Markets
Campo dei Fiori, Rome, Italy
"In the early morning you'll find local vendors wheeling in their carts to sell everything from fresh fish to clothing. The market runs all day, and at dusk, the ristorante begin to come alive. The chairs flow out into the space, giving it life into the night."
Washington DC Fish Market
"A bustling seafood and fish market on Washington's waterfront. Crabs, lobsters and fish are sold from floating barges. This place is popular with locals, and not at all a tourist trap. Devoid of the usual consumer mall culture, it's an authentic example of urban commerce at the street level."
Bloomington Community Farmers Market, Bloomington, IN
"Beautiful displays of Indiana-grown produce transform Showers Common into a canvas painted with the brilliant hues of nature's bounty. Shoppers enjoy buying from the farmers and backyard gardeners who grow the produce they sell and who often share their favorite recipes for preparing it."
Saturday Market, Eugene, OR
"Saturday Market is the quintessential Eugene experience. Born out of the 1960's counter-culture and constantly adapted by a vibrant vendor-owned organization, this market has operated every Saturday from April through November for the past 32 years. Over 200 vendors weekly set up their booths on two square blocks of Municipal Park in the city center. The market features 25 food booths, a continuous performance stage, and co-locates with its sister market, the Lane County Farmers Market."
Streets
Soulard, St Louis, MO
"Soulard is the oldest neighborhood in St. Louis, with most buildings dating from the Civil War to the World's Fair in 1904. This was one of many areas of St. Louis where razing buildings had started in the late 60s and early 70s, and it was saved by a small hard working group of people."
Mount Washington, Pittsburgh, PA
"Historic working-class neighborhood located on Mount Washington, across the river from downtown Pittsburgh. The narrow streets are lined with vibrant small businesses and retail. Incline railways shuttle residents and visitors up from downtown Pittsburgh."
Acland Street, Melbourne, Australia
"Acland Street has an intimate scale that brings pedestrians into close contact with its many cafes and street musicians, giving it the air of a bustling, linear party. Outdoor tables are prominent, and are often situated at the edge of the sidewalk, channeling passers by through cafes rather than around them; in that way pedestrians are integrated into the cafe scene -- and also allowed a closer look at the wares displayed in the numerous bakery windows."
Art Street, Taichung County, Taiwan
"Art Street is a model of urban planning for people-friendly living spaces. The narrow, one-way street with raised cobbled intersections slows traffic enough to allow people to pleasantly walk along the street, encouraging a pedestrian friendly environment. This alone is very rare in Taiwan."
Parks
Market Square, Knoxville, TN
"A plaza-style, pedestrian-only city block flanked by late 19th-early 20th century storefronts. Historically, it has served as downtown Knoxville's market and meeting place."
Lafayette Park, St. Louis, MO
"Established in 1836, this was the first park west of the Mississippi River. The park sits at the center of the community and is a total of 30 acres. A prized Victorian park planned by MG Kern, the park once drew up to 40,000 people on the weekends. Today, the park serves the immediate neighborhood but also the downtown working community and surrounding neighborhoods. Concerts in the park every other weekend throughout the summer draw crowds from all over the Metropolitan area."
Wooster Square Park, New Haven, CT
"A beautifully landscaped, medium-sized, square shaped community park, with Victorian lampposts and benches. It is surrounded by a historic neighborhood. A vibrant, diverse population makes use of it by day and night. A great time to visit is the last weekend in April, for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which celebrates the park's many wonderful trees."
Marion Square, Charleston, SC
"This 10 acre park, much improved as the result of a recent renovation, accommodates a number of different urban activities, including a popular farmers market, a new fountain, a performance area, and a number of historic monuments. The space is flexible -- the park can host large events without feeling crowded and can host small events without feeling deserted."
Hall of Shame
South Bank, Brisbane, Australia
"South Bank is approximately two kilometres long, spanning the south bank of the Brisbane River, opposite the city centre. It is a corporate managed park built on the site of a promised public park. Instead, a tightly controlled artificial tourism environment was created complete with fake beach & cement creek. Security guards use Queensland 'move-on' laws to prevent young people from gathering."
Huntsman Hall, Philadelphia, PA
"A horrible waste of money. The outside is monstrous, and does not relate well with the surroundings. The 38th Street facade is 95% negative: huge service entrance, no street level windows, and sloped landscaping separating the building from pedestrians."
