Streets & mobility
How the width of the street is shared between those passing through and those staying put. Pedestrians, cars, transport and the life that happens at pavement level.
A street is a division of space. It has a fixed width and somebody has to decide how much goes to the car, how much to the bus, how much to the bicycle and how much is left for walking and for staying. That division was made decades ago, has almost never been reopened, and explains why in so many cities the pavement is whatever was left over.
This section gathers what we have published on mobility and public space: pedestrians and their minimums, the car and its space, public transport and its coverage, cycling, the fifteen-minute city and its critics, and the squares, parks and corners where a neighbourhood's social life happens. Also urban psychology: how the design of a street changes how we feel in it and how we behave.
- Public space
Walking Shapes a Safer and More Lively City
This article explains how walking influences urban design and creates safer, more lively cities. Urban planning…
Jan Gehl 3 min read - Urban psychology
Transform Spaces, Transform Gender: Urban Justice
Explore how urban design shapes gender roles and social inequality. Discover the connection between space and justice.
Dolores Hayden 3 min read - Public space
Why Cities Shouldn't Be Identical Models
Imagine an urban studies textbook where nearly every important city looks strangely familiar. Theory, categories…
Jennifer Robinson 3 min read - Public space
Public space: open or close?
Explore how open public spaces foster encounters with strangers and influence urban life. Public space is essential…
3 min read - Mobility
Bicycle improves health and enhances neighborhood
Bicycling improves personal health and makes cities more livable. Discover how cycling benefits both individuals…
Jan Gehl 4 min read - Mobility
Traffic and fear kept our children confined at home
One figure captures an entire transformation. In a well known English study, eight out of ten children aged seven…
4 min read - Public space
Security through walls: protection or segregation?
The street ends at a wall. No gate, no pavement carrying on, nothing to look at.
4 min read - Mobility
Did you know your free parking costs way more than you think?
On a Tuesday at midnight, the supermarket parking lot is empty. Two hundred painted stalls, three cars, one lamppost.
4 min read - Mobility
The city steals time, offers speed
Two people leave home at the same hour and travel for exactly the same length of time.
4 min read - Public space
Who controls your city's public spaces?
A newly opened plaza, with wooden benches, young trees and water jets at ground level. Someone pulls out a phone…
4 min read - Public space
Innovation or disguised austerity in tactical urbanism?
A neighborhood plaza, a Saturday morning. Volunteers with rollers paint large colored circles on the asphalt.
Anthony Garcia 3 min read - Public space
Unveil the participatory theater that deceives us
A Tuesday evening, a civic center. Chairs in a circle, coffee, colored sticky notes.
3 min read - Public space
Raúl Zibechi Urban Social Movements
Raúl Zibechi analyzes urban social movements in Latin America, focusing on resistance to neoliberalism and…
Raúl Zibechi 2 min read - Public space
James Holston: Insurgent Citizenship and Urban Justice
James Holston explores insurgent citizenship in the Global South, focusing on marginalized urban populations'…
James Holston 3 min read - Public space
Michael Hardt: Urban Commons and Collective Resistance
Michael Hardt, together with the Italian philosopher Antonio Negri, has made major contributions to the analysis of…
Michael Hardt 3 min read - Public space
Asef Bayat Insurgent City and Urban Activism
Asef Bayat, an Iranian-Egyptian sociologist, has made fundamental contributions to the study of urban activism and…
Asef Bayat 3 min read - Urban psychology
Juhani Pallasmaa Architecture Senses
Juhani Pallasmaa explores architecture through all senses, not just sight. Discover how touch, sound, and smell…
2 min read - Urban psychology
Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City
*The Image of the City* (1960) by Kevin Lynch is a foundational work in urban studies that introduced the concept…
Kevin Lynch 2 min read - Public space
Urban Theories in Latin America: Social Movements and Resistance
Marcelo Lopes de Souza, in his work Theories of the Urban in Latin America, develops a critical perspective on…
2 min read - Public space
Marc Augé: Non-Places in Supermodernity
In “Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity” (1995), Marc Augé introduces the concept of…
2 min read - Urban psychology
Happy City: How Urban Design Influences Well-Being
Urban design impacts happiness and well-being. Discover how cities can be transformed for better quality of life.
