"Last fall, Philadelphia's Center City District (CCD) launched Open Streets: West Walnut on a series of Sundays. One Sunday at a time, the program showed off Center City's innate vibrancy when it catered to people and not cars. CCD provided some light programming, such as musical acts and dance performances, as well as more casual DIY programming, such as corn hole and ping pong, and a few seating pods."
"Open streets are a practicable solution to the problems of the post-pandemic city. At a time when people can socialize, eat, and be entertained without even having to leave their homes, open streets show the benefits of actually being present and experiencing a place in real life. They are precisely the antidote to our shut-in culture, to people's waning sense of trust in one another."
"At a time when families are leaving cities for the leafy suburbs, open streets show how kids can play, bike, and run around the city - particularly if we reduce car lanes. And when cities are struggling to correct the narrative that they're dangerous and gloomy, it's nearly impossible to walk through an open street and not feel joy and plenty safe enough."
Philadelphia's Center City District launched Open Streets: West Walnut as a series of Sunday street closures that prioritized people over cars. The events included light programming—musical acts, dance performances—and casual activities like corn hole, ping pong, and seating pods. Retailers and restaurants expanded onto the street to reach new customers on slower Sundays. The program returned multiple times, reaching at least seventeen events. Open streets encourage in-person socializing, counteract post-pandemic isolation and declining social trust, allow children to play and bike safely in urban areas, and demonstrate that cities can function with fewer car lanes.
Read at Streetsblog
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