Streets Initiatives Research Articles

How do complete streets policies and legislative ordinances implement explicit wording regarding low-income populations and communities of color? A qualitative analysis

OverviewActive transportation, walking/bicycling for transportation, provides physical/mental health benefits to those who participate; however, there are inequities in participation among various populations, which creates health disparities among groups (racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ communities, low-income, disabled/older individuals, youth/children, women). Complete Streets policies and legislative ordinances aim to ‘create useable streets for all’ in various cities across the United States; however, previous studies showed a lack of wording surrounding low-income populations and communities of color within these specific city-level literatures. The purpose of this current study was to qualitatively examine city-level policies/legislative ordinances addressed low-income populations and communities of color using thematic analysis. MethodsComplete Streets plans which had mentioned low-income populations and communities of color were obtained from a previous study and a public database. Thematic qualitative analysis was conducted to identify common themes. ResultsComplete Streets initiatives (n = 57) were analyzed with various themes identified, including actionable strategies for implementation, identification of funding mechanisms, and others. DiscussionComplete Streets policies and legislative ordinancesguide key stakeholders to creating safe and accessible roads for populations of different demographics and traveling in different transportation modes. Underserved and under resourced populations need be included within policy/legislation literature to ensure equitable engagement within city-level Complete Streets plans.

I Open at the Close: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Evaluation of Open Streets Initiatives

The open streets initiative "opens" streets to pedestrians and bicyclists by closing them to cars and trucks. The initiative, adopted by many cities across North America, increases community space in urban environments. But could open streets also make cities safer and less congested? We study this question by framing the choice of which streets to open as a reinforcement learning problem. In order to simulate the impact of opening streets, we first compare models for predicting vehicle collisions given network and temporal data. We find that a recurrent graph neural network, leveraging the graph structure and the short-term temporal dependence of the data, gives the best predictive performance. Then, with the ability to simulate collisions and traffic, we frame a reinforcement learning problem to find which streets to open. We compare the streets in the open streets initiative to those proposed by a Q-learning algorithm. We find that the streets proposed by the Q-learning algorithm have reliably better outcomes, while streets already selected by the open streets initiative have similar outcomes to randomly selected streets. We present our work as a step toward principally choosing which streets to open for safer and less congested cities.

Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London

The purpose of this research is to investigate the thermal impact of urban green systems (UGS) (trees and living facades) and high albedo pavements on reducing the urban heat island (UHI) effect in London at the pedestrian street level. The research assesses the impact of UGS by suggesting practicable urban greenery-covering densities (25% and 50%) and using high albedo pavement in current and future climatic scenarios (2050 and 2080). This approach is intended to encourage pedestrians to walk longer distances for longer durations during the warmer months, following the Transport for London’s (TfL) 2017 Healthy Streets initiative. The research seeks to measure the advantages and assess the possible impact on the comfort and activities within urban streets. The study adopts a quantitative research design using ENVI-met modelling and questionnaires. Simulation results, the subject of this paper, confirmed that, across three climatic scenarios, the optimal UGS for thermal comfort is 50% trees followed by 25% trees, dependent on street orientation and solar access. Living facades (LF) with 25% and 50% covering had no discernible effect on the comfort of pedestrians, whereas high albedo pavement increases heat stress.

Investigation of air pollution mitigation measures, ventilation, and indoor air quality at three schools in London

In UK urban areas, due to ease of accessibility and convenience, many schools are located close to main busy roads. This often results in pollution hotspots around schools due to on-road vehicular pollutant emissions, especially during drop-off and pick-up times of students to and from schools. As well as being exposed to air pollutants in the school grounds, students are also exposed indoors. Thus, the need for scientific investigations focusing on mitigation of air pollution exposure indoors and outdoors for schools has significantly increased. The main objectives of the present study were therefore to: 1) obtain a clearer understanding of the extent of the air pollution problem inside and around schools and the factors that affect it; and 2) determine how it may be mitigated effectively using a range of interventions. These were achieved by carrying out monitoring of air pollution and associated parameters in and around three primary schools in London, UK. The study investigated the exposure reduction potential of various interventions, such as green screens, air purifiers, and school streets. A good understanding was obtained of the improvement in air quality that was achieved by the interventions both inside and outside the classrooms in the three schools. A green screen along the fences of the school reduced PM concentration by up to 44% in the playground. Installing air purifiers in a classroom resulted in lowering in PM concentration of about 57%. The school street initiative decreased PM concentration by about 36% in front of the school during pick up time. From the overall findings, practical recommendations have been included, as far as has been possible, that will enable formal guidance to be produced to help improve air quality in and around UK schools.

