Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Car-Free Streets

The Rise of Open Streets

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | Jan 8, 2014 | No Comments

Streetfilms has been documenting the open streets movement for over seven years, beginning with our landmark film in 2007 on Bogota’s Ciclovia, currently the most viewed Streetfilm of all time. The next year, Mike Lydon of The Street Plans Collaborative decided to get an open streets event going in Miami, which led to his research […]

How Children Demanding Play Streets Changed Amsterdam

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 13, 2013 | 4 Comments

The above video, excerpted from a Dutch television documentary series, shows how children helped catalyze the fight for safe streets in Amsterdam more than a generation ago. The documentary examines the conditions in a dense urban neighborhood called De Pijp, from the perspective of local children. In the film, neighborhood kids energetically advocate for a play […]

The Crossroads of the World Goes Car-Free

By Aaron Naparstek | May 26, 2009 | 29 Comments

I’ve lived in New York City for just about twenty years now but yesterday was my first trip to Times Square. Sure, I’ve been to Times Square before. Plenty of times. But until yesterday Times Square had never ever been a destination for me. Rather, it had always been a place to avoid or, if […]

Jan Gehl Says San Francisco Must be Sweet to Pedestrians and Cyclists

By Matthew Roth | Oct 8, 2008 | 8 Comments

It’s a good day in a city’s urbanist evolution when Jan Gehl comes to town, and now San Francisco can add itself to the growing list of cities around the world that have embraced his people-first approach to urban design and planning. Hoping to keep pace with the progress in New York City over the […]

What Does Summer Streets Mean for Business?

By Brad Aaron | Aug 11, 2008 | 21 Comments

All this relaxed foot traffic surely brought a smile to the face of many a retailer and restaurateur While press coverage of Summer Streets has been generally positive, tales of the miffed muffler shop owner and complaining cabinet maker are bound to continue, as reporters hunt for naysayers to "balance" out their stories. But what […]