Community design: Movies

Jan Gehl explains the changes in his city over the past 30 years.

Streetsblog's Editor-in-chief Aaron Naparstek chats with Danish livable streets maestro Jan Gehl at a table in New York City's new wonderful public space, Madison Square. Gehl talks about the recent changes taking place in NYC and about how land use and transportation design play major rolls in how people are encouraged to live their lives.

As the Metropolitan Council considers a final design for the Central Corridor Light Rail Line and a rebuilt University Avenue in St. Paul, MN, we take a ride (and a look) at the Yellow Line which runs down Interstate Avenue in Portland, OR for comparison. Interstate Avenue was redesigned with space for transit, space for bicyclists, and space for pedestrians and is very similar to University Avenue in St. Paul including having a major interstate freeway running adjacent to it just two blocks away.

Can a Complete Street design work for University Avenue in St. Paul?

Related posts: Stark proposes Road Diet for University Avenue >, PiPress: Loss of on-street parking due to LRT to affect business owners >, and On Transit episode # 30 - Max Yellow Line - John Akre talks to small business owners about their experience along the Yellow Line in Portland >.

Ashford has the largest shared space area in the UK. This educational video produced by Kent County Council explains the concept of shared space and informs pedestrians, motorists and cyclists what to expect.

From congestion pricing to innovative transit corridor development, world leaders discuss how they are leading the charge to create a more sustainable planet. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation.

Presented By: Harriet Tregoning, Office of Planning, District of Columbia (opening remarks); Earl Blumenauer, Congressman, Oregon's 3rd District; Irene Svenonius, Stockholm, Sweden; Cassio Taniguchi, Former Mayor, Curitiba, Brazil; Marcel Beaudry, Former Chairman, Canada's National Capital Commission (moderator)
Date Recorded: September 17, 2008
Duration: 01:54:52

*Viewers can skip the Home Depot awards ceremony and get to the main program by scanning to the 32:20 mark of this video*

San Jose Repertory Theatre, San Jose, CA
Jul 14th, 2008

Dan Burden, a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian-friendly urban design, discusses some of the best communities being developed today - communities for people, not just cars.

Antonio Rosell talks about the work of Community Design Group and introduces Twin Cities Streets for People during Solutions Volume 3 on August 30, 2008 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. 

Since taking over as New York City's Commissioner of the Department of Transportation in mid-2007, Janette Sadik-Khan has taken on the challenge of making NYC streets more bike & pedestrian friendly while emphasizing livable streets and re-orienting them to accommodate all modes. She and her staff have done it quickly with innovative concepts, thinking outside the box and drawing on successful street designs from around the world to come up with a NYC model that is already changing the way the city feels.

Recently, we were very lucky to have Streetsblog's Editor-in-chief, Aaron Naparstek in the "Streetfilms Headquarters" to chat with Gary Toth the Senior Director of Transportation Initiatives with the Project for Public Spaces.

For thirty-four years, Mr. Toth worked for the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), and become known for his collaboration and facilitation skills, and was one of the architects of the transformation of NJDOT to a stakeholder inclusive process helping the state become a national leader in Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS).

Mr. Toth has written, "A Citizen's Guide to Better Streets," which is designed to help the everyperson and advocacy community better understand the behind-the-scenes processes that occur when dealing with transportation departments and how to better prepare and speak their language. He shares some of his views and advice with Aaron in this very important interview.

Via Reconnecting America and Transit Miami:

Next time you’re stuck going 20 mph in the fast lane, waiting forever to get through a traffic light, or trying to find your way out of a giant concrete parking structure, remember that it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time for America to rediscover the human scale. It’s time to build communities for people, not cars.