Trend Watch August 2020

Designing streets for kids:

Released in August by the Global Designing Cities Initiative, “Designing Streets for Kids,” offers strategies and solutions to redesign urban streets and public spaces by focusing on the needs of kids and caregivers, with the goal of making streets beautiful, fun – and safe.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young people ages 5-29 globally, and traffic congestion and vehicles contribute to high levels of air pollution, which is responsible for the death of 127,000 children under the age of five each year, the guide’s authors said. Many of these deaths, they said, can be dramatically reduced through kid-friendly street design.

Read the Forbes article, How to Make Streets Kid-Friendly by Tanya Mohn.

Image: A street in Fortaleza, Brazil, designed according to ‘Designing Streets For Kids.’ Photo: NACTO and Global Designing Cities Initiative.

Will Public Space Replace the Mall?

Streets and public places should become the setting for every reasonable type of use to allow communities to reopen beyond walking, biking and dining outdoors, according to Susanne Pini writing for Shopping Centre News.

“The Great Pause, as some are calling it, has caused us all to slow down, to reassess our values and to reevaluate where and how we live, as we look for novel ways to connect with our communities and nature. People have rediscovered the value of proximity, and the need to be close to one another and the things they need, rather than relying on driving a long distance.

“Many of us have become more deeply aware of the shops and amenities in our local streets when we suddenly couldn’t access them anymore. We realised how much we miss and appreciate public life and human interactions.

“While early indications show it could be good news for local and independent stores, the big question is how will COVID-19 affect already embattled shopping malls?”

Read the article, Will Public Space Replace the Mall?

Image: Lithuanian capital Vilnius plans to turn the whole city into an open-air café. By Go Vilnius.