Episode Details

Thank you for submitting your pedestrian plazas! We have closed submissions momentarily while we develop a new survey.

I’m on Patreon! Consider supporting this channel: https://www.patreon.com/citybeautiful

Cities across the United States have developed programs to close streets to cars and turn them into pedestrian plazas. For example, LA’s People Street program was created by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) in 2014. Closing off sections of underutilized streets and refocusing them as hubs for community activities has allowed the City of Los Angeles to expand their walkable spaces which were previously filled with vehicle traffic. Moreover, these pedestrian spaces provide vibrant places for people to interact. This video tours some notable pedestrian plazas from programs in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Atlanta.

This video is a synthesis of several sources, including:
Los Angeles:
https://ladot.lacity.org/projects/livable-streets
New York:
https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/nyc-plaza-program.shtml
Boston:
https://www.boston.gov/transportation/tactical-public-realm
Seattle:
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/public-space-management-programs/adaptive-streets
Atlanta:
https://www.atlantadowntown.com/go/broad-street-boardwalk

Produced by Dave Amos in sunny San Luis Obispo, California.
Co-authors: Tim McBirney and Nishita Kandikuppa in San Luis Obispo, California.
Edited by Ryan Alva in Los Angeles, California.
Audio by Eric Schneider in cloudy Cleveland, Ohio.
Select images and video from Getty Images.
Black Lives Matter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices