is a common sight in many places: a dusty road, travelling dirt, broken chunks of concrete, cracked pavement, waste not been removed for ages, grime all around. The roads are unsavory, traffic is pulling through, swirling around, chaos in an environment of chaos.
It starts often with unpaved road shoulders, the dirty edges of the pavement, that are rutted and are sourcing dust. Then dust attracts more dust. Dirt gathers and does not go away: grease, waste remnants, discarded items. The picture is soiled. Broken things do not get removed and linger on. No one cares. Neglect follows neglect.
This picture of dirty chaotic roads is common and not harmless. Why? Because roads are very much our perception of public space. If we are not indoors – in homes, places of work, shops or otherwise – we are likely to be on a street or a road. Some estimates are that we spend 90% indoors, 10% outdoors. Of the 2-3 hours outdoor time, we are likely to spend most, nearly 2 hours, on a road or a street. So, we experience the public space basically from what our roads look like. Our view of the real world is much shaped by the appearance of the roads in our immediate surroundings and unfortunately this is often unesthetic, unorderly and without attention. Environmental psychology now gets working. Neglected road environments come with low discipline, erratic behaviour, affecting road safety. At a next level they permeate a sense of carelessness and unrest. That nothing really matters.
It can be different. Road shoulders can be covered with paver blocks. Road structures can be smoothly finished. Roadsides can be vegetated and well-maintained. Debris can be removed. Streetlights can function. What is broken can be repaired. It is not needed to be messy. There is much difference from place to place, from country to country and much has to do with how we organize.
Roads, as the arteries of public space, shape not just mobility but also our societal norms. It is particularly safety features that often fall short, as revealed during site visits and design reviews. Dust, unmanaged spaces beyond pavements, and inadequate walking areas create unsafe, undignified environments. Villages and built-up areas suffer without gateway treatments and pedestrian friendly infrastructure, which safety audits at the preliminary design stage could have addressed. Thoughtful, clean, and well-designed roads can transform public spaces, fostering safety, dignity, and shared responsibility.
Care and beautification are more than a luxury. They shape who we are, how we relate to things and how things related to us, how we relate to each other in the public space.
To end with a quote from Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Beauty is duty.
