Starting with Sidewalks is the Key to Creating the Social Life We Want
There is no bigger opportunity than creating an intersection that connects rather than divides. Connecting people to businesses and to each other helps everyone – social life, community, and the local economy.
Bringing the inside out onto the sidewalk blurs the lines between public and private space, creating one dynamic, thriving urban ecosystem.
Starting in the 1970’s and 1980’s, we used New York City to test strategies for reversing the acute degradation of the public environment that followed the city’s fiscal crisis. Most of the demonstration projects we undertook were adopted as dominant practice.
In an era where social isolation underlies so many of our society's challenges, a simple bench can draw us outside of our private lives, enabling us to gather and connect.
Chautauqua: “There's no place like it. No resort. No spa. It is at once a summer encampment and a small town, a college campus, an arts colony, a music festival, a religious retreat, and the village square." -David McCullough
Bollards are valuable, multifunctional amenities used to define public areas, create a place to gather and socialize, and instill a feeling of safety while people wait to cross the street
