Across the continent, populations have strived over the years to liberate their living spaces from the autocracy of the car. In fact, since the early 1960s, a growing number of European cities have become more people-centred by actively reducing the influence of the car, and have made part of their town centres permanently car-free.

Architect Konrad Buhagiar, partner at aoM, the architects entrusted with the design at Tigné Point, pointed out that authorities both locally and internationally are starting to shut off areas to traffic to combat the issues of congestion and pollution. “Since Midi plc, the developers of Tigné Point, are creating what is ostensibly a small town, we were able to design it around a core which will provide a vital psychological and physical centre to the place.”

It is often cities that have a central core that lend themselves naturally to their conversion to a pedestrian zone. Indeed, the pjazza in Malta has always been the focal part of the community, providing a natural venue for assembly for a wide variety of social events.

The familiar concept of a central square provided the nucleus around which various public areas at Tigné Point were devised. Measuring approximately 2,500 square metres, Pjazza Tigné is approximately the same size as Piazza Regina in Valletta. It is situated directly above a four-storey underground car park that holds over 1,000 cars, making it one of the most easily accessible town squares in Malta.

Mr Buhagiar added: “The main benefits of a car-free neighbourhood are obvious: less noise, the fact that children can play outside safely, the elderly don’t have to worry about the dangers of traffic and ultimately, of course, the fact that both residents and visitors to the peninsula will appreciate life in a pollution-free environment.

“Not only will the public have access to the piazza and Fort Tigné itself, but it will also have full access to the shoreline and to a new walkway that will circumnavigate the peninsula. This new footpath will be an extension of the already popular Sliema front, as it will link the Qui-si-Sana promenade with the Ferries, thereby creating an uninterrupted public walkway from St Julian’s to Manoel Island.