For a while now, I've wondered if we have been mislabeling the development around well functioning transit stops as transit-oriented developments (TODs). This may seem odd, because numerous studies have shown that property values can increase by 20% to 40% percent around transit stops, particularly rail stations (although the increases are uneven).
Pedestrian Friendly
Would People Drive Less if Cities Were Built Differently?
Dr. Marlon Boarnet, a professor in UC Irvine's Dept. of Planning, Policy and Design, has based his research around that question and has some answers.
YouTube
Redesign Near Train Station to Create New Gateway in Philadelphia
Plans are emerging to revamp the public space surrounding Philadelphia's 30th Street train station to create a more vibrant way to enter the city.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Journalists Missing that Road Design is Key to Pedestrian Safety
The Governor's Highway Safety Association released a report citing an uptick in pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2010 and speculates on all sorts of reasons for this except poor road design.
Greater Greater Washington
Community Transforms Street Overnight
Local residents bring life back a desolate line of shops in Oak Cliff, a streetcar suburb of Dallas, overnight. The intention of the Better Block project is to demonstrate the value of pedestrian friendly spaces and encourage future investments.
Go Oak Cliff
Pedestrian-Friendly Sydney On the Way
Officials in Australia have announced plans to recast downtown Sydney as a pedestrian-friendly central business district.
ABC
Commuting By Escalator
A system of escalators in Hong Kong, installed in 1993 to create a new connection between districts, has become an unusual and popular way to commute Hong Kong's steep streets.
BBC
Getting Buy-In On A New Urbanist Vision
Alamo Heights, a suburb of San Antonio, grapples with whether to adopt a "New Urbanist" (but slightly more traditional) approach to its major thoroughfare to improve pedestrian and bicycle access.
San Antonio Express-News
Wired Says: It's Time for Cities to Favor People, Not Cars
Wired Magazine figures out what the planning world already knows- that there is a need to shift planning policies away from auto-oriented development and towards the pedestrian.
Wired
Traffic Lanes Turned Pedestrian Plazas
Public plazas have been cropping up along Broadway and Madison Square in New York, occupying spaces that were once traffic lanes.
USA Today
Transforming Streets Into 'Urban Oases'
A new San Francisco plan seeks to follow in the footsteps of cities like Copenhagen and Portland in revitalizing streets, alleys, medians, and crosswalks. The goal is to bring the city's outdoors to its 'rightful place as the center of civic life.'
The San Francisco Chronicle
Traffic Calmed
This video from StreetFilm shows the extensive traffic calming efforts taken by one beach community in Australia.
Streetsblog
Dublin Disappearing?
Sun, 03/09/2008 - 10:26
Anne Street, Dublin City Center: A mixture of uses prevail
in this pedestrian friendly, human-scaled street.
