Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Complete Streets

Photographic Proof That America Can Make Streets for People Instead of Cars

Whitney Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut
Walking across Whitney Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, got a lot more inviting with these sidewalk extensions and painted crosswalks. Before/after via Google Street View and URB-I
Whitney Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut

Need some inspiration to make your city's streets safer and more inviting?

Here's a good place to start: URB-I, a collective of urban designers based in São Paulo, has been collecting before and after images of street transformations using Google Street View's time lapse feature. The stockpile has grown to include 1,000 places around the world, including 107 in the United States. Below we've curated a selection of street redesign porn from URB-I's library.

Like this one from Chicago -- a parking crater by W Monroe Street transformed into a park:

West Monroe Street in Chicago via URB-I
West Monroe Street in Chicago via URB-I

Also from Chicago -- painted sidewalk extensions made the "Lincoln Hub," a six-pointed intersection, safer for pedestrians:

West Wellington Avenue in Chicago.
West Wellington Avenue in Chicago.

A major expansion of pedestrian space on Market Street in Philly:

Market Street in Philly
Market Street in Philly

What a difference some tables, chairs, planters, and bollards make by Gansevoort Street in Manhattan:

Gansevoort Street, New York City
Gansevoort Street, New York City

Here's the area around Beale Street in San Francisco with and without an elevated road:

Beale Street, San Francisco
Beale Street, San Francisco

More space for walking, less for cars on Broadway in Seattle:

Broadway in Seattle
Broadway in Seattle

A new public plaza by Griffith Park Boulevard in Los Angeles:

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 4.12.32 PM

It's not just coastal cities on URB-I's map -- here's a pedestrian-friendly overhaul of Indianapolis's West Georgia Street:

West Georgia Street in Indianapolis
West Georgia Street in Indianapolis

Another parking crater transformation -- the Ohio River Scenic Byway on the Cincinnati waterfront.

Ohio River Scenic Byway, Cincinnati
Ohio River Scenic Byway, Cincinnati

And here's the Detroit Riverwalk by Atwater Street:

Screen Shot 2016-04-05 at 4.13.45 PM

This collection barely scratches the surface of what you can find in URB-I's catalogue, which includes hundreds of international examples.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Ride The Best Bike Tunnel In the World

Take a break from U.S. transportation news in one of Norway's most iconic biking hot spots.

March 21, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Fill ‘Er Up

As electric vehicles cut into gas tax revenue, it looks like raising gas taxes is a more viable option politically than taxing miles driven.

March 21, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: The Public Works Director for Democrats

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen on the Trump administration's recent guidance for stripping sustainable projects of funding, and why he thinks active transportation advocates should focus on safety.

March 20, 2025

Trump, Republicans Make D.C. Ground Zero in Their War on Cities

The Trump administration is bullying D.C. — and other cities (looking at you, New York) could soon fall in the crosshairs, advocates say.

March 20, 2025
See all posts