Via Streetsblog, Transportation Alternatives just released their "Streets to Live by" report (pdf), which tries to pin down what makes a street "livable" rather than simply functional, examines a slew of successful efforts cities have made to change the nature of their public spaces, and examines what would be required to make New York's streets yet more livable. I don't usually say this about long think tank reports, but it's actually a good read. I particularly liked this line: "In New York City, streets represent one quarter of land area. The majority of this space is dedicated to only one use – private motorized vehicular transportation. People who walk are pushed off to the edges, and bicyclists are, in most places, given no space at all." The rest, of course, is mainly made of buildings of various sorts. It's a little bit hard to have a robust communal life when the usable public space is a three-foot wide strip of pavement flanked by massive blocks of concrete on one side and speeding hulks of metal on the other. Other cities figured this one out, decided to orient their streets towards livability rather than just driveability and, shockingly, found that people used, and loved, the new spaces. The fact that they also came with reductions in obesity, pollution, social isolation, and traffic fatalities was icing on the cake.Image used under a Creative Commons license from LIVABLE STREETS.
Via Streetsblog, Transportation Alternatives just released their "Streets to Live by" report (pdf), which tries to pin down what makes a street "livable" rather than simply functional, examines a slew of successful efforts cities have made to change the nature of their public spaces, and examines what would be required to make New York's streets yet more livable. I don't usually say this about long think tank reports, but it's actually a good read. I particularly liked this line: "In New York City, streets represent one quarter of land area. The majority of this space is dedicated to only one use – private motorized vehicular transportation. People who walk are pushed off to the edges, and bicyclists are, in most places, given no space at all." The rest, of course, is mainly made of buildings of various sorts. It's a little bit hard to have a robust communal life when the usable public space is a three-foot wide strip of pavement flanked by massive blocks of concrete on one side and speeding hulks of metal on the other. Other cities figured this one out, decided to orient their streets towards livability rather than just driveability and, shockingly, found that people used, and loved, the new spaces. The fact that they also came with reductions in obesity, pollution, social isolation, and traffic fatalities was icing on the cake.Image used under a Creative Commons license from 