U.S. complete streets initiatives are lacking explicit language surrounding various demographic populations: A call to action

OverviewActive travel, walking and bicycling for transportation, has been shown to provide positive health benefits to those who participate. Despite these known benefits, there are many inequities seen throughout the U.S. which create decreased participation in disadvantaged populations. Complete Streets initiatives attempt to create useable streets for all and may have the potential to create equitable opportunities for all modes of transportation (car/transit/bicycle/walk) and demographic populations (race/ethnicity/gender/etc.). The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of explicit demographic language use in Complete Streets literature, while also understanding differences in frequency by type (legislative ordinances, resolutions, internal/city-wide policies, design guides, and executive orders), year (before/after 2015), and region of U.S. Methods: A list of Complete Streets initiatives were obtained from a public database, and research assistant's search each initiative for explicit verbiage regarding the six specific disadvantaged populations: racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ + communities, low-income, disabled/older individuals, youth/children, women). Results: Complete Streets initiatives (n = 1342) were analyzed. Less than 7% of all initiatives mentioned low-income populations, racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ + communities, or women in their literature. Discussion: Although the Complete Streets initiatives attempt to provide equitable opportunities for active travel and land use, most initiatives are lacking explicit verbiage regarding these disadvantaged populations. The lack of explicit verbiage may lead to an oversight in implementation, and future Complete Streets policies should attempt to place explicit language regarding strategies to reach disadvantaged populations, in turn to bind stakeholders and transportation departments into spending time and resources in areas that need Complete Streets.

Rural Libraries as Resources and Partners for Outside Active Play Streets.

Urban and rural areas have different types of built environments and community infrastructure, which lead to different types of successful community-based physical activity initiatives. Temporary Play Streets are a supported way to increase physical activity and perceptions of the built environment as a space for active lifestyles. Within the field of public health, public libraries constitute an underutilized community partner. To begin to understand the capacity of rural librarians to support rural Play Streets, a cross-sectional questionnaire was developed for distribution to rural librarians. The sampling frame targeted members of the membership-based U.S. Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL). Among respondents, 65% reported offering outdoor physical activity programs in the past, and 61% reported continuing to offer versions of this programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Librarians work with a broad range of community partners on this programming, and already own much of the equipment necessary for a successful Play Streets initiative. The results of this study corroborate claims from previous research, which shows that in small and rural communities, public libraries have the capacity to play a role in promoting physical activity through involvement in community partnerships. Additional work is needed to understand, evaluate, and support this opportunity to weave rural librarians into community-based physical activity promotion efforts more fully.

Neighborhood social environment at an open streets initiative

ABSTRACT Sunday Streets is an Open Streets initiative where local communities temporarily close streets to traffic, creating car-free space for recreation. This study used a survey of open- and close-ended questions to examine the reciprocal relationship between Sunday Streets and the communities and neighborhoods it serves. Findings suggest Sunday Streets provides participants with a safe (97.2%), vibrant environment (79.4%) where residents can decrease their stress (84.8%). Participants “feel more connected” to their neighborhood environment and recommend expansion of the route and more amenities. Sunday Streets offers ways for communities to support neighborhood social characteristics and social interactions and influence population health.

Participation and Physical Activity in Recreovia of Bucaramanga, Colombia.

Open Streets initiatives have allowed for physical activity (PA) in cities worldwide. However, few studies have evaluated the use of small Open Streets in low- and middle-income countries, such as those in Latin America. Thus, this study aimed to describe participation and PA level of users in the Recreovia program in Bucaramanga, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 5 Sundays from September to November 2017. Recreovia use was evaluated at 4 strategic points according to street accessibility (2 points) and aerobics class areas (2 points), using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities. A total of 38,577 observations were made (34,969 on streets and 3608 in aerobics class areas). Men (63%) and adults (62%), with moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) (98%) were observed on streets. The most common PAs were biking (50%), walking/dog walking (36%), and jogging (9%). In aerobics class areas, the most common groups were female (65%) and adults (89%). Participants were engaged in moderate to vigorous PA (91%). Measurement of number of participants at moderate to vigorous levels of PA was high. A difference between sexes and age in these street and aerobic class area groups was also observed.

