Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Car Dependence

TACTICAL URBANISM: Let’s Make More Plazas

Times Square is the best example of turning car space into public space. You can still see the segments of Broadway, now filled with people, in this shot looking downtown from the north side of the Crossroads of the World.

Hey tactical urbanists: Want to know a quick way to gain street space for people? Turns out that, even before COVID-19 drove restaurants across America out of doors, it wasn't too difficult to arrange an easy-peasy treatment that would turn an unneeded roadway (aren't they all?) into a perfectly serviceable pedestrian plaza. All you need is some paint, some planters, some bollards, and some street furniture — and a local partner to help maintain it.

There are "awkward intersections" — basically triangles of unused roadway — all over the country, just aching to be turned into lovely, safe spaces for people to congregate. With time, it's likely to become permanent. Let's go!

That's the message of "The quick way to make pedestrian plazas," a new video by City Beautiful, a YouTube channel that features the strategies of tactical urbanism for the edification of city planners and livable-streets advocates. It mixes boosterism with some helpful pointers, such as best practices for dealing with Americans With Disability Act requirements and businesses that need freight loading zones.

The video (below) was produced by Dave Amos, a researcher at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. It also functions as a panoramic tour of pedestrian plazas around the United States, starting with a "People Street" in the Sunset neighborhood in Los Angeles, to Tontine Crescent in Boston, to Times and Herald squares in New York and beyond.

In fact, Amos is so gung-ho about plazas that he invites viewers to help him compile a comprehensive American database of them; the hope is that the inventory will illuminate information and techniques that will inspire municipalities around the country to install more of them — thereby lessening our car dependence.

Submit an entry by filling out the form here. Follow Amos on Twitter at @CityBeautifulYT.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Report: 16 Million Have No Car Access At All

So why do we plan our cities like everyone can and does get behind the wheel every day?

October 2, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Fall in the Forest

If reduced or free fares are available but no one knows about them, do they make an impact on transportation costs?

October 2, 2025

A Week Without Driving … Or Biking?

Seattle Bike Blog author Tom Fucoloro challenged himself to experience his city through the eyes of someone who can't operate a personal vehicle — including a bike.

October 2, 2025

Can Pedestrian Pop-Ups Go Permanent in the U.S.?

Can temporary pedestrian pop-ups spur permanent change?

October 2, 2025

Shutdown Showdown: Trump Blames Democrats for Transit Cuts In His Continuing War on Cities, ‘Woke’

It's the second time in as many days that the Trump administration has denied funding over policies it opposes.

October 1, 2025

Marcus Molinaro Is Wrong About Chicago Transit

Local transit advocates have diverse opinions on the best ways to improve transit safety. But there's one thing most of us can agree on. Donald Trump parachuting in soldiers, in an attempt to bully Chicago into submission, is not the answer.

October 1, 2025
See all posts