Month: February 2018

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Walkable cities are saving lives

Prioritizing pedestrians over cars means everyone wins

By Alissa Walker  

Most wealthy nations have managed to reduce traffic deaths significantly in the past few decades, but the U.S. has not seen traffic deaths plunge at the same rate—and in recent years, they’re actually going back up. Overall, U.S.’s traffic deaths are much lower than they were in the 1970s, which experts often attribute to safety regulations like seatbelt laws.

But Jemilah Magnusson, global communications director for ITDP, has a different take on why deaths plummeted—those walkers simply became drivers. “The U.S. used to have a really high pedestrian death rate which we ‘solved’ by putting people in cars,” she says. “So now it’s even more hostile to pedestrians.”

Read more…

https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/31/16952856/walking-traffic-deaths-pedestrian-streets

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STREETS ARE PLACES

PRINCIPLES FOR FOSTERING STREETS AS PLACES

Asbury Park’s streets are becoming places.  Destinations where people of all ages in every demographic gather to spend time together, walking, riding bikes, shopping, talking, sharing food and drinks…building community!

“…8 principles for fostering Streets as Places, based on our years of experience in working with communities, the observations and research of well-known placemakers like Jane Jacobs and Allan B. Jacobs, and recent conversations with folks like Victor Dover, Ben Hamilton-Baillie, and Gil Peñalosa.”

“If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.”

– Fred Kent, Project for Public Spaces

“Streets as Places is about Placemaking on one of the most important public spaces each community has – our streets. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, Placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. With community-based participation at its center, an effective Streets as Places process capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, and results in streets that contribute to people’s health, happiness, and well being.”

https://www.pps.org/article/8-principles-streets-as-places