Split’s Ring Road

The VIII Mediterranean Games held in Split (Croatia) in 1979 presented a transformative moment, catalyzing the implementation of long-envisioned urban plans through the completion of Split’s ring road. Within three years, this infrastructural backbone’s final development reshaped the city by connecting emerging subcenters of sports and other public programs with existing ones while linking Split’s southeastern and southwestern coastlines into a continuous system. The ring road facilitated the polycentric development conceptualized since the 1950s, integrating protective green zones with the subcenters, while addressing critical traffic challenges. This article examines the institutional framework that enabled this ambitious project, led by the Urban Planning Institute of Dalmatia - Split, and analyzes how the implementation bridged multiple scales from architectural to infrastructural vision. The ring road represents a uniquely contextual implementation of post-WWII urban plans, responding to Split’s particular topography and landscape while demonstrating how a mega-event provided momentum to realize comprehensive urban transformation with lasting impact on the city’s spatial organization.