Redesign of St. Petersburger Straße: From traffic route to oasis!

Redesign of St. Petersburger Straße: From traffic route to oasis!

St.-Petersburger-Strasse in Dresden is about to undergo a fundamental transformation. This busy main road, which was planned in the 1960s, stretches over 1.6 kilometers and is of poor quality. Its current design makes life more difficult for pedestrians and represents a barrier to the permeability of the city center. In order to promote the transformation of the street from a transport route to a living space, students from several universities took part in a design competition. The Technical University of Dresden (TUD) won this competition and presented its designs in an exhibition at the Center for Building Culture Saxony (ZfBK).

The exhibition entitled “St. Petersburg OASIS – From Transport to Living Space” can be seen from May 6th to June 12th, 2025 in the Kulturpalast Dresden. It not only offers TUD's award-winning projects, but also 20 other innovative ideas for the future design of St.-Petersburger-Strasse. The work was carried out by students under the direction of Professor Angela Mensing-de Jong from TUD as well as from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and Nuremberg University of Technology. Topics such as future traffic, the creation of green spaces and sensible development were the focus of the considerations. The design by Gael Desre, Ricardo Nitzsche and Karina Kharchenko from TUD won the competition, and their projects were particularly highlighted.

The challenges of traffic design

St.-Petersburger-Straße is not only designed as a traffic route, but also cuts through the city center and represents a significant barrier. With its width of up to 80 meters and at least two lanes in each direction, it is aimed at car traffic, which affects the quality of life in the area. The students have developed concepts that take the necessary traffic into account, but at the same time also focus on the expansion of green spaces and sensible development.

At the opening of the exhibition on May 5, 2025, the Rector of the TUD, Prof. Ursula Staudinger, congratulated the winning teams. She emphasized the enormous development potential of the road, especially in the context of the mobility transition. In addition, events will take place on May 17 and 23, 2025 that enable an exchange of ideas with the public. Guided tours and discussion rounds will bring citizens closer to the topic, although registration is recommended.

The image of the cities of the future

The development of St.-Petersburger-Straße in Dresden is part of a nationwide trend. Urbanization and improved quality of life are central concerns in urban planning. Urban geographer and futurologist Stefan Carsten argues that over the next 20 years, automobile-driven traffic will decrease, while demand for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users will increase. This confirms the growing recognition that quality of life and quality of stay are essential factors for the economic attractiveness of cities. Entire approaches like those in Munich, where the proportion of car trips fell from 33% to 24%, show the possibilities of redesigning urban mobility.

Urban space can transform when political decisions are made in municipalities. The focus should not only be on safety for pedestrians, but also on creating a new coexistence between pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooter users. The amendment to the road traffic regulations offers cities the opportunity to significantly change public space design, including the integration of e-scooters into urban planning.

With the upcoming redesign of St.-Petersburger-Strasse, Dresden is showing a forward-looking approach to improving urban quality of life. It remains to be seen whether the vision of an urban oasis will become a reality, but the first phase in the form of the exhibition and student ideas is a promising start.

For further information about the projects and the exhibition, please visit Technical University of Dresden, Sächsische.de and SWR.de.