Using 3D Rule-Based Modeling to Interactively Visualize “Complete Streets” Design Scenarios

“Complete Streets” has successfully emerged, and is increasingly being adopted around the U.S.A., as a transportation policy and design approach that aims to support the needs of all road users. Requiring complex street design configurations, Complete Streets initiatives can benefit from the power of three-dimensional (3D) visualization to share the design vision with stakeholders and citizens. Traditional modeling techniques present some challenges to respond to such needs because of low modeling efficiency. However, 3D procedural modeling, also known as rule-based modeling, provides exciting opportunities to overcome such challenges. This study investigates 3D rule-based modeling as a scenario-oriented street design tool. It employs a case study approach that utilizes a set of rules designed for Complete Streets and applies rule-based modeling to visually compare design scenarios using a study area in Florida. Findings show that the rule-based modeling approach is proven to effectively visualize scenario-oriented street designs. Its ability to modify design parameters easily and generate scenarios rapidly, enables effective visual comparison of alternatives. Its ability to be customized and extended makes it applicable to thousands of communities around the country that are looking to implement Complete Streets designs. Finally, with the ability to support 3D web-based visualization and virtual reality, the rule-based approach can serve as an effective integrated collaboration platform. The Complete Streets rules are available and can be utilized by practitioners immediately. For researchers, the rule-based street modeling approach adds another tool in their methodological toolbox that can help bridge modeling and visualization with Complete Streets research.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Four Decades on Main Street

Mary Means, recipient of the 2020 Louise du Pont Crowninshield award, reflects on four decades of work to revitalize Main Street communities across the country and the influence of the Main Street initiative to evolve historic preservation from a focus on architectural correctness to a place-based process.

Geographic Distribution of the Ciclovia and Recreovia Programs by Neighborhood SES in Bogotá: How Unequal is the Geographic Access Assessed Via Distance-based Measures?

Ciclovia, also known as Open Streets initiatives in other countries, are city streets that are closed to motorized traffic and opened during certain times to residents for engaging in physical activity (PA). These initiatives are viewed by policy makers and health and community advocates as being beneficial to social, environmental, and community health. This study explores the geographic distribution of Ciclovia and Recreovia and the differences in geographic access assessed via distance-based measures, based on the socioeconomic status (SES) of the area. Results from this study show that the median distance to the Ciclovia according to SES ranges from 2930m for SES 1 (most disadvantaged) to 482m for SES 6 (wealthiest). The median distance to the Recreovia sites ranges from 5173m for SES 1 to 3869m for SES 6. This study found revealing urban inequities in the distribution of Ciclovia, whereas there was less inequalities within the Recreovia sites. This study shows that urban interventions are needed to promote recreational activity and reduce health disparities in under resourced, low SES areas.

A Case Study of Complete Streets Application in a Small Town

As research and evidence regarding the benefits of complete streets are growing, more and more communities are undertaking complete streets initiatives to increase transportation equity for their residents. This is especially vital for small towns, which often have the least opportunity for alternate transportation modes. The present article details a complete streets implementation procedure specific to the Town of Millsboro, Delaware, U.S.A. In this article, the current Millsboro Comprehensive plan is reviewed, followed by steps for planning, communication, and creation regarding various complete streets methods. The information presented in this document, along with the resources referenced, should be used as a guide for turning existing roadways in Millsboro into complete streets. The various suggestions and recommendations offer ideas to increase the opportunity for active transportation modes such as walking and biking, and if implemented, can create significant improvements in safety, health, and the economy of Millsboro, thereby enabling it to grow as a town.

Urban health: an example of a \u201chealth in all policies\u201d approach in the context of SDGs implementation

