Livable Streets

Aerial view of vehicles on city street with superimposed graphic arrows indicating autonomous cars.

Maintaining Livability in the Age of Autonomous Cars

How do self-driving cars fit into ‘livable streets?’

October 5, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Greenwich Village street with red brick buildings with green awnings and businesses on first floor

Livable Streets, Revisited

The updated version of Donald Appleyard’s 1982 book Livable Streets, written by Appleyard's son, dives even deeper into the ‘ecology of the street,’ proposing actionable solutions for the conflicts and problems facing urban environments today.

February 26, 2023 - Bruce Appleyard

The Streets Have Spoken: 2013 Streetsies Awarded

Streetsblog has announced the winners of its annual readers' poll on the year's best in sustainable transportation and livable communities.

January 3, 2014 - DC.Streetsblog

How Can New York Make its Streets More Livable?

After a decade of livable street gains under Mayor Bloomberg, staff members at NYC's most respected alternative transportation advocacy group share their visions for what changes will take place over the next four years on the city's streets.

September 18, 2013 - Reclaim

Boston Mayoral Candidates Talk Livable Streets, But Can They Walk the Walk?

At a forum held this week, Boston mayoral candidates demonstrated their fluency in the language of transportation alternatives and livable communities. But ideas for meaningful policy changes were largely missing, says Boston Streets.

September 18, 2013 - Boston Streets

Walkable Streets Guide Gets Federal Endorsement

The Federal Highway Administration's recent support for the use of an ITE/CNU authored walkable urban thoroughfares guide as a companion to the widely used AASHTO "Green Book" gives local transportation engineers more tools to create livable streets.

September 16, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Livable Streets Advocates Are Winners on NYC Primary Day

Bill de Blasio wasn't the only candidate backed by the newly-formed livable streets political action committee StreetsPAC to emerge victorious from Tuesday's primary elections in NYC. 13 of 18 council candidates supported by StreetsPAC won.

September 12, 2013 - Streetsblog

The Busiest Street In Town

Few children’s books skillfully cover the subject of urban planning. Chicago's Wacker Manual for the Plan of Chicago (1911), David Macaulay’s lavishly illustrated City:A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1974), and most recently, Planetizen's Where Things Are, From Near to Far (2008) are standouts. 

July 25, 2010 - Mike Lydon

The Country's Best Urban Bike Commute?

More than two years years ago I chronicled my daily bicycle commute in Miami. The 8-mile trip was as representative of Miami's built and socio-cultural landscape as it was harrowing. While that city has surely made progress in the pas two years, I'd be lying if I didn't disclose that I partially moved to New York City because of the progress being made in designing livable streets infrastructure. Quite simply, it feels good to be in a city that "gets it." 

January 18, 2010 - Mike Lydon

The Battle for Bedford Avenue

For a myriad of personal and professional reasons I moved to New York City this fall. Part of the reason I uprooted myself from the pastel, sun soaked streets of Miami Beach to the chaos of New York is because Gotham has made such incredible strides in becoming one of America's most bicycle-friendly cities. 

December 9, 2009 - Mike Lydon

New Plaza Conversion Projects Chosen For New York City

Nine new sites have been selected by New York City's Department of Transportation for conversion into public plazas.

May 4, 2009 - Streetsblog

Viva La Ciclovia!

Livable streets proponents look back on 2008 as the year some of the movement’s best laid plans became mainstream. Bicycle sharing systems launched in both Washington DC and Montreal. Auto-dependent Charlotte saw its LYNX light rail surpass 2025 ridership projections, while Seattle also beat ridership projections on its snazzy new Streetcar. And New York City and Portland continued to reclaim space for less auto-centric uses—witnessing 35% and 25% growth respectively in bicycle mode share.

March 11, 2009 - Mike Lydon

New York City to Reclaim Broadway For Pedestrians

Mayor Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan have unveiled plans to turn a large segment of midtown into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare. The bold move is being applauded by livable street advocates across the United States.

February 27, 2009 - Streetsblog

Streetsblog: Advocacy Journalism and the Reconquering of the American City

The Internet is a trove of great ideas about improving cities. Filling blogs and personal websites, the vast majority of ideas out there are little more than that: ideas. New York City's Streetsblog -- now a growing nationwide force -- is transforming the conversation into action.

January 29, 2009 - Mike Lydon

Sweet Spot Density for Livable Neighborhoods

Single-family detached homes typically epitomize sprawl, while 4 or 5 story apartment buildings now seem to be the utopian ideal for livable neighborhoods. But some of the most livable and walkable neighborhoods I know are largely comprised of single family homes.

December 30, 2008 - Diana DeRubertis

What A Difference A Year Makes

In late 2007, it was with increasing frustration that I penned and op-ed entitled "Make Miami a Bicycle-Friendly City." Appearing in the December 13th edition of the Miami Herald, the article implored City officials to make the city more amenable to bicycling (It was no surprise in the spring of 2008 when Bicycling Magazine named Miami one of the three worst cities in America in which to bicycle). The City's response exceeded all of my expectations.

December 16, 2008 - Mike Lydon

What More 'Livable Streets' Could Mean for New York

This article from The New York Observer looks at how New York City might be different with more "livable streets".

August 2, 2008 - The New York Observer

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