Reclaiming the Street for Livable Urban Spaces

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen changes to the streetscape happening in cities all around the world. While the fast pace of these changes is promising for building a world less dependent on automobiles, one unanswered question remains: Are these renewed streets here to stay? This module introduces the transitions framework to understand how change happens in the mobility system at different scales in society.

How do experiments play out on the street? You will be pleased to discover that creating change in public space can be a bottom-up process driven by temporary initiatives. We examine how temporary experiments can then be solidified into policies and permanent street changes after a successful experiment concludes.

What happens when citizens encounter a bureaucracy? It is no easy feat to instill a system level change in large systems, whether it is government or another large technocratic organization. We examine how front-line individuals navigate the conservative system world to create change that matters in the dynamic living world.

What is the role of traffic in our cities? While mobility is essential to accessing opportunity, is it possible to achieve mobility without traffic? This module explores creative solutions to the problem of traffic in five cities around the world, examining how reclaimed space can be repurposed for more valuable uses.

What can individuals do to change the system? This module explores how connected groups of individuals can effectively create change, examining how activists in London and Amsterdam leverage relationships to mediate between themselves and the bureaucracy.

Final module focused on creating an actionable plan for change based on course learnings