The Isthmus

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A truly sustainable city can only be built if we prioritize walking, biking, and public transit over cars. The collective over the individual. The Isthmus envisions an alternative present Madison, Wisconsin. Cars do not dominate the streets. There is a greater emphasis on public transportation and green space. This vision was achieved not out of the benevolence of one person in a position of power, but through decades of collective effort and struggle.

I got the idea to map alternative visions cities while visiting my friend in Minneapolis and seeing, as she called it, a “sacred place.” In the middle of the city there is a residential street that looks like every street around it, but in the place of a street dividing the two rows of houses, there is a public park. Even though we were in a large city with a busy street nearby, everything was quiet. How different would our urban lives be even if just one third of streets were built like this?

Aesthetically, I was inspired by the posters of Alphonse Mucha. The rich colors, and flowing curves evoke the beauty of nature and a future where the city is more in tune with its ecology. For those familiar with Madison, I hope this offers you a slightly different perspective.
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