Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces
The European Prize for Urban Public Space has shortlisted architectural projects that repurpose car-centric infrastructure into climate-resilient community areas. These designs transform obsolete roundabouts and parking lots into green spaces and public cooling zones to combat urban heat.
Why it matters
As cities face rising temperatures, these architectural interventions offer a scalable model for sustainable, human-centric urban planning.
Housed in an obsolete roundabout, Round About Baths transformed the site into a place of refuge from extreme heat. Photograph: Josema Cutillas Housed in an obsolete roundabout, Round About Baths transformed the site into a place of refuge from extreme heat. Photograph: Josema Cutillas Architecture Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights projects helping people cope with climate crisis
Philip Oltermann European culture editor Wed 9 Sep 2026 00.00 EDT Last modified on Wed 9 Sep 2026 08.53 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google I n the words of Joni Mitchell, the planners of many urban centres around the world “paved paradise and put up a parking lot”. The European Prize for Urban Public Space tries to show that cities don’t have to be locked in the automotive age for ever.
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