2 min read - Public space
Managing Shared Resources Sustainably
Governing the Commons (1990) by Elinor Ostrom is a seminal work that challenges conventional theories about the…
Elinor Ostrom 2 min read - Public space
Lefebvre: urban space as a field of struggle
In The Production of Space, Lefebvre separates perceived, conceived and lived space, and shows where capital and…
Henri Lefebvre 3 min read - Public space
Allan Jacobs: Great Streets Analysis
Allan Jacobs explores what makes city streets successful and vital to urban life. Focus on design, human scale, and…
3 min read - Public space
John Friedmann Community Participation in Urban Planning
John Friedmann, an American urbanist and academic, has been an influential figure in the field of urban planning
John Friedmann 2 min read - Public space
Nicholas Blomley Property Space Social Justice
Nicholas Blomley explores how property rights shape urban space and social justice. Understand the role of private…
Nicholas Blomley 3 min read - Public space
Henri Lefebvre: urban space as a social product
Henri Lefebvre showed that urban space is not a neutral setting: it is socially produced, and whoever produces it…
Henri Lefebvre 3 min read - Public space
Setha Low and Spatial Justice
Setha Low, an American anthropologist and urban scholar, has made important contributions to the study of public…
Setha Low 3 min read - Public space
Participatory Democracy Explained
Participatory democracy is a model that seeks to empower citizens through their direct participation in…
John Forester 2 min read - Public space
Thirdspaces: Understanding Hybrid Urban Environments
Thirdspaces explore hybrid urban environments where social and cultural identities are reconfigured. Discover how…
Homi Bhabha 2 min read - Public space
Women and Cities: Research Gaps and Opportunities
Urban research explores women's challenges and opportunities in cities, focusing on safety, economic justice, and…
2 min read - Public space
Sharon Sutton: Social Inclusion in Urban Planning
Sharon Sutton promotes equitable urban planning that includes marginalized communities. Read about her work and…
Sharon Sutton 2 min read - Urban psychology
Diane Davis Urban Resilience in Chronic Violence
Diane Davis explores urban resilience in chronic violence contexts, focusing on governance and community strategies.
Diane Davis 2 min read - Public space
Ana Falú: Feminist Urbanism and Inclusion in Cities
Ana Falú promotes feminist urbanism to create safer, inclusive cities for women. Main keyword: feminist urbanism.
Ana Falú 3 min read - Mobility
Enrique Peñalosa and Urban Mobility
Enrique Peñalosa transformed Bogotá's urban mobility with sustainable public transport and pedestrian-friendly…
2 min read - Public space
The Just City Susan Fainstein's Perspective
Susan Fainstein, en su obra The Just City, propone un enfoque de planificación urbana basado en la justicia social
2 min read - Public space
Richard Sennett and the Decline of Public Life
In The Fall of Public Man, Richard Sennett examines the decline of public life in modern cities
2 min read - Public space
Setha Low and Don Mitchell: Public Space Politics
Public space politics refers to the processes and dynamics that determine who has access to, control over, and the…
Henri Lefebvre 3 min read - Mobility
Right to Mobility and Social Justice in Cities
The right to mobility ensures equitable access to transportation and movement in cities, impacting social justice…
David Harvey 2 min read - Public space
Urban Territoriality: Understanding Inclusion and Exclusion
Urban territoriality shapes how people interact with city spaces, influencing inclusion and exclusion. Learn about…
Setha Low 3 min read - Public space
Interstitial Spaces: Resistance and Urban Creativity
The politics of interstitial space refers to the use and transformation of urban areas that have been abandoned,…
Margit Mayer 2 min read - Urban psychology
Urban Planning and Mental Health
Urban well-being and its impact on residents’ mental health has become an increasingly important topic in urban…
Jan Gehl 2 min read - Public space
Tactical urbanism: testing the city before building it
Tactical urbanism tests plazas, bike lanes and pop-up gardens to find out what works on the street before it is…
Anthony Garcia 2 min read - Public space
Dolores Hayden: Feminism and Urbanism for Gender Equity
Dolores Hayden, an American urbanist and feminist theorist, has been a key figure in integrating feminist…
Dolores Hayden 2 min read - Public space
Social Urbanism: Creating Inclusive and Cohesive Cities
Social urbanism is an approach to urban planning that focuses on social inclusion and the creation of public spaces…
Jan Gehl 3 min read - Public space
Jane Jacobs: the street as the engine of the city
Jane Jacobs showed in 1961 that mixed uses, density and active streets keep a neighbourhood safe better than any…
Robert Moses 3 min read - Mobility
Electric Mobility: A Sustainable Solution for Urban Transport
Electric mobility, particularly the use of electric vehicles (EVs), has emerged as one of the most promising…
Donald Shoup 3 min read - Public space
Citizen Participation: Key to Inclusive Urban Governance
Citizen participation in urban governance has been a key theme in critical studies of planning and urban development.
John Forester 2 min read - Public space
Leslie Kern Reimagines Cities Through Feminist Urbanism
Leslie Kern, a Canadian scholar and author, has become an influential voice in the field of feminist urbanism.
