About re:Streets

For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Goltsman, MIG
510-845-7549, susang@migcom.com

Bold, New Approach to Revitalizing American Streets
re:Streets Web Portal is Open and Free to Use

April 1, 2013, Berkeley, CA–A coalition of urban activists has unveiled a new website, www.restreets.org, dedicated to improving our city streets. Streets take up as much as one-third of all of America’s public open space–they can and should provide more services to the community.

Whether dirt, paved, brick, cobble, stone, concrete or asphalt, the street as a public right-of-way has helped people get around for hundreds of years. As our transportation evolved, however, cars and trucks increasingly took over the street and overwhelmed pedestrians and bicyclists.

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, re:Streets is a fundamental rethinking of America’s streets. It answers the question: What would streets look like if they accommodated people of all ages and abilities, promoted healthy urban living, social interaction and business, and supported regenerating the environment?

“Our objective is to provide clear design ideas for cities to revitalize American streets, so they serve a wide range of community needs, including transportation, commerce, education, recreation and gathering,” said Susan Goltsman, FASLA, a Principal at MIG, and Project Director for re:Streets.

Building on the Complete Streets movement, re:Streets has developed a comprehensive design manual for creating streets that promote the expanded functions of the street and turn new design ideas into a series of best practices that can be applied to any community.

The interactive web portal is focused on practical, implementable solutions–with best practices, design ideas and case examples. It’s organized by the functions of a street: mobility, way finding, commerce, social gathering, events and programming, play and recreation, urban agriculture, green infrastructure and image and identity.

re:Streets is a multi-disciplinary collaboration focused on the planning, design and construction of streets as a method for improving the livability of our built environment. It pushes beyond the current standards to explore the future of streets and what America's roadways would be like if they were designed for living, not just driving.

re:Streets is available to anyone who wants to design a better street,” Goltsman said. “As solutions are tried and streets are built or remodeled, the results will be added to the re:Streets web portal, creating an evolving, collaborative reference for improving our communities and the health of the planet.”

To find out more about re:Streets and our project partners, go to restreets.org, or contact Susan Goltsman at susang@migcom.com.

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