Programme overview
Introduction:
Urban street design in many cities still allocates most of the right-of-way to moving and parked cars, leaving narrow, unshaded sidewalks, long crossings, missing cycle links and bus stops with no shelter. The result is streets that residents avoid on foot even for short trips. This Core Concept course trains planners, engineers and designers to reallocate street space using complete streets principles, set safe design speeds, plan for walking, cycling and micromobility, manage the curb and test changes through pilots. Participants produce a Street Redesign Concept and Pilot Evaluation Plan for a case corridor.
Course Objectives:
- Classify streets by movement and place function and set a target design speed and user priority for each street type
- Prepare complete streets cross-sections that reallocate right-of-way to sidewalks, shade, cycle tracks, transit and loading
- Design pedestrian crossings, curb extensions, refuge islands and heat-comfort measures that shorten exposure and suit all ages and abilities
- Lay out protected cycle and micromobility facilities, bus stop platforms and curbside zones along a corridor
- Measure walkability and 15-minute neighbourhood access with walking audits and isochrone mapping to prioritise street investments
- Plan a tactical pilot with before-and-after indicators and a pilot-to-permanent decision route for a street redesign
Target Audience:
- Urban planning staff who prepare neighbourhood plans, street hierarchies and public-realm strategies
- Municipal engineering staff who design, approve and maintain streets, sidewalks and crossings
- Transport planning staff responsible for walking, cycling, micromobility and bus stop programmes
- Public-realm, landscape and urban design staff who detail street furniture, planting and shade
- Development review staff who check street frontages, access and curb layouts in submitted schemes
- Consultant designers who prepare streetscape and corridor improvement packages for public clients
Course Outline:
Day 1: The Street as Public Space: Functions, Typologies and Street Audits
- Movement and Place Matrix for Classifying Urban Street Functions
- Street Typology Catalogue: Boulevards, Main Streets, Neighbourhood Streets and Shared Streets
- Complete Streets Policy Elements: Users of All Ages, Abilities and Modes
- Right-of-Way Inventory: Existing Space Allocation by User Group
- Walking Audit and Pedestrian Environment Review Checklist for a Street Segment
Day 2: Design Guides, Design Speed and Traffic Calming Toolkit
- Municipal Street Design Manuals and Urban Street Design Guides Compared
- Target Design Speed Selection and the 30 km/h Urban Street Approach
- Horizontal Deflection Measures: Chicanes, Chokers, Mini-Roundabouts and Road Diets
- Vertical Deflection Measures: Speed Cushions, Speed Tables and Raised Intersections
- Living Streets, Woonerf and Shared-Space Design Principles
Day 3: Designing for Walking, Cycling, Micromobility and Transit
- Sidewalk Zone Layout: Frontage, Clear Path, Furniture and Planting Zones
- Crossing Design: Curb Extensions, Daylighting, Refuge Islands and Tight Corner Radii
- Shade, Street Trees and Heat Comfort Strategies for Hot-Climate Walking Routes
- Protected Cycle Tracks, Neighbourhood Greenways and Micromobility Parking Layouts
- Bus Stop Platforms, Boarding Islands, Shelters and Dedicated Bus Lane Integration
Day 4: Curbside Management, 15-Minute Neighbourhoods and Delivery Risks
- Curbside Management Plan: Loading, Ride-Hail, Parking and Parklet Zones
- 15-Minute Neighbourhood Proximity Model: Daily Needs and Service Gaps
- Isochrone Mapping of Walking and Cycling Access in GIS
- Stakeholder Objections, Emergency Access and Maintenance Risk Register
- Tactical Urbanism Pilots: Pop-Up Cycle Lanes, Pavement-to-Plaza and Paint-and-Planter Kits
Day 5: Case Corridor: Street Redesign Concept and Pilot Evaluation Plan
- Case Corridor Briefing: Crash, Pedestrian Count and Land-Use Evidence Pack
- Option Development: Existing, Interim Pilot and Permanent Cross-Sections
- Pilot Evaluation Framework: Before-and-After Speeds, Footfall and User Surveys
- Street Redesign Concept Drawing Pack and Phasing Schedule Assembly
- Street Redesign Concept and Pilot Evaluation Plan Presentation and Design Review Panel
Skills You Will Gain:
- Street Typology Classification
- Right-of-Way Reallocation
- Traffic Calming Selection
- Pedestrian Crossing Design
- Cycle Facility Layout
- Curbside Zoning
- Walkability Assessment
- Tactical Pilot Evaluation
Why Attend This Course:
- Return with a Street Redesign Concept and Pilot Evaluation Plan for a corridor that can be taken to a design review
- Argue for wider sidewalks, shade and safer crossings with audit results, access maps and design speed evidence
- Turn a contested street change into a low-cost pilot with indicators that decide whether it becomes permanent
- Compare street design practice with planners, engineers and designers from municipalities and consultancies in several countries
Conclusion:
Streets carry most of a city's public life, and their layout decides whether people walk, cycle, wait for a bus or drive. The week moves from street functions, typologies and audits, through design guides, design speed and calming measures, to detailed layouts for sidewalks, crossings, shade, cycle tracks, micromobility and bus stops, then to the curb, 15-minute access mapping and tactical pilots. The final day applies these methods to a case corridor and produces a Street Redesign Concept and Pilot Evaluation Plan.