Feature Story:

From Place to Place: Reinventing Transportation Planning with Placemaking

Over the past 34 years, PPS has often discovered that what would most benefit the communities in which we work is the opposite of what transportation professionals propose. Fortunately, that recurring paradigm is becoming a challenge of the past. Progressive transportation planning is in the midst of a boom, and we are pleased to highlight initiatives helping communities rethink how to connect people with the goods, services and destinations they need and desire. In this newsletter we focus on several new endeavors in the US, followed by an upcoming issue that looks at innovative transportation planning practices abroad.

Transportation agencies are finally paying attention to issues that have long been the focus of advocacy organizations: the importance of diverse modes of transport, the fair allocation of road space and public spending, and the opportunity to create more context sensitive transportation facilities. PPS's own Building Community through Transportation campaign has sought to do just that, in addition to reinventing Streets as Places and promoting Thinking Beyond the Station. These advances are critical to creating an accessible and sustainable transportation system, and we are encouraged by the growing excitement surrounding these issues.

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Other Articles in this issue:

Streets of San Francisco

Last year, PPS helped set up the San Francisco Great Streets Project modeled after our New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign. Now, with the successful launch of two municipal projects that allow greater pedestrian use of road space, San Francisco is showing its commitment to Placemaking as a strategy for creating more vibrant public life.

Savoring Savannah

Savannah, known for the beauty of its squares and tree-canopied streets, conducted a recent survey inviting residents to name the city’s best and worst streets. The survey, which was conducted on behalf of Savannah Forward, a coalition of public and private institutions looking for ways to increase Savannah’s livability, drew four times as many responses for “worst” as for “best”.

Following the survey, six citizens groups in organized a conference in February, 2009 focusing on how to transform the city’s car-oriented streets into pedestrian-friendly destinations, and how to create true gathering places in Savannah’s beautiful natural environment and historic squares.