麻豆APP

Photo by Jerry Michalski from

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Hans Monderman

Hans Monderman was a Dutch road traffic engineer and innovator. He was recognized for radically challenging the criteria used to evaluate engineering solutions for street design.

Born in the town of Leeuwarden in the northern Dutch province of Friesland, in 1945, his innovative “shared space” plans emphasized human interaction and negotiation over blind obedience to mechanical traffic control devices.

Monderman’s work demonstrated that city and village streets become safer when they are stripped of traffic controls so that drivers must take cues from observing people rather than signs.

He died of cancer on 7 January 2008, and he is survived by his wife Tineke and their two sons Leonard and Johan. Let鈥檚 look at the Top 10 Intriguing Facts about him.

1. He Developed the Concept of 鈥淪hared Space鈥�

Photo by Ingolfson from

Hans Monderman revolutionized urban transportation with his concept of 鈥淪hared Space.鈥�  His idea was simple: remove traffic lights, signs, crosswalks, lane markers, and even curbs so that pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists must negotiate their way through streets by interacting with, and reacting to, one another.

First implemented in his native Netherlands, Monderman鈥檚 designs have since spread throughout Europe, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Brazil, and Canada.

They are also making an appearance in often car-dominated U.S. cities such as Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Chicago.

2. He was Road Safety Investigator

In 1982, Monderman was appointed road safety investigator in the town of Oudehaske at a time when budget cuts had derailed plans for traffic calming measures, even though there had been several recent traffic fatalities.

To save money while still keeping the streets safe, Monderman approached the idea of removing signs and street furniture in order to create a flat, even surface where travelers of all modes had to negotiate rights-of-way amongst themselves.

The plan exceeded even his own expectations, cutting vehicle speeds by forty percent. The absence of all traffic controls increased driver awareness, forcing them to slow down.

3. Monderman Developed more than 100 Shared Space Plans

Image by Queryzo from

Throughout his life, Monderman developed more than 100 Shared Space plans in towns of the northern Dutch provinces of Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe.

Some began to see his work as the next generation of traffic calming, which also was invented in the Netherlands in the late 1960s by frustrated neighbors in the city of Delft who wanted to slow traffic on residential streets.

Monderman took it as a given that for several generations, motorized traffic will remain an essential feature of European economies and their spatial fabric; in effect, he has taken this as his technical and policy target鈥攁 problem that simply will not go away.

4. He was Featured in New York Times

Monderman gained wide attention outside Europe in 2004 when he was featured prominently in publications like The New York Times and Wired. 

Wired describe him as 鈥渢he sort of stout, reliable fellow you’d see on a package of pipe tobacco,鈥� but went on to praise him as 鈥渁 new breed of traffic engineer–equal parts urban designer, social scientist, civil engineer, and psychologist.鈥�

The article scrutinized Monderman-inspired projects in West Palm Beach, Florida, and reported: 鈥淧lanners have redesigned several major streets, removing traffic signals and turn lanes, narrowing the roadbed, and bringing people and cars into much closer contact.

5. He Trained as a Driving Instructor

Monderman trained as an advanced driving instructor and helped to establish advanced driving schools. His knowledge of how roads are designed and constructed prompted his interest in urban designs and how people respond to them.

He was later appointed to head the road safety team following the nation growing concerns about the increase in road accidents, death, and injuries. He began to explore the potential of stripping existing highway paraphernalia and replacing them with simple design measures that influences driver鈥檚 behavior.

6. His Approach was called 鈥淒esigning for Negotiation鈥�

Hans was an exceptionally creative, energetic, and original thinker and doer, right up the middle of the New Mobility Agenda at its best. His specialty was not to write lots of desk reports or go to conferences, but rather to get out onto the street and show people and policymakers what can be done if we apply our minds to it.

His approach has been called “Designing for Negotiation”, which he admitted worked better in some places than others.
At busy urban intersections with slow traffic, he found that it is often safer and more effective to get road users to focus on looking at one another instead of traffic control devices.

7. He was  Car’s Enthusiast

Photo by Erik Wannee from

Although Monderman has been championed as a traffic engineer who revolutionized the profession by designing streets not just for motorists but for pedestrians and cyclists.

He always remained a car-lover who relished tooling around the backroads of Holland in his green Saab.

8. Monderman Was a Certified Civil Engineer

Monderman is a well-known traffic engineer who used his profession to facilitate the movement of motor vehicles. 

From an early age, he was renowned for his practical skills and love of technology. He loved to tinker with things like repairing his neighbors鈥� broken radios and telephones.  

This knack for problem-solving led him to study civil engineering, and his first job out of university was designing roads in Friesland.

9. He Influenced Road Designs around the World

Photo by Jerry Michalski from

Throughout the 20^th century, road engineers and planners assumed that efficient traffic flows and road safety could only be achieved by separating vehicles from civic spaces.

Monderman demonstrated that vehicles could be integrated into the social fabric of communities by treating drivers as intelligent citizens. His ideas became popular among local communities who benefitted from fewer traffic accidents and greater quality spaces.

By the turn of the century, his work became the focus of attention for foreign professionals, journalists, and researchers. His influence can be seen in  Europe and in the United States which have adopted his plans in their cities.

10. Monderman Received Honours for his Achievement

Monderman received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree in traffic planning for outstanding achievements in the fields of traffic engineering, urban design, and project management.

In 2005 he was nominated for the World Technology Award for the Environment and gave a presentation on his work in a speech at the formal conference and awards ceremony in October 2005 in San Francisco.