Shared Space

Blurred view from ground level of yellow center lines on asphalt street

How Design Guidelines Can Reduce Road Safety

Signs and markings designed for traffic control can make conditions less safe for pedestrians and other road users.

January 20, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Street Market

The Promise of Pop-Up Placemaking

With the support of its executive leadership, Adelaide, Australia's experimentalist city council has encouraged ephemeral projects to enliven streets. "Splash Adelaide" projects can even override council policy.

May 12, 2015 - Citiscope

Warning Sign

Study: Dynamic Road Signs Make for Better Drivers

A psychological experiment finds that warning signs depicting more movement gain more attention, making drivers navigate more carefully.

March 9, 2015 - The Atlantic

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

High Line Crowds

Comparing Public Space in New York City and Paris

A recent article examines the ways New York City and Paris support large-scale pedestrian use and support the shared use of public space.

March 3, 2014 - Project For Public Spaces

Bell Street Seattle

Seattle's Bell Street Park Is a Pedestrian Friendly Dream

The newly opened Bell Street Park in Seattle offers the kind of "social friction" Leigh Gallagher called for in Friday's NYT with "planters, perches ... and the simplest but most innovative feature of all, a level plane between sidewalk and street."

March 2, 2014 - Publicola

How Bikes Are Changing Our Urban and Social Spaces

In honor of national Bike to Work Day, we post an article by Jason Severs looking at the ways in which the bicycle - "the next great technology platform" - is changing our physical environment and social interactions.

May 18, 2012 - The Atlantic

New Urban Design Looks at Shared Spaces

In urban street design, a new movement known as 'shared spaces' has been emerging. This new movement "aims to reduce the dominance of cars by getting people and vehicles to share the road space," according to Walkonomics.

November 30, 2011 - This Big City

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The best of the Internet—since 2002.

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Planning apps for a brave new world.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.