Sustainable Streets: Emerging Priorities, Emerging Practices
The role of urban street design in advancing sustainability goals is the focus of the Sustainable Streets project being undertaken at the UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center under the Center’s Visiting Practitioner Program. Led by Ellen Greenberg, 2007-2008 Visiting Practitioner, the project:
- Highlights the connections between urban street design and sustainability
- Introduces a three-part framework for street design addressing community, ecology and movement
- Documents accomplishments in street design that are built or under construction by early 2008, with 28 American and Canadian case studies in 11 states and provinces
- Supports further research efforts by establishing a database of case study information and identifying areas of need for research to be conducted and findings to be disseminated in order to promote the creation of Sustainable Streets
- Makes study results widely available through the Sustainable Transportation Center’s website, online symposia, and conference presentations
In the work, Ms. Greenberg proposes that Sustainable Streets (1) apply widely-accepted sustainable design principles, (2) promote least-polluting ways to connect people and goods to their destinations, and (3) make transportation facilities and services part of livable communities. This comprehensive definition of Sustainable Streets encompasses a wide range of themes. The case studies documented through the project are organized according to four of these themes, as follows:
Movement Plus: Higher volume streets (15,000+ ADT) re-designed to meet sustainability goals ranging from improving bike parking to supporting high-density residential infill
Neighborhood Plus: New and redesigned neighborhoods that seek to foster community values, reduce transportation impacts, and preserve natural resources.
Downtown Revitalization Plus: Projects in older communities that are using street design as a tool to spur economic activity and support compact and infill development downtown.
Stormwater Plus: Projects designed with implementation of stormwater management features as a primary design objective
Links to Sustainable Streets Project materials:
Sustainable Streets Resource Guide
Sustainable Streets Bibliography
Powerpoint Presentations: Sustainable Streets: Evolving Priorities, Evolving Practice
Summary description of the Sustainable Streets Powerpoint Presentation
UCD affiliates may access further resources through the Sustainable Streets Project Smart Site.
For further information, contact Ellen Greenberg at egreenberg@ucdavis.edu.