On GDCI’s 10th Anniversary, announcing ten inaugural winners of the Street Shaper Award

GDCI is excited to be celebrating the significant milestone of reaching our 10th Anniversary. One of the world’s most influential urban design organizations, GDCI was founded by Janette Sadik-Khan, with the mission to transform streets around the world and to develop global best-practice street design principles for use in a wide variety of street typologies.

Ten years on, we’ve worked to transform streets around the world, inspiring leaders, informing practitioners, and inviting communities to imagine what’s possible when we design streets that put people first. We’ve supported 68 cities around the world to build better streets, with safer, more accessible pedestrian walkways and protected bike lanes, designed to center the needs of people over cars. But none of it would have been possible without the enthusiastic collaboration of urban leaders around the globe, who continue to pave the way for safer streets and better cities. In celebration of these leaders and their impact, GDCI is introducing the Street Shaper Awards.

10 Global Street Shapers

This inaugural award recognizes outstanding leadership in championing safer, healthier streets and cities. Street Shapers consistently demonstrate vision, courage, and commitment to shaping streets that put people first. From ensuring streets are safer for people to walk, cycle, and take transit, offering more equitable access to jobs and key destinations, and supporting local businesses to thrive, rethinking the finite space of our streets invites cities to unlock the potential of public  space to serve more people and more functions. Supporting cleaner air to breathe, more spaces to gather and connect with friends and neighbors, and more resilient networks that allow cities to better face the increased extreme weather events, the tireless work of urban advocates impacts how we experience the world in so many ways.

Please join us in congratulating the first round of winning Street Shapers:

	Alejandra Sandoval – Quito, Ecuador Alejandra’s passion for the work, in combination with her skill for navigating complex relationships and bureaucracy, has made her an invaluable collaborator. Her ability to comprehensively understand, adapt and execute in everything from community engagement to the technical aspects of design, data collection and on-the-ground execution has been instrumental in the successful execution of numerous projects in Quito.
	Beyza Gürdoğan – Istanbul, Turkey Beyza is an excellent street designer, a skilled communicator, and a keen facilitator, all key qualities in challenging the status quo in urban design. She confidently takes on every challenge, from convincing Istanbul’s infamous minibus drivers to get on board with better street design to engaging with neighbors of all ages to ensure streets serve their needs.
	Claire Pascoe – Wellington, New Zealand Claire is a visionary leader and the driving force behind a transformative network of connected cycleways in New Zealand’s capital. Her ability to unite a superstar team and navigate challenges with equal parts pragmatism and grace has been instrumental in delivering this game-changing project.
	Claudia Díaz – Bogotá, Colombia As head of the Secretary of Mobility in Bogotá, Claudia has played a critical role to push the government to act on safer, more inclusive street design. A longtime champion of pushing the boundary to achieve best practice designs, she has been a key ally to enhance cycling infrastructure standards for kids among many other improvements seen on the streets of Bogotá.
	Demetrio Scopelliti – Milan, Italy Demetrio’s dedication to people-first streets and public spaces contributed to Milan’s global reputation as a leader in street design. During his tenure as the Director of Planning and Public Space at Milan’s Agenzia Mobilità Ambiente Territorio, he has led several transformative urban initiatives, most notably the “Piazze Aperte” program, which revitalized over 50 public spaces and streets across Milan, enhancing pedestrian accessibility and community engagement.
	Gustavo Sales – Recife, Brazil Gustavo is an ambitious and effective designer and urban planner constantly raising the bar of quality and efficiency of urban mobility and road safety projects. A key coordinating force in Recife, his ability to navigate from interim projects to capital construction makes even the most aspirational projects feasible.
	Jessica Fabiola Salman Espinoza – León, Mexico Jessica is a true driving force for child-friendly street transformations in her city. She was instrumental in bringing two Streets for Kids projects to life, gathering support, and proactively bringing in additional partners and sponsors. Her efforts made the project exceed expectations, from introducing playful furniture to a robust data collection process to communicate its impact.
	Luiz Alberto Saboia – Fortaleza, Brazil Luiz has demonstrated a consistent commitment to innovative excellence in safer, more inclusive streets in Fortaleza. During his tenure in City Hall, Luiz led key initiatives such as the Cidade da Gente program, the implementation of three different cycle-share systems, a massive expansion of the city’s cycle network, the creation of low-speed zones, and speed reductions in critical corridors. His leadership helped the city meet the UN goal of reducing road deaths by 50% before 2030.
	Nguyen Duc Toan – Hanoi, Vietnam Nguyen has played a critical role in implementing many street design interventions that have led to improvements in road safety, especially around schools in Hanoi. He has been pushing the boundaries of the local guidelines to implement new ideas and has taken ownership of many of the projects, working tirelessly on the ground at all stages from collecting data to monitoring execution.
	Yohannes Legesse – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Yohannes’ unmatched commitment to improving Addis Ababa’s street and transportation systems deepens every year. His support both in and outside of government, along with his keen understanding of the long term impacts of policies has been significant in visionary goal setting and, importantly, follow through with low speed zones, cycling networks, and safer intersections

Our congratulations and deep gratitude to the Street Shapers for all they do! Join us in wishing them the best as they continue to work tirelessly for safer, more equitable streets, and stay tuned as we continue to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of GDCI over the next ten weeks!