Car-Free Streets
Basics
Downtown Hartford Marries Parking Meter Reform With Car-Free Streets
Pratt Street is a narrow, one-way block-long street in the heart of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, lined with red brick pavers and historic storefronts. It's also the latest street in the United States to go car-free, at least some of the time, as part of the city's first agreement to spend parking meter revenue on local streetscape improvements.
May 8, 2017
The Backstory and Aftermath of Philly’s Teen Bicycle Freeway Takeover
Perhaps you saw video on social media this week showing hundreds of teenagers riding bikes, popping wheelies on a Philadelphia expressway. It was an unauthorized freeway takeover that ought to have brought a smile to even the sourest face.
April 28, 2017
Montreal’s Car-Free Street Network Gets Bigger All the Time
Every year, Montreal transforms more of its streets into public spaces where people can rub shoulders with their neighbors without worrying about car traffic. Block by block, experiment by experiment, the city's pedestrian streets are growing.
January 23, 2017
Will Barcelona’s “Superblocks” Proposal Work Well for Transit?
Barcelona is making waves with plans to test a concept it's calling "superblocks." The idea is to create nine-block squares of "citizen spaces" -- about 400 meters on each side -- where cars would be limited. Unlike the widely derided superblocks of the urban renewal era, Barcelona's would be explicitly designed to preserve the street grid for walking and biking -- only motor vehicle through traffic would be discouraged.
May 20, 2016
Paris Mayor Pledges Bold Steps to Reduce Traffic in City Center
After a decade of repurposing street space from cars to people, buses, and bikes, Paris isn't done yet. The world's most-visited city is now preparing to remove even more traffic from the streets in the name of walkability and clean air.
December 8, 2014
Madrid Moves Toward a Car-Free Center City
Beginning in January, Madrid will enact new policies to keep cars out of almost 500 acres in the core of the city, part of a long-term plan to entirely pedestrianize the center city.
September 29, 2014
Buenos Aires: Building a People-Friendly City
Buenos Aires is fast becoming one of the most admired cities in the world when it comes to reinventing streets and transportation.
July 30, 2014
“Closing” Lombard Street: The Language of Taking Cars For Granted
A peculiar thing tends to happen when we talk about streets and transportation: We don't talk about cars. Seriously -- listen to conversations, read news headlines, and you'll start to notice that even when cars are the main subject, people will, consciously or unconsciously, fail to explicitly mention them.
May 28, 2014
The Rise of Open Streets
Streetfilms has been documenting the open streets movement for over seven years, beginning with our landmark film in 2007 on Bogota's Ciclovia, currently the most viewed Streetfilm of all time.
January 8, 2014