London’s Do-It-Yourself Approach to Safer Streets

In the UK, the non-profit Sustrans
is pioneering a community-based method to reclaim streets from
high-speed traffic and make neighborhoods safer and more sociable
places.

Called “DIY Streets,” the program brings neighbors together to help
them redesign their streets in a way that puts people, safety, and
streetlife first. So far, individual streets have benefited from DIY
redesigns in 11 communities in England and Wales. Recently Streetfilms
got a walk through of one successful DIY project — on Clapton Terrace
in London. With the people who made it happen as our guides, we saw how
planners and neighbors collaborated to transform a place where speeding
used to rule into a local street with calm traffic and safe space to
socialize.

Can the DIY model work on a bigger scale than an individual street?
We’re about to find out: Residents of the London Borough of Haringey
will soon be working with Sustrans on the first neighborhood-wide DIY project.