Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Urban Design

Rally for a Livable Houston Street

By Aaron Donovan | | 8 Comments
(Photo by Will Sherman of Transportation Alternatives) As promised, members of Manhattan Community Board 2 and Transportation Alternatives held a rally yesterday where many elected officials spoke of the need for improved bicycling and pedestrian facilities on the Interstate Highway in our midst, Houston Street. Eighty years ago, Houston Street was a narrow street not much wider than Prince or Bleecker Streets […]

Dead Ball

By Alec | | 4 Comments
Whatever you think of the idea of a highrise cluster in Downtown Brooklyn, you have to worry that the sponsors of the Atlantic Yards project suggest that creating jobs and housing justifies the kind of planning that discourages street life. Among the lowlights of the marathon August 23 "public hearing" on the draft Environmental Impact […]

The Suburbanization of NYC’s Waterfront

By Ethan Kent | | 12 Comments
Recently, a bunch of us took a bike excursion along the East River waterfront from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn to the new Water Taxi Beach in Hunters Point, Queens. Traffic was light most of the way and street life relatively heavy. Though currently dominated by old industrial buildings, the thriving neighborhoods adjacent to the waterfront seem […]

Streetfilm: The Transformation of Willoughby Street

By Aaron Donovan | | 10 Comments
This spring, the DOT transformed the corner of Willoughby and Adams Streets in downtown Brooklyn from a dull gray, little-used automobile pass-through (above) into a pedestrian space complete with chairs, benches, plants, tables and sun umbrellas.  But would the people come? Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson took his video camera to the corner to find out. The result is a 1-minute, 26-second Streetfilm on […]

Pedestrian Safety Competition at the Jersey Shore

By Glenn McAnanama | | 1 Comment
Pedestrian Plaza in Stone Harbor, New Jersey Towns along the New Jersey shore are in constant competition to attract visitors from New York, Philadelphia and all around the region. The same is true of major cities, residential neighborhoods and shopping districts but over a longer cycle. Since the beaches are relatively similar in most areas, they […]

Where in the City is this?

By Glenn McAnanama | | 13 Comments
Every so often I find little gems of street planning that I would love to see replicated elsewhere in the city. For instance, the other night I walked past this side street with bump outs at the crosswalk that give pedestrians more space and prevent automobiles from cutting corners too sharply. Can any name where […]
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