Rethinking the Street
Credit: European Cyclist’s Federation
As we all dream of calmer, more positive times, we look for inspiration to cities around the world that are rethinking the way they plan, design, and relate to public space. Check out some of the ideas below. Some come from CoMotion’s recent Rethinking the Street webinar and others, we’ve gathered from various sources over the last few weeks. Let’s all take advantage of this time to totally overhaul, to innovate, and to improve our public streets, sidewalks, parks to better respond to humans. It’s not just about adapting to #pandemiclife, its about dreaming and planning for the new urban future.
NACTO has also released the Streets for Pandemic Response & Recovery, compiling best practices in street design from around the world to address changing conditions in the public realm. Many push for extended ‘people spaces’ along sidewalks.
Milan has developed an Open Streets Plan to make streets more accessible for walking and biking.
In Paris, Champs-Élysées has a proposed road diet to give space back to bicyclists and pedestrians.
LA has an accelerated street repaving program, Streets For All, which is an opportunity to reallocate street space.
A study in Toronto makes the case for bike lanes vs parking.
Seattle is permanently closing 20 miles of streets to vehicular traffic, so that they can be used for people walking and biking. Several other cities are moving in that direction.
The LA Times suggests six ways that the pandemic can transform cities, looking to the past as a reminder of how previous pandemics totally overhauled cities as we know them today. Some examples include: modular and lightweight construction, an emphasis on adaptive reuse, micro-units, and ‘healthy buildings,’ and a renewed value in public spaces for social gathering and human connection.
Italy offers a 500 EUR subsidy for people buying bikes!
In our own work, we’ve seen clients who are eager to get projects in the ground, in order to provide more beautiful and pleasant spaces NOW for people walking and biking, in our urban areas. Here LA continues to seek and test new design ideas.
