New Capital City for the European Union (2)

SITE SELECTION CRITERIA

The site selection for the EU Capital should not merely be a competition among its strongest partners, resembling the scramble to obtain the next Olympic Games or the America’s Cup. The site must serve the needs of the entire E.U. community.
While Brussels was centrally located at the time of the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the „center“ of the E.U. has been steadily moving east. The E.U. however needs not a geographic center but a European Mind Center which includes many more aspects than only the territorial land surface. It must include accessibility, security, climatic, language, cultural, historic, social, economic and many other considerations which we attempt to cover with this proposal.

THE SITE SURFACE: As it is assumed that the new Capital will benefit from lean management and general easy pedestrian access thanks to modern 3d interconnected sky scrapers with high speed vertical and horizontal people- and goods movers. Auto traffic , parking will be much reduced and underground, thus the required surface may be reduced to some 50 - 75 km2 from the comparable surface of Washington DC with 159 km2. Ideally, it should be limited by lakes, rivers, mountains or other topographic obstacles to urban growth, thus providing natural separation from the surrounding regions.

QUALITY OF LIFE, NATURAL RESOURCES : clean air, minimum pollution, ample water supply, agreeable climate, sunshine, beautiful landscapes, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forests , proximity of needed agricultural produce, access to alpine sports etc.

POPULATION , LANGUAGE
Preferably a multi-national mix such as found in the alps, including French, German, Italian and Romanch

LOW DENSITY LAND USE AND PROPERTY ASPECTS
Population patterns in central Europe show low densities in the Swiss-Austrian alpine region, reflected by low land costs and extensive public land-holdings which facilitates the acquisition of the required Capital City land reserves.
To insure a sustainable land use control , all lands of the capital city should remain public property. Public as well as private land use should be limited to 50 year leases, thus permitting periodic readjustment to new and changing needs. The urban infrastructure can then be financed through lease payments. Special attention shall be paid to the residential needs of the political representatives and the resident government employees to prevent creating privileged structures.

GEODYNAMIC RISKS, adequate safety from earthquakes, avalanches and landslides, floods is essential.

TRANSPORTATION: Considering the scope of the Capital City project, existing infrastructure is of minor importance, as in any case new more efficient transportation systems ( for people and goods) will have to be built, including ultra fast trains ( TGVs, magnet rains), air transport, monorails, metro, etc. offering safe all-time connections to major central European regional destinations.

LIVING QUALITY: The Capital City will be a modern show-case city with near zero pollution. It will have clean rivers, lakes, unpolluted mountains, good air circulation thanks to an articulated topography preventing smog. Geothermic heating, electric- or non-fossil transportation will keep the air free of CO2. A natural environment with forests and rivers within the city will provide a high living quality. This will only be possible because of a an optimal use of three-dimensional urban space with tall interconnected towers, separated by green natural space

SECURITY AND DEFENSE: The 11 September attack on the NY Twin towers showed to a seemingly pacified world , that defense is needed, always and everywhere. Archeology unfortunately reminds us that the best and strongest buildings man built are usually castles and walled cities . This consideration must also be included in planning the new E.U. Capital City.
Check through control points must be few. Boundaries should be natural barriers, psychologically acceptable, like mountains, rivers , lakes, etc. Strategic infrastructures ( power stations, water treatment , communications center, emergency warehousing ,etc) should be placed safely underground. An aerial defense system must be realized that can stop any air attack. A modern city with an efficient public transportation system will be in a better position to insure safety without excessive visible controls than present cities with their uncontrollable masses of private vehicles and the corresponding space needs for arteries and parking.
Security and defense aspects would exclude exocentric sites on the seashores of the Baltic, the Adria or the mediterranean seas. Naval access to a Capital City is no longer a vital necessity. Sea shore sites are vulnerable to submarine threats. An alpine site would provide barriers to all forms of intrusion excepting attacks from outer space. A site in the Alpine region would therefore seems to answer major geo-political criteria.

TOURISM: A new dimension in economic development, tourism is an important aspect in planning the EU Capital City. Tourism includes all kind of activities, from pure leisure over to business- and convention tourism which mixes learning, net-working , and on to political and government tourism, which attempts to treat and sometimes solves international problems including. cultural, economic, religious, ethnic, health, educational questions and catastrophies, etc. Tourism has become an important element for public relations, for political education and for exerting influence on the international scene, for cultural global understanding and integration.

SYMBOLIC VALUES
A new capital city will be in need of landmarks, mountains, symbols, monuments, museums, monasteries , etc. The important buildings will surely be designed by outstanding architects and produce some landmarks remembered by many: Brasilia with famous buildings by Oscar Niemeyer, or Chandigarh with creations from le Corbusier . The lake of Geneva with its 80 m high water fountain. The „Eiffel Tower“ in Paris. However some outstanding natural landmark is even better such as the Matterhorn in Zermatt, or the „Aso Rock“ in the new Capital of Nigeria Abuja.

PHILOSOPHIC VALUES
Based on Plato’s thought that government should be the responsibility of Philosophers, we may seek an environment for government that would protect it from mediocre every –day, egoistic , re-active , short-sighted politics and would on the contrary encourage sustainable comprehensive thought, meditation, discussion and un-selfish leadership. We may be inspired by some historic places, which, in spite or because of their seclusion obtained such a symbolic continental influence and power, such as the Inca city of Machu Pichu or the Buddhist monastery of Potala in Lhasa.