Shared streets

Woonerf street with no curbs and trees in Lodz, Poland

What Is a Woonerf?

The woonerf, a type of road design that encourages multimodal transportation and blends pedestrian and vehicle space, was born as a reaction to the car-centric development that began dominating American and European city planning in the mid-twentieth century.

October 5, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

People gather on a street with no cars during the L.E.A.F. Festival of Flowers in the Meatpacking District of New York City.

‘Togetherness’ as a Synonym for ‘Transportation’

Transportation is a fundamental aspect of community cohesion, and should be considered a synonym for togetherness.

May 23, 2022 - William Riggs

Chicago Bikers

Chicago Dismantles Leland 'Slow Street' Three Months Early

Citing neighborhood concerns, the city is ending the Slow Street program on Leland Street as more parks and beaches reopen, but advocates want to see more permanent traffic calming measures.

September 27, 2021 - Streetsblog Chicago

No Walking

How Sidewalks Literally Sideline the Pedestrian

Plenty of sidewalks stand in need of improvement, and many aren't there at all. But they're also a symbol of the automobile's engineered dominance of our roads.

February 20, 2018 - Curbed

Washington, D.C.

Shared Street Mixes Pedestrians and Cars—Truly Radical

A new development in Washington, D.C. features the largest "shared space" in the United States.

December 12, 2017 - Public Square: A CNU Journal

Shared Street

Video Explainer: The Magic of Shared Streets

Most people would probably assume a shared street, with no signs, lanes, or other regulatory infrastructure, is an accident waiting to happen. More and more cities are proving the opposite.

December 1, 2017 - Vox on YouTube

Arlington

Arlington County Allows New Street Variations to Prioritize Multi-Modalism

The Virginia county of Arlington has written into law the ability to create shared streets as well as streets that prioritize pedestrians.

October 20, 2016 - Arlington County

Argyle Street

Chicago's Shared Street Off to a Bumpy Start

The shared street concept is being tested in Chicago, with goals of spurring economic development, allowing new and flexible use of public spaces, and increasing pedestrian safety.

September 13, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Lessons From Manhattan's First 'Shared Streets' Event

New York City has several famous examples of pedestrian-only environments, but last weekend's Shared Streets event was an experiment in co-existence.

August 16, 2016 - StreetsBlog NYC

CicLAvia Crowd

Open Streets Events Enjoy Coast-to-Coast Popularity

New York City and San Jose have expanded or added rules that temporarily close some of their streets to automobile traffic. This continues a string of successes for the open streets movement.

July 15, 2015 - Next City

Downtown Pittsburgh Stakeholders Pitch Shared Streets

It's an early idea, but Pittsburgh, with support from transportation planners and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, could be the next U.S. city to consider the shared streets concept.

June 28, 2015 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ca73

A Pedestrian's Perspective on Sprawling Orange County

Southern California's Orange County isn't exactly known for its walkability. Frank H. Wu decided to test that notion on a recent carless visit.

March 11, 2015 - Huffington Post

Shared Street

Naked is Better! On the Many Benefits of Shared Streets

Experiments with shared (also called "naked") streets in Auckland, New Zealand show that mixing motorized and non-motorized modes can be safe, friendly, and economically successful.

February 26, 2015 - Shared Spaces Website

Parisian Traffic, Air Pollution Reduction Plan Caught on Political Snag

Parisian clean air politics turn out to be something of a class issue, even for a socialist mayor. The plans are seen as penalizing low income Parisians while benefiting elitist city dwellers who dislike traffic, overshadowing public health benefits.

December 16, 2014 - The New York Times

Paris Expands Big Car Reduction Plans

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made a game-changing announcement in the name of clean air and walkability

December 9, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Chicago's First Shared Street Planned for Uptown's Argyle Street

Following one failed attempt at a similar plan, a popular neighborhood for shopping will soon become a shared street project. The effort is part of a trend in Chicago looking for ways to transform streets into pedestrian friendly destinations.

October 7, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Pittsburgh Market Square

Pittsburgh Mixes Modes to Lead 'Shared Space' Movement

Streetsblog recently launched a series that will highlight Pittsburgh as a city "shedding its 'Rust Belt' image and emerging as a leader in progressive street design." The first case study: the city's three shared streets projects.

July 9, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Shared Street

More Cities Adopting 'Naked Streets'

In the second post in an ongoing "Shareable Cities" series, Mike Clay discusses "naked streets"—a democratizing, stripped-down street management concept that removes streetlights, crosswalks, and other signage.

June 4, 2014 - Woodhouse

Stoplight and lights

What if We Got Rid of the Streetlights?

"Shared streets" guru Ben Hamilton-Baillie has shown in the U.K. that there are a lot of better ways to manage traffic than stoplights. CNU asked Ben, as he prepares to come to the United States, if shared streets could work here.

May 3, 2014 - Congress for the New Urbanism

waterfront road in Paris transformed into pedestrian and lounging space

Paris Tests a New Approach to Urban Space

Any visitor from America would think that Paris had found the solution to creating great public spaces and taming the automobile. But the city's new approach to urban space suggests city leaders and residents feel otherwise.

September 21, 2013 - PPS: Placemaking Blog

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.