Public Space
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New NYC Mayor Must Revolutionize Streets
We've already offered the low-hanging fruit that the new mayor could accomplish on Day 1. Now, it's time to roll up the sleeves for our big list.
November 4, 2025
Ugly Truth: Feds’ Canal Street Raid Pushed Aside NYPD, Safety and Free Speech
President Trump's heavily armed and masked immigration troops are turning American cities into battlegrounds — and eliminating accountability and free speech in the public realm.
Nolan Hicks
October 26, 2025
Video: An ‘Oh the Urbanity’/Streetfilms Montréal Mashup
Find out why the City of a Hundred Steeples is so magnifique.
September 11, 2025
Talking Headways Podcast: Reclaiming the Road
Ohio elected official and geographer David Prytherch on his new book, Reclaiming the Road: Mobility Justice Beyond Complete Streets.
July 17, 2025
How Cities Are Getting Creative To Reclaim Public Space for People
Putting in parks and plazas isn't the only way to reimagine "public spaces" around the needs of people, a new report argues — and if we do it right, these projects can be a powerful tool for equity and health.
September 2, 2024
Understanding the Car-Dominated Past Can Lead to a Better Future
And success will mean nothing less than a better life for all groups and communities.
Scott Shepard
February 21, 2024
A San Franciscan Learns the Secret of NYC’s Safety: People in Public Space
If you want safe streets, make sure they are active places, our San Francisco friend learns on a trip to New York.
Darrell Owens
November 1, 2023
DOT Rolls Out New Tech To Better Analyze How People Move on City Streets
The sensors could help resolve misallocations of public space, where cars often get the bulk of room despite being outnumbered by pedestrians or cyclists.
April 18, 2023
Talking Headways Podcast: Caretakers of the Public Realm
This week we’re joined by Andrew Jones, program director for the Uptown and Downtown Oakland Community Benefits District. We chat about urban place management, how urban spaces are taken care of, and what it takes to keep them vibrant and engaging. It's really important.
April 6, 2023
SPUR Talk: Cleaning Up the Civic Center Commons
Yesterday afternoon, representatives from the city, charity groups, and the Exploratorium, gave a presentation at SPUR's downtown San Francisco center about their collaborative efforts to clean up the Civic Center Commons/UN Plaza area and make it into an attractive and inviting urban forum, while helping the homeless and drug addicts who congregate there.
February 9, 2017