School Street Programs at Scale: The Journeys of Rio de Janeiro and Cuenca
Following their participation in the 2025 Streets for Kids Leadership Accelerator, GDCI selected Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Cuenca, Ecuador, to receive dedicated technical assistance. Over the course of a year, GDCI worked alongside local teams to refine, strengthen, and scale the impact of their school streets initiatives. Here is a look back at the journey and key takeaways from this process.
Sixty leaders, twenty cities, one focus: How to make better streets for kids
GDCI’s first-ever Streets for Kids Leadership Accelerator welcomed 60 professionals from 20 cities around the world, all working at the intersection of children’s wellbeing and transportation. This competitively selected group came together for twelve online sessions over a six months period for an intensive course in street design best practices. Perhaps most importantly, this was a unique opportunity for them to share ideas, questions, and strategies with each other. Here’s a look back at what went into this program.
Creating Spaces for Kids in Istanbul: The Transformation of Zümrütevler Square
The transformation of Zümrütevler has shown how the vibrancy of Istanbul’s public spaces can be supported with safe infrastructure, and how residents can take an active role in transforming their urban environment.
Get On Their Level: Viewing the Streetscape from 95 Centimeters
GDCI has developed an educational tool focused on the Streets for Kids (SfK) program, which looks at cities through the lens of children and their caregivers.
Streets for Kids – Expression of Interest for Contributors Network
Our network of global experts made invaluable contributions to the Global Street Design Guide (GSDG), and we are now looking to establish an expert-network to support the production of the Streets For Kids GSDG supplement.
