Human-Scale Design

Creating streets for people starts with creating a safe, sustainable, and healthy place for residents and visitors to connect, engage, and support the local economy. Truly the front porch of our communities, successful Main Streets embrace human-scale design and offer seating areas, inviting public spaces, and streetscape amenities that enhance the overall human experience. They are also easy and safe to navigate, with infrastructure and programming that prioritize and accommodate people of all abilities.

This section provides an overview of the physical elements of streetscape design and pedestrian network most relevant to commercial district leaders and stakeholders, as well as policy and programming solutions, so that you are equipped with the tools you need to create more vibrant places for everyone.

Resources

Physical Planning and Design:

• Better Block Foundation — How to Build a Better Block
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Colorado Department of Transportation, and Community Builders — Colorado Downtown Streets
• Congress for the New Urbanism — Redevelopment Ready Communities: Enabling Better Places User’s Guide to Zoning Reform
• Copen​hag​e​nize​.com — Ergonomic Crosswalks
• Environmental Protection Agency — Green Infrastructure Policy Guides
• Federal Highway Administration
  • Accessible Sidewalks and Street Crossings — an informational guide
  • Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks
• Form-Based Codes institute — Form-Based Codes Defined
• Kalispell Core & Rail Redevelopment Case Study
  • Glacier Rail Park Redevelopment and Trail Project
  • Trail & Complete Streets Concept Design Report
• Larisa Ortiz Associates — Introducing the ​“Strengthening Commercial Districts” Series — A Guide to Downtown Wayfinding
• Los Angeles County — Model Design Manual for Living Streets
• Main Street America — Main Street Approach Design Handbook
• Mural Arts Philadelphia
• National Association of City Transportation Officials
  • Global Street Design Guide
  • Transit Street Design Guide
  • Urban Bikeway Design Guide
  • Urban Street Design Guide
  • Urban Street Stormwater Guide
• New Jersey Department of Transportation — Flexible Design of New Jersey’s Main Streets
• Project for Public Spaces
  • David Engwicht Placemaker Profile
  • Streets as Places: How Transportation Can Create a Sense of Community
• San Francisco Arts Commission — SF Better Streets Public Art
• Smart Growth America — Complete Streets Policy Inventory
• Strong Towns — Public Art
• Street Plans Collaborative — Tactical Urbanist’s Guide to Materials and Design
• Toderian, Brent (Planetizen) — Let’s Make Sticky Streets for People!
• Transit Oriented Development Institute
• The Trail Town Program
• U.S. Access Board
  • ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
  • Streets & Sidewalks Public Rights-of-Way and Shared Use Paths

Programming:

• America Walks
• ArtPlace America — Resources
• Azzarello, Max (Strong Towns) — What One Mural Can Teach Us About Public Art
• Bright Walls Jackson — Bright Walls Public Art and Mural Festival, Jackson, Michigan
• Jackson Hole Public Art — Places of Possibility: Public Art & Placemaking Toolkit for Rural Communities
• Main Street America — Marketing an Image for Main Street
• Project for Public Spaces — Public Markets
• Wilson, Kea (Strong Towns) — Can Paint Help Prevent Crime in a Troubled Neighborhood Park?

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