We’ve recently featured several entries on placemaking and walkablity, including attention to the creation of a permanent pedestrian zone in Times Square in New York City (summarized in the March 9 Real Estate Law and Industry Report). Six months ago, we wrote in Crosscut about several background principles restated in our more recent work. For orientation, it is worth reproducing the September 24, 2009 Crosscut article below.

It’s not just the street that dictates success. The key is finding the right blend of such factors as these: 1) desirable and appropriate building forms and how they interact with public rights of way; 2) hierarchies of public rights of way; 3) the appropriate separation of pedestrians and vehicles; and 4) how to manage speed and noise with traffic control devices, law enforcement, and vehicle redesign.

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