Cover image for Urban street design guide
Title:
Urban street design guide
Physical Description:
x, 180 pages : color illustrations ; 28 cm
ISBN:
9781610914949
Abstract:
The NACTO Urban Street Design Guide shows how streets of every size can be reimagined and reoriented to prioritize safe driving and transit, biking, walking, and public activity. Unlike older, more conservative engineering manuals, this design guide emphasizes the core principle that urban streets are public places and have a larger role to play in communities than solely being conduits for traffic. The well-illustrated guide offers blueprints of street design from multiple perspectives, from the birds eye view to granular details. Case studies from around the country clearly show how to implement best practices, as well as provide guidance for customizing design applications to a citys unique needs. Urban Street Design Guide outlines five goals and tenets of world-class street design: Streets are public spaces. Streets play a much larger role in the public life of cities and communities than just thoroughfares for traffic. Great streets are great for business. Well-designed streets generate higher revenues for businesses and higher values for homeowners. Design for safety. Traffic engineers can and should design streets where people walking, parking, shopping, bicycling, working, and driving can cross paths safely. Streets can be changed. Transportation engineers can work flexibly within the building envelope of a street. Many city streets were created in a different era and need to be reconfigured to meet new needs. Act now! Implement projects quickly using temporary materials to help inform public decision making. Elaborating on these fundamental principles, the guide offers substantive direction for cities seeking to improve street design to create more inclusive, multi-modal urban environments. It is an exceptional resource for redesigning streets to serve the needs of 21st century cities, whose residents and visitors demand a variety of transportation options, safer streets, and vibrant community life.-- Source other than Library of Congress.

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Summary

Summary

The NACTO Urban Street Design Guide shows how streets of every size can be reimagined and reoriented to prioritize safe driving and transit, biking, walking, and public activity. Unlike older, more conservative engineering manuals, this design guide emphasizes the core principle that urban streets are public places and have a larger role to play in communities than solely being conduits for traffic.

The well-illustrated guide offers blueprints of street design from multiple perspectives, from the bird's eye view to granular details. Case studies from around the country clearly show how to implement best practices, as well as provide guidance for customizing design applications to a city's unique needs. Urban Street Design Guide outlines five goals and tenets of world-class street design:

* Streets are public spaces . Streets play a much larger role in the public life of cities and communities than just thoroughfares for traffic.
* Great streets are great for business . Well-designed streets generate higher revenues for businesses and higher values for homeowners.
* Design for safety . Traffic engineers can and should design streets where people walking, parking, shopping, bicycling, working, and driving can cross paths safely.
* Streets can be changed . Transportation engineers can work flexibly within the building envelope of a street. Many city streets were created in a different era and need to be reconfigured to meet new needs.
* Act now! Implement projects quickly using temporary materials to help inform public decision making.

Elaborating on these fundamental principles, the guide offers substantive direction for cities seeking to improve street design to create more inclusive, multi-modal urban environments. It is an exceptional resource for redesigning streets to serve the needs of 21st century cities, whose residents and visitors demand a variety of transportation options, safer streets, and vibrant community life.


Author Notes

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a membership network that provides support and resources for city transportation officials in cities of all sizes. Member Cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC. The current NACTO president is Janette Sadik-Kahn, Department of Transportation commissioner of New York City.


Reviews 1

Choice Review

This modest offering is a remarkably thoughtful, thorough, and useful contribution to the holistic reimagining and remaking of urban space. It contains the collected wisdom of transportation officials from across the country who are working to improve the experiential qualities of streets and streetscapes in their respective cities. The book offers concrete and detailed suggestions for ways to improve the space of the street for the variety of people--including motorists, transit providers, bicyclists, and particularly pedestrians--who share the space. The suggestions are grounded in concerns about safety, convenience, efficiency, predictability, sustainability, and economic development. They are offered according to three levels of importance: critical, recommended, or optional. They are presented through succinct descriptions accompanied by clear, consistent three-dimensional diagrams and photographs of relevant examples. Recommendations are given for both short-term and permanent ways to improve a range of different street types and components. The final section of the book suggests sources for each topic covered. This volume provides reliable and forward-looking guidance for all who are interested in the betterment of public rights-of-way. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. D. Sachs Kansas State University