Carbusters #33
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Street Conversion and Design

Before you read this magazine I ask you to conduct a simple experiment: walk down to your local street and stop, stand, smell, look and listen. Think. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What thoughts fill your mind?

Cars dominate our public space more than ever and it seems their sphere of influence continues to expand. They dominate – and threaten – all of our senses, our thoughts and our well-being. They affect everything we do, from how we live our lives to how we plan our cities. They have become so omnipresent that it’s sometimes difficult to imagine life without them. But try. Stand on your street and imagine.

What is so unique about this problem is that it’s completely inclusive. Every single one of us is faced with the consequences of car-orientated culture as soon as we walk out of our front door, and every single one of us would benefit from a solution.

In the San Jose/Guerrero neighbourhood of San Francisco, cars literally intruded upon residents’ personal space. Gillian Gillett imagined, and responded with a simple petition. Four years and US$120,000 worth of grants later the community has bonded over the reduction of traffic and the return of their public space.

Gillett is not alone; within this issue of Carbusters we feature articles about grassroots coalitions, high profile development projects and the winning designs from our Annual Street Conversion Design Contest. All these people imagined.

Cars are no longer just a threat to the planet; they have become a threat to ourselves as individuals, and everyone – whether they know it or not – is compelled towards the same conclusion. We need to redesign our car-orientated public space and return it to the pedestrian for the benefit of both the planet and the individual. And for once, it’s something that every single one of us has the potential to achieve. - SF

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