The city of Seattle just finished the most comprehensive study ever done in a US city on improving public spaces. The architecture firm that performed the study presented their preliminary findings this past Tuesday.
You can download a PDF version of the presentation from the International Sustainability Institute.
The presentation starts with some key findings about where pedestrians go downtown, noting that the waterfront is undervisited partially due to poor connections between the waterfront and downtown. It also maps the dull area in the central part of downtown between the retail core and Pioneer Square.
The presentation then moves on to some recommendations:
- upgrading the waterfront toward making Seattle a waterfront city
- using the east-west streets as “green connectors”
- turning alleys into “green lungs”
- greening building roofs and walls
There are a few motivating graphics that show how adding greenery and other pedestrian amenities could transform downtown, specifically King Street Station and 1st Avenue.
It also shares some lessons from New York City’s conversion of Times Square to reduce vehicle traffic.
The easy suggestions it makes are to:
- Better connect Pike Place Market & Westlake
- Complete the bicycle network
- Prioritize 1st Ave to make it a great street
- Green the alleys
- Create active facades to replace plain walls
Seattle has a lot of potential to make the downtown area great and this study seems to have identified a lot of good ways to do that. The full results will be out in March.
You can watch the presentation here. The Seattle PI’s In Pioneer Square blog has a good overview as well.
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