Leslie Kern 3 min read - Public space
Intersectionality in Urban Space: Uncovering People's Experiences
Intersectionality in urban space is an approach that makes it possible to examine how social identities, such as…
Leslie Kern 2 min read - Public space
Margit Mayer and the Struggle for the Right to the City
Margit Mayer, a German scholar, has been a key figure in the study of urban social movements and their struggle for…
Henri Lefebvre 2 min read - Mobility
Transit Oriented Development: Toward More Sustainable Cities
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is an urban planning approach that has gained increasing relevance as a strategy…
2 min read - Public space
Gender Inequality in Urban Space: A Critical Challenge
Gender inequality in urban space reveals how cities—through their design and governance—often overlook the specific…
Dolores Hayden 1 min read - Mobility
Shared Mobility Revolution in Cities
Shared mobility, especially through carsharing and ride-sharing systems, has gained ground in cities as an…
2 min read - Public space
Insurgent Citizenship Transforming Cities From The Ground Up
The concept of **“insurgent citizenship,”** developed by James Holston, refers to the ways in which urban…
Manuel Castells 3 min read - Public space
Pedestrianization: Creating More Livable and Sustainable Cities
Pedestrianization and the development of walkable spaces have become key strategies for improving quality of life…
Jan Gehl 2 min read - Mobility
Mobility as a Service Transforming Urban Transport
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is an innovative approach that is transforming the way people move around cities.
3 min read - Mobility
Parking Policies: Transforming Urban Mobility
Parking policies in cities have become increasingly important in contemporary urban planning, as they directly…
Donald Shoup 3 min read - Mobility
Public Transport: Pillar of Sustainable and Efficient Cities
Public transportation is one of the fundamental pillars for developing efficient and sustainable cities.
2 min read - Urban psychology
Urban Public Health Policies: Toward Healthier and Fairer Cities
Urban public health policies play a crucial role in the well-being of populations living in urban environments,…
3 min read - Public space
Spatial Justice: Transforming Cities for All
Spatial justice is a critical concept that examines how socioeconomic inequalities are reflected in the…
Edward Soja 2 min read - Public space
Urban Social Movements: Struggles for Justice and Equity
Urban social movements have emerged as key responses to the economic and social transformations shaping…
Manuel Castells 1 min read - Public space
Urban Space: Power and Resistance
Urban space is not merely a physical setting where human activities take place; it is also a space deeply charged…
Michel Foucault 3 min read - Public space
The Right to the City: A Struggle for Inclusion and Urban Justice
The concept of the “right to the city” was first proposed by Henri Lefebvre in 1968 and has since become a…
Henri Lefebvre 2 min read - Public space
Feminist Urbanism: Transforming Cities for Inclusion
Feminist urbanism emerged as a critique of traditional urban planning, which has historically been designed from a…
2 min read - Public space
Doreen Massey: space has a gender too
Massey showed that moving through the city does not cost everyone the same, and called that geographical inequality…
Doreen Massey 2 min read - Mobility
Women's Mobility and Transport in Cities
Access to transport and women’s mobility in cities are critical issues shaping quality of life and full…
1 min read - Urban psychology
Urban Insecurity and Violence: Social and Spatial Challenges
Urban insecurity and violence are phenomena that deeply affect communities, particularly in the most vulnerable…
Mike Davis 3 min read - Public space
Decolonizing Urban Space: Creating More Inclusive Cities
The decolonization of urban space is a process that seeks to transform cities—especially in the Global South—by…
Jennifer Robinson 3 min read - Public space
Judith Butler Gender Performativity in Urban Space
Judith Butler, an American philosopher and theorist, has made major contributions to gender theory, particularly…
Judith Butler 2 min read - Urban psychology
Urban Violence and Security Policies: Challenges in Unequal Cities
Urban violence and citizen security policies are central issues in cities characterized by high levels of social…
2 min read - Mobility
Sustainable Mobility: Towards Greener and More Accessible Cities
Sustainable mobility has become a central issue in contemporary urban planning, as cities face challenges such as…
3 min read - Mobility
Strategies to Combat Urban Congestion
Urban congestion is one of the greatest challenges facing modern cities.
3 min read - Public space
Public Space: Key to Inclusive and Participatory Cities
Public space is a fundamental component of how cities function—not only as a physical setting
Setha Low 1 min read - Mobility
Urban Cycling: A Sustainable Solution for City Mobility
Urban cycling has become one of the most efficient and sustainable solutions for addressing mobility challenges in…
3 min read - Public space
Urban Governance: Toward Effective Citizen Participation
Urban governance policy has undergone significant transformations in recent decades, driven by globalization,…
Saskia Sassen 2 min read - Public space
Elinor Ostrom: governing the commons without selling them
Ostrom proved that communities manage shared resources well without privatising or nationalising them, and her…
Elinor Ostrom 2 min read - Urban psychology
Post Pandemic Cities: How Pandemics Are Redefining Our Urban Spaces
Pandemics have had a significant impact on the way urban space is organized, driving transformations in city…
3 min read
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Shorts
How We Perceive Cities: The Impact of 'The Image of the City' by Kevin Lynch
Healthy City. Fewer cars, longer lives: street experiment is quietly rewriting urban
The Highway That Kills Friendships
That pop-up plaza didn't come to stay, it came to raise the prices
Urban The street isn’t free: how harassment silently controls movement
or Premium Coast? The seaside looks public… but it’s becoming increasingly exclusive
Elastic Spaces. Now they discover the best spaces are the ones that transform themselves
Emotional bridges stopped being crossings. Now they're where the city breathes
The right to the city: participation and social appropriation
Living streets
future transport. doesn’t fly: it walks
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