Designing for the Future Livable City: How Do We Put People First in Street Design?

3 CM / LU Pending

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in urban mobility. Within this shifting context, the impacts on livability and urban design have been underrepresented in policy making. This workshop aims to re-frame the conversation by focusing on the type of cities we want to live in and establishing how future mobility can support this vision. The workshop will begin with a moderated panel discussion including: an overview of values-based future mobility principles; presentation of a series of proactive, present-day design opportunities for the built environment, including the potential lane and curb demand metrics and design used in Nelson/Nygaard and Perkins+Will’s re-conceptualization study of LA’s Wilshire Boulevard on behalf of Lyft; and a description of efforts in Austin to re-frame the conversation of intersection throughput to focus on people-per-hour and not vehicles. The panel discussion will be followed by a structured break out session to generate ideas on how to apply the principles and concepts discussed in the panel across a range of different urban contexts. By establishing a set of values to guide design decisions, understanding the fundamental transportation metrics to inform planning, and acting immediately to shape desirable outcomes, we are optimistic that the city of the future will be a safer, healthier, happier, and more sustainable place to live and work.