1. PLAN 4003: Urban Form & Design
Week 11: Elements of Urban Design - Streets
Anuradha Mukherji
Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning
2. ALLAN JACOBS
Great Streets
The functional aspect of the street – traffic movement has received more attention, not its
social or community building aspects
Modern planning emphasized efficiency, technology, speed, sanitation and health
Large green areas, usually empty, to be used for community building
While well-intentioned, these approach did not encourage public life. Created separation and
isolation instead.
Allan Jacobs: Can create good/great cities through good street design. Apart from the
functionality, great streets also bring people together, builds community, and creates an
environment for people to interact.
Researched the qualities of great streets – observed, measured, surveyed.
Looked at paving material, width of street and sidewalks, what adjoins the sidewalk, the
placement of trees and parking, building heights, and seating spaces.
Many cities today have either adopted or are in the process of creating a Great Street program.
3. DAVID SUCHER
Comfortable City
Argues: One that allows quick and safe transportation for people of all
income levels without noise, danger and pollution or destroying city
neighborhoods and rural landscapes
Such a city would permit several modes of transportation to co-exist.
Not arguing the merits or de-merits of any particular transportation mode
American cities have always looked to big solutions (i.e., highways or
subways). Instead arguing for an approach to street design that take a light
hand, using many small-scale inexpensive strategies rather than one big
solution.
4. DAVID SUCHER
Traffic Calming
Creating peaceful co-existence between the car and pedestrian
Need to slow down traffic and give more space to pedestrian
Cannot be achieved through speeding tickets, but through street design and
education
5. DAVID SUCHER
Traffic Calming Strategies
• Curbs
• Short street blocks
• Grids not cul-de-sacs
• Decrease turning radius
• Raise pedestrian crossing to sidewalk height
• Narrow streets
• Visual signals through change in paving materials
• Planting trees along the street edge
• Allow on-street parking
• Increase signal length and decrease wait time
• Wider sidewalks
• Ramps to accommodate wheelchairs.
6. Suburban Sprawl, Las Vegas
This image is attributed to guidoanselmi @ 2010 (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
10. Automobile Parking, Wide Pedestrian Sidewalk & Sheltered Bike Parking (Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon)
This image is attributed to Steven Vance @ 2010 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
11. OTHER CONCEPTS
Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Compact, walkable communities centered around transit
Complete Streets
Designed to enable safe access for all users – bike, pedestrian, motorist,
transit riders of all age and abilities
12. Complete Street, Charlotte, North Carolina
This image is attributed to Laura Sandt, CompleteStreets @ 2010 (CC BY-NC 2.0)
13. Complete Street, East Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina
This image is attributed to CompleteStreets @ 2010 (CC BY-NC 2.0)
