Whose Streets?
Last spring, we studied what downtown Robbinsdale might look like if it decided to expand pedestrian space into the streets of a vibrant restaurant district to help those restaurants succeed in the face of the global pandemic. Our study was one of many commentaries in an international conversation about open streets, slow streets, soft closures, and how we might rethink the best way for communities to use public space. As the pandemic slowly and hopefully comes to an end, we wanted to highlight a number of these stories with the hope of understanding how the best in urban design might make our communities more resilient, equitable, and sustainable well into the future.
Since the post-war boom of the 1950s, cars have owned America’s streets.
As John Frazer writes, “the supremacy of the private car in American culture — it was and perhaps still is a key component of the freedom implicit in the American dream — ensured that it was also supreme in the American economy.” And given the car’s many-faceted influence as symbol and tool, in enterprise and economy, it’s unsurprising that in planning and building our cities, we have given our cars center stage.
But last year, cities across the country reconsidered this long-held premise. In an effort to help restaurants badly impacted by COVID-19, parking requirements were diminished, some streets were closed to cars entirely, and in many communities, streets slowed down for walking and biking, and cars were forgotten, even if only for a while.
In May of 2020, the Washington Post reported on the growing nationwide trend of targeted street closures, from Washington D.C. to the Twin Cities, to Oakland, where Ryan Russo, director of transportation noted, “streets are 25 to 30 percent of any city’s land. We need to manage the public realm in a way that meets people’s needs in this moment and in the future.”
While many parks closed, street closures allowed people the space to get out of their homes, to interact with friends and loved ones while maintaining social distance, and provided a sense of much-needed community. These measures have been popular among many — and largely temporary.
“Overnight, slow streets transformed our neighborhood. Everyone should have access to the same opportunity.”
In December, the New York Times focused on three NYC streets, interviewing residents about what changes should be made permanent, and asked Claire Weisz, FAIA to provide an expert opinion. And in March, NPR reported from Chicago that the city was expanding its Alfresco Program.
In June of this year, Bloomberg highlighted the significant and unacceptable accessibility challenges that programs like Open Streets created — while businesses must still comply with ADA requirements, enforcement of those requirements has largely been lax.
The status quo can often seem insurmountable, but the paradigm shifts of the last year have shown us that change is possible — and our most important task now is to work together to define the “new normal,” and how we can make our streets livable for everyone.
