How Streets and Social Justice Intersect

Streets aren’t just thoroughfares to get people from one place to another.

They also serve as a way to connect residents of a community and promote health and economic activity, writes Marissa Reilly, a Berkeley-based urban planner and Lillian Jacobson, a master’s degree candidate at MIT.

“Streets often change how people perceive their environment: they can make people feel safe or deter them from walking in a certain area; they can encourage social interaction or create deserted sidewalks; they can spur economic activity or stall neighborhood growth.  Street design is not merely about aesthetics and modes of mobility—streets have the potential to affect the health and life outcomes of everyone who uses them.”

The authors describe the ways in which streets impact economic development, health, and social interaction.