The cities that are making their pandemic-era car-free experiments permanent.

While some cities are reverting their ‘open streets’ to car-oriented spaces, others are keeping the car-free spaces created during the pandemic. An article by Linda Poon, Feargus O'Sullivan, and Amy Yee in Bloomberg CityLab highlights the places where street transformations are becoming part of the permanent fabric of the city.
The list includes San Francisco’s John F. Kennedy Drive, a mile of which winds through Golden Gate Park. After the city banned cars on this stretch in 2020, local groups mounted an intense opposition campaign. “It has since turned into a full-out pedestrian promenade, with vibrant street murals and eye-popping art installations, including a trio of seven-foot-tall dachshund head sculptures from the city’s defunct fast-food icon Doggie Diner, planted right in the middle of the street.” Ultimately, the city decided to keep the road car-free.
Another success story is 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, which became a vibrant pedestrian hub as part of the city’s Open Streets initiative. While there is some local opposition, the street has so far remained car-free.
The article also describes projects in Stockholm, Paris, Milan, Bogotá, and Quito, where a 1-mile segment of Viracocha Street was made safer for pedestrians and cyclists with extended sidewalks, new crosswalks, narrowed traffic lanes, and a street mural.
FULL STORY: The Cities Keeping Their Car-Free Spaces

Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime
Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021. But did they rise equally in all cities, or was the situation worse in some than in others?

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

IPCC Report: The World Is Running Out of Time on Climate Change
The planet is not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent report published by the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise
A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

Buttigieg: Tesla ‘Autopilot’ Marketing ‘A Concern’
The USDOT secretary says marketing doesn’t fall under his department’s investigative authority, but expressed disapproval of language that implies autonomous operation.
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
Cornell University
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.