Pedestrians

Fast Lanes for Pedestrians?

The sidewalks of Portland are so busy that the city is developing plans to create 6'-8' Pedestrian Zones—basically, fast lanes for moving pedestrians separate from other street activities.

March 27, 2010 - Vimeo

How New York Lost Its Sidewalks

Streetsfilms launches a new series they're calling "Fixing the Great Mistake.”

February 26, 2010 - Streetsblog

Pedestrians in the Sky

Pedestrians, street vendors, scooters and squatters all compete for space on the gridlocked sidewalks of Mumbai, where nearly 60% of the population travels by foot. Solution? 50 elevated walkways, or "skywalks."

February 2, 2010 - TheCityFix.com

Luring World Cup Tourists with Street Beautification Projects in Johannesburg

Residents in one of Johannesburg's most infamous townships are hoping that a new street beautification project will bring pedestrians out onto their streets and into their shops when the country hosts this year's World Cup.

January 28, 2010 - Scripps Howard News Service

Skywalks Sprout in Mumbai

The streets of Mumbai are packed with pedestrians. With few sidewalks and little room for the growing masses of walkers, city officials are looking to beat the pedestrian congestion by building overhead "skywalks" to bring people above the street.

January 26, 2010 - The Wall Street Journal

Friday Bummer: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Commuting Cat

Casper, a cat from Plymouth, England who was frequently seen riding one of the town's bus lines, was tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver.

January 22, 2010 - The Herald

Delhi Gets First Pedestrian Guidelines

The Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) has for the first time created pedestrian design guidelines to ensure that walking in the city is a safe and a pleasurable experience.

December 6, 2009 - Hindustan Times

Transit Expansion is Streetlife Expansion in L.A.

An extension of one of L.A.'s light rail lines opened this past weekend. Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne offers a hopeful prediction that the extension will inspire an improvement in streetlife.

November 17, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

Jaywalking Not As Big A Safety Issue As Assumed

Over the past 15 years, more than 76,000 pedestrians have been killed in the U.S. Some say preventing a significant portion of these deaths is as simple as enforcing jaywalking laws. Not so, argues Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic.

November 15, 2009 - Slate

Dedicated Non-Motorist Lane on Vancouver Bridge Finds Public Support

Residents in Vancouver are reportedly in favor of keeping a dedicated lane for pedestrians and cyclists on a local bridge. Even some motorists are in support.

November 3, 2009 - The Vancouver Sun

Sidewalk Design Vehicle

A few days ago I posted a blog that discussed the concept of Universal Design (transportation facilities designed to accommodate all possible users, including those with disabilities and other special needs) and the value it provides to individuals and communities. One way to approach this issue is to define the design vehicle for pedestrian facilities.

October 15, 2009 - Todd Litman

Future Transport Today

This article from Wired UK looks at a handful of emerging transportation concept technologies that are altering the form of the city.

October 10, 2009 - Wired UK

Ban on Biking and Walking to School May Be Lifted

A 15-year-old ban on biking and walking to school in Saratoga Springs, New York may be lifted, after one bike-friendly parent challenged the policy.

October 4, 2009 - Governing

San Francisco's Fast Park Movement

New parks are popping up with a quickness in San Francisco, where planners have fast-tracked the conversion of street spaces into pedestrian parks.

September 22, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

Partial Closure Planned on San Francisco's Market Street

San Francisco's notoriously congested Market Street will soon see a lighter load of traffic, as officials roll out a pilot project that will ban private vehicles from the roadway.

September 11, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle

America's Killer Roads

This oped takes on American street design and blames it for causing countless road injuries and deaths.

August 20, 2009 - The Boston Globe

New Portland Bridge Seeks to Ease Pedestrian and Cyclist Tensions

A new light rail bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland will include separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists -- and no lanes for automobiles. But biker and pedestrian congestion remains a concern.

August 8, 2009 - The Oregonian

A Different Kind of New York Street Conversion 100 Years Ago

While New York City is currently taking space away from automobiles and giving it to pedestrians and cyclists, the New York City of 100 years ago was doing exactly the opposite. And it was a popular idea.

June 30, 2009 - The New York Times

Athletes (Like Stallworth) Are Not The Only Ones Who Get Off Easy

If you watched or read the news yesterday, then you likely came across the sentencing of Donte Stallworth. Previously known (maybe) for being an NFL role player, Stallworth will serve a 30 day sentence for hitting and killing a pedestrian named Mario Reyes while driving intoxicated here in Miami Beach. The typical sentence for such an offense in Florida is 4 to 15 years. Stallworth will be released just in time for his NFL training camp. How convenient. 

June 17, 2009 - Mike Lydon

Getting Buy-In On A New Urbanist Vision

Alamo Heights, a suburb of San Antonio, grapples with whether to adopt a "New Urbanist" (but slightly more traditional) approach to its major thoroughfare to improve pedestrian and bicycle access.

May 29, 2009 - San Antonio Express-News

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.