The 'Ultimate Pedestrian Environment': Alleys

Alleys -- considered by many to be dangerous or neglected, can become a fertile ground for 'organic new urbanism', says architect David Winslow.

1 minute read

October 24, 2006, 9:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Those narrow forgotten streets behind buildings in large cities are undiscovered gold to Winslow..."

"...Twenty years ago when he was a student in Rome, Winslow began work on his master's thesis using that city as his model. Walking the streets and alleys of Trastevere, he found the vicoli -- the narrowest and oldest streets -- are densely packed and the most vibrant, and he began to wonder, if he looked hard enough, would he find alleys in American cities that work as well."

..." 'It is a model for future developments,' said Newsom. 'Revitalizing our alleyways and looking at them in a different way is the direction the city wants greening to go...with community involvement at this level, we want to do an adopt-an-alley program in San Francisco.' "

Thanks to Ashwani Vasishth

Monday, October 23, 2006 in The San Francisco Chronicle

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