beyond the car streets as places1old.sazp.sk/.../beyond_the_car_streets_as_places1.pdf · our goals...

Beyond the CarStreets as Places

Our Goals• Empower communities to make

decisions about their future

• Create great places, lively communities, active and happy citizens

• Provide the necessary tools to those who make decisions about the future of urban spaces

• Transform the role of experts from decision makers to technical resources for the community

• Create more livable, sustainable, equitable and joyful cities

Streets and roads represent more than 50% of the public spaces in any city.

Why aren’t we building better Downtowns, Streets, and Public

Spaces today?

PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES

How are development goals identified?


Crisis driven, Politically initiated

Relies on professionals and “experts”

ExpensiveCommunity is resistant

Static designs

Results in limited experience of place

Narrow Goals

Pro

ject

/ D

isci

plin

e D

riven

App

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When you design your community around cars and traffic …you get more cars and traffic.


The erosion of cities by automobiles proceeds as a kind of nibbling. Small nibbles at first but eventually hefty bites. A street is widened here, another is straightened there, a wide avenue is converted to one way flow and more land goes into parking. No one step in this process is in itself crucial but cumulatively the effect is enormous .

Jane Jacobs, 1954

When you design your community around people and places … you get more people and places.


When you focus on a place, you do everything differently

Leads to livable urban environments

that preserve the countryside

Enhances outdoor use

Reduces car trips and congestion

Encourages a complementary mix

of uses

Encourages walking and biking

Creates healthier

communities

Green Benefits of Place

PLACE

PRINCIPLES OF GREAT STREETS

� Attractions & Destinations

� Identity & Image

� Active & Connected Edge Uses

� Amenities

� Management: Central to the Solution

� Seasonal Strategy

� Diverse User Groups

� Traffic, Transit & the Pedestrian

� Blending of Uses and Modes

� Protects Neighborhoods and Natural

Attractions & Destinations

� Curiosity, chaos, choices, rhythm, pace – with special places and rest spots – the art of the path

Attractions & Destinations

� Clustered activity points of interest� 10+ destinations – including food and markets,

local retail, art, play, education, health/recreation

New Haven: Chapel Street

Attractions & Destinations� Street design that creates distinctive places, not a

streetscape plan

Identity & Image� Showcase local assets to create a distinct sense of

place� Businesses, pedestrians and drivers raise their

behavior (conform, respect) to this vision

Active & Connected Edge Uses

� Activate the street with ground floor uses� Pedestrians choose their path based on the

expectation of a social, commercial or aesthetic experience

Active & Connected Edge Uses � Narrow cross sections slow traffic and allow the street

to connect, rather than divide, both sides of the street� Trees and small setbacks improve pedestrian

experience� Green Features promote use and sustainability

Green Streets� Reduce impervious

surface

� Improve water quality

� Reduce urban heating

� Enhance pedestrian safety

� Beautify neighborhoods

� CREATE A PLACE

Before

After

� Reduce perceived width of street, and help calm traffic

� Provide buffer strips between sidewalk and road

Street Trees

� Suitable for parking lanes, sidewalks and alleys

Portland, OR

Permeable Paving

Infiltration Basins� Structured ‘rain

gardens’ that use plants and soils to filter, absorb and slow stormwater flows into area waterways

Stormwater Planters� Landscaped areas

that are typically open to the underlying soil

Vegetated Swales� Greening the edges of

arterials and residential streets can provide natural and economical stormwater management

Other Considerations



Amenities� Public and private seating options� Triangulate to support use – cluster sidewalk

elements like benches, waste baskets, planters, lampposts, cafes

Management - Central to the Solution� Maintenance and security� Programming – daily activity generators and cultural,

civic and seasonal celebrations

Flexibility� Street design can respond to community use

� Activate throughout the day, week and year

Seasonal Strategies

Draws Diverse User Groups

� No one group or use dominates (ethnicities, ages, interests, economic means, etc.)

� Design for use

Traffic, Transit & the Pedestrian� Range of transportation options � Complete street design (all appropriate modes

are accommodated)

Traffic, Transit & the Pedestrian� Walkable – there are places to go� Connected to adjacent areas

Why do people walk less in low-income neighborhoods in NYC?� Disparities in Urban Neighborhood Conditions: Evide nce from GIS

Measures and Field Observation in New York CityJournal of Public Health Policy (2009)Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy with Project for Public Spaces

\\\

“Poor census tracts had significantly fewer street trees, landmarked buildings, clean streets, and sidewalk cafes, and higher rates of felony complaints, narcotics arrests, and vehicular crashes.

Improving aesthetic and safety conditions in poor neighborhoods may help reduce disparities in physical activity among urban residents.”

Protects Neighborhoods and Natural Areas � Clear transitions and changes in street character

between high and low function roadways

From Adequate to Extraordinary

Main Street

beyond the car streets as places1old.sazp.sk/.../beyond_the_car_streets_as_places1.pdf · our goals...

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