The session showcased short presentations of exciting pedestrian priority projects and strategies from 6 countries, across 4 continents, by members of the Global Designing Cities Expert Network.
AUCKLAND
Fort Street by Darren Davis
Darren Davis from Auckland Transport presented the transformation of Fort Street and adjacent corridors to create a network of pedestrian oriented spaces in downtown Auckland. His presentation titles ‘From Red Light to Red Hot’ highlighted the importance of performance metrics to showcase the success of such projects around safety, economic vitality, and the quality of life of a place.
NEW YORK CITY
Interim Public Spaces in NYC by Emily Weidenhof
NCT DOT’s interim public spaces and the city-wide plaza program were elaborated upon in Emily’s presentation. She showcased the power of temporary transformations towards permanent construction and the importance of community engagement in the process.
MELBOURNE
Pedestrian Oriented Spaces in Melbourne by Rob Adams
In the presentation titled ‘From Grey to Green’, Rob Adams took the audience through a virtual tour of the transformation of the city’s streetscape from asphalt dominated corridors to pedestrian-priority and green street networks. The city-wide approach to prioritizing the pedestrian was represented in transit streets, shared streets, laneways, and many more such examples.