On GDCI’s 10th Anniversary, announcing ten inaugural winners of the Street Shaper Award
Ten years in to GDCI, 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. 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.
Caminhos da Escola: Intervenções temporárias como ferramenta de participação comunitária
Em dezembro de 2019, a equipe da GDCI deu apoio à capital cearense para a implantação da primeira intervenção urbana do programa Caminhos da Escola, que busca melhorar as condições de segurança viária no entorno de escolas públicas através de melhorias de desenho urbano.
El Inglés and Usme: The Latest Plazoletas in Bogotá’s Citywide Program
The Plazoletas Bogotá Program continues to provide safer streets for people across the city. Two new interim Plazoletas are now under construction, to be inaugurated in January 2020!
Measure What Matters: Reclaiming Space for Pedestrians in Downtown Fortaleza
Within an ambitious city-wide vision to promote road safety and sustainable mobility, the City of Fortaleza, Brazil, took another major step towards making its streets safer and more walkable—this time, in the heart of the city’s commercial center.
MCGM to Transform CSMT Intersection in Collaboration with BIGRS
Under BIGRS, the MCGM and Mumbai Traffic Control Branch (MTCB), with the support of the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), is carrying out this transformation work to increase pedestrian safety while making traffic flow more efficient, around the busy transportation hub.
Participation is Power: Launch of an Interim Intervention in Penha
On August 17, 2019, the interim intervention was launched with programmed activities throughout the day. The team led a walk-through of the site, hosted an outdoor Zumba class in the newly created plaza, and invited a local music school to perform.
Fortaleza Connects the Street to the Sea for MOBILIZE
In June, our team attended the MOBILIZE Summit and facilitated a tactical urbanism workshop. Attendees helped transform an intersection, contributing to a larger low-speed zone project in the neighborhood of Praia de Iracema. Using low-cost materials, the redesign includes curb extensions that are proven solutions to reduce speeds for cars and increase safety for all road users while enhancing the public space.
Participation is Power: Design Defined by Community Priorities
The Borough of Penha, GDCI, and the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) are working together to develop the design and program for each Car-Free Friday event.
Fortaleza Cares: Prioritizing Safer Access to Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital
In late 2017, the GDCI team partnered with city officials, the Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and Vital Strategies, through the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), to transform the safety of the streets surrounding the hospital. This area, in Fortaleza, Brazil, is now equipped with safe pedestrian infrastructure that has reduced the number of people walking on the roadbed by 86%, and greatly improved accessibility to the hospital.
The Power of Paint: Bringing Life to the Streets of Dragão do Mar
The City of Fortaleza, Brazil, launched a new Cidade da Gente (City of People) project in Dragão do Mar in August 2018. City contractors and local volunteers applied bright colors and bold patterns to the 5,000 square meter site over three days, and used 1,000 liters of paint to improve the streets’ geometry. The redesign makes streets safer and brings revived life and energy to the neighborhood.
Bogotá launches its community-led Plazoleta Program
Bogotá recently took another step towards creating safer, sustainable, and more inclusive streets by officially launching the Plazoleta Program which aims to create pedestrian plazas by reclaiming underutilized spaces all over the city.
As we approach the 2018 Road Safety Week in Mumbai, India, we decided to revisit GDCI's collaboration with MCGM and MTP from last year, where a week-long trial and Mithchowki in Malad, was conducted to reclaim ~1650 sq.m of underutilized roadbed on the street for pedestrians and support a space that is more legible for all users.
