Key Takeaways

• Streets are the largest continuous public spaces in cities. They are an underused asset for health, equity, and climate goals.
• Treat streets as places for people first, i.e., walking, play, commerce, social life, and not solely for moving cars.

Summary

1. Street Design Strategies per the Global Street Design Guide by GDCI:
   • • Ensure Universal Accessibility
     • Design for Safe Speeds
     • Accommodate Diverse Uses
     • Develop Context-Driven Solutions
     • Act Now – Start Somewhere.
     • Reconfigure the Space
2. Cities designed for cars harm public life globally:
   • • Over 1 million traffic deaths
     • Over 90% of people breathe polluted air
     • Over 80% of adolescents (age 11 – 17) do not meet the recommended daily physical activity standards.
3. Lessons:
   • • Start with temporary pop-ups and interim treatments, then scale when pilots prove successful.
     • Measure and communicate pilot success through before/after visuals and quantitative and qualitative data such as usage increase, pollution reduction, perceived safety, etc., to create the political case.
     • Include cross-disciplinary professionals beyond planners and engineers. Include journalists, enforcement officers, school communities and local businesses to reduce political resistance and sustain projects.

How can Cities apply these learnings?

1. Prioritize human needs by shortening crossings, tightening turning radii, adding protected cycle space, and creating plazas and play spaces outside schools.
2. Pair physical change with programming such as markets, seating, school activities, and play events to activate and normalize new uses.
3. Engage communities early-on in projects: treat citizens as experts, learn from their experiences, and plan with them for the best results.
4. Measure pilot success intentionally:
   • • Identify high-value test sites with visible, narratable impact: school fronts, neighborhood main streets, and unsafe intersections.
     • Collect baseline and post-intervention data for vehicle speeds, conflict observations, and pollution where feasible. 
     • Use simple survey instruments for perceived safety and usage.
     • Share results publicly with stories and images.
     • Use pilot success data to update local street design manuals and budget proposals.

Ideas for further reading

1. Global Street Design Guide by GDCI
2. GDCI Resources: https://globaldesigningcities.org/guides-publications/

Ideas for further research

1. Comparative analysis of neighborhoods/sites that moved from pop-up to permanent changes: identify political, technical and financial inflection points.
2. Track physical activity and respiratory outcomes in neighborhoods with before/after street transformations.