Engineering Livable Streets: A Thematic Review of Advancements in Urban Street Design

Abstract

Planners and urban designers have long sought to encourage the creation of livable streets. Despite these professions’ best efforts, the creation of such streets has proven difficult to implement due to the design practices employed by traffic engineers. This article details how engineering practices modify the design of urban streets and provides a thematic review of recent innovations to engineering guidance. It concludes by presenting four general strategies for ensuring that walkable streets emerge from the engineering phases of the project planning and design process.