Walkable streets urban design

In the mid-20th century, many 2-way downtown streets were converted to 1-way to streamline traffic operations, reduce conflicts, and create direct access points to newly built urban freeways. Today…

Commercial alleys, though often thought of as dirty or unsafe, can be designed to play an integral role in a downtown street network and improve the pedestrian realm in and around commercial areas.

Landscape architecture is playing the central role in the repositioning of an entire city by transforming its public realm. Over the next several years,…

Loop NYC was a 2017 plan that proposed transforming New York roadways into public parks. The brief imagines dedicated micro highways around the perimeter of Manhattan populated with self-driving cars in an electric blue. Above the highways would be pedestrian-accessible outdoor green spaces. “Communities would connect in unexpected ways,” EDG founder John Meyer says, “and the city would be a healthier place.”

If people don't feel safe to walk why they don't drive instead? So in order to pursue a walkable city, people need to feel safe when they are walking. Like the road diet, those methods that can slow down vehicles can make pedestrians feel safer. And also Jane Jacobs idea of eyes on the street is helpful as well.

Local streets in residential neighborhoods are often underutilized as spaces for play and leisure. These streets should provide safe and inviting places to walk with direct access to local stores and…