Promoting Livable Streets In Philadelphia

Creating livable streets starts at the grassroots level by gathering support from the community. Better Blocks Philly was a project that created temporary changes to streets, promoting the concept of the "complete street" for the residents.

1 minute read

October 27, 2011, 12:00 PM PDT

By David Zeetser

The South of South Street Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) ran a 10-day project that promoted the importance of livable streets by making temporary changes to several streets. With the help of the city, according to The Dirt, they installed "temporary bump-outs, mid-block crossings and pop-up parklets that double as bump-outs."

Not only are the residents changing the streetscape, but the city is also doing their part. In 2009, the city painted bike lanes on two major streets, Pine St. and Spruce St. as an experiment to "determine the effect that the elimination of a travel lane and replacement with bike lanes would have on all modes of traffic," said The Dirt.

The results were positive reducing crash rates and increasing cycling rates that the city has decided to make changes to other streets.

FULL STORY: Top-Down Meets Bottom-Up on Philadelphia Streets

Thursday, October 27, 2011 in Project For Public Spaces

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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