Many cities now have the vision and leadership to re-imagine and redesign their streets and public spaces. But they must still overcome a variety of obstacles and points of resistance to bring plans to fruition. While each project calls for a tailored approach — there is no “one size fits all” way to take new street designs from conception to successful implementation — city agencies have developed a range of strategies that have proven effective. These include judicious choice of project sites and design features; development of compelling project rationales, methods of addressing concerns and fears, helping people envision the benefits of new designs and building internal momentum and buy-in. This session will discuss the application of these strategies to the project selection, development, implementation and evaluation process, all carried out in concert with public engagement. The discussion will address obstacles that are internal to the agency as well as external among stakeholders and the general public.
An article drawing lessons from this session was published in the July 2015 issue of the ITE Journal.