BackgroundCities are an important driving force to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. The SDGs provide an operational framework to consider urbanization globally, while providing local mechanisms for action and careful attention to closing the gaps in the distribution of health gains. While health and well-being are explicitly addressed in SDG 3, health is also present as a pre condition of SDG 11, that aims at inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.Health in All Policies (HiAP) is an approach to public policy across sectors that systematically takes into account the health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and avoids harmful health impacts in order to improve population health and health equity. HiAP is key for local decision-making processes in the context of urban policies to promote public health interventions aimed at achieving SDG targets. HiAPs relies heavily on the use of scientific evidence and evaluation tools, such as health impact assessments (HIAs). HIAs may include city-level quantitative burden of disease, health economic assessments, and citizen and other stakeholders’ involvement to inform the integration of health recommendations in urban policies.The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)‘s Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative provides an example of a successful model of translating scientific evidence into policy and practice with regards to sustainable and healthy urban development. The experiences collected through ISGlobal’s participation implementing HIAs in several cities worldwide as a way to promote HiAP are the basis for this analysis.AimThe aim of this article is threefold: to understand the links between social determinants of health, environmental exposures, behaviour, health outcomes and urban policies within the SDGs, following a HiAP rationale; to review and analyze the key elements of a HiAP approach as an accelerator of the SDGs in the context of urban and transport planning; and to describe lessons learnt from practical implementation of HIAs in cities across Europe, Africa and Latin-America.MethodsWe create a comprehensive, urban health related SDGs conceptual framework, by linking already described urban health dimensions to existing SDGs, targets and indicators. We discuss, taking into account the necessary conditions and steps to conduct HiAP, the main barriers and opportunities within the SDGs framework. We conclude by reviewing HIAs in a number of cities worldwide (based on the experiences collected by co-authors of this publication), including city-level quantitative burden of disease and health economic assessments, as practical tools to inform the integration of health recommendations in urban policies.ResultsA conceptual framework linking SDGs and urban and transportplanning, environmental exposures, behaviour and health outcomes, following a HiAP rationale, is designed. We found at least 38 SDG targets relevant to urban health, corresponding to 15 SDGs, while 4 important aspects contained in our proposed framework were not present in the SDGs (physical activity, noise, quality of life or social capital). Thus, a more comprehensive HiAP vision within the SDGs could be beneficial.Our analysis confirmed that the SDGs framework provides an opportunity to formulate and implement policies with a HiAP approach. Three important aspects are highlighted: 1) the importance of the intersectoral work and health equity as a cross-cutting issue in sustainable development endeavors; 2) policy coherence, health governance, and stakeholders’ participation as key issues; and 3) the need for high quality data.HIAs are a practical tool to implement HiAP. Opportunities and barriers related to the political, legal and health governance context, the capacity to inform policies in other sectors, the involvement of different stakeholders, and the availability of quality data are discussed based on our experience. Quantitative assessments can provide powerful data such as: estimates of annual preventable morbidity and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) under compliance with international exposure recommendations for physical activity, exposure to air pollution, noise, heat, and access to green spaces; the associated economic impacts in health care costs per year; and the number of preventable premature deaths when improvements in urban and transport planning are implemented. This information has been used to support the design of policies that promote cycling, walking, public, zero and low-emitting modes of transport, and the provision of urban greening or healthy public open spaces in Barcelona (e.g. Urban Mobility, Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plans, or the Superblocks’s model), the Bus Rapid Transit and Open Streets initiatives in several Latin American cities or targeted SDGs assessments in Morocco.ConclusionsBy applying tools such as HIA, HiAP can be implemented to inform and improve transport and urban planning to achieve the 2030 SDG Agenda. Such a framework could be potentially used in cities worldwide, including those of less developed regions or countries. Data availability, taking into account equity issues, strenghtening the communication between experts, decision makers and citizens, and the involvement of all major stakeholders are crucial elements for the HiAP approach to translate knowledge into SDG implementation.

2369 - Active Cities could be Good Business: An Economic Evaluation of a Complete Street Project in Santiago, Chile

Since the nineties, many cities in developed countries, especially in North America and Australia, have initiated strategies aimed at tackling their acute obesity problem. Promoting more active lifestyles has become a central part of contemporary urban policies in American, Canadian, Australian, and, to a lesser extent, European cities. One of the strategies to achieve this goal has been to transform auto-centered streets into safe, inclusive and vibrant places. That strategy has been known as the Complete Streets paradigm. Usually, these initiatives involve modifying street layouts to accommodate cyclists and transit as well as constructing street amenities that encourage a more active use on the part of visitors are residents. To date, there is evidence that these initiatives have lowered traffic speeds, thus increasing street safety and livability. It has been also reported that Complete Street strategies tend to improve non-motorized trips as well as increase land prices values. However, until now, most evidence comes from auto-centric, developed contexts (especially coming from USA), where cultural patterns are heavily inclined towards the private automobile. But what are the effects of Complete Street strategies in less developed (and car-dependent) contexts? This is the main question of this presentation. It examines the effects of a Complete Street initiative built on Pocuro Street in 1997 in Santiago, Chile. It looks at land prices, real estate activity and street vitality. Land price valuation was assessed through a detailed inspection of all commercial transactions in the last 30 years on Pocuro Street and two parallel streets of similar nature; whereas, real estate activity was evaluated by analyzing municipal permissions in the same period. Finally, urban vitality was assessed by observing people´s flows and street occupation. The results show that during the Complete Street project, real estate activity grew by 224%, (compared to a 30% increment in parallel streets), whereas an econometric assessment of land prices showed a slight but statistically significant increment of of land prices in Pocuro Street with respect to the control streets. Moreover, the flow of people reached about 1600 people/hour, meaning that Pocuro Street is being used continuously by men and women even well past 11 pm in wintertime (where sunset occurs at 5:30 pm and temperature drops heavily), and that the road has become a highly desirable location for commercial and residential uses.

Evaluation of Event Physical Activity Engagement at an Open Streets Initiative Within a Texas-Mexico Border Town.

Open streets initiatives provide an opportunity to engage in physical activity (PA) freely by temporarily closing streets to motorized traffic. Route counting estimation and event intercept surveys (n = 682) were conducted across 4 CycloBia events in Brownsville, TX, in 2015 to determine sociodemographics, PA engagement at the event, event awareness, and past CycloBia attendance. Cycling was the most commonly observed activity along the route (73.6%) followed by walking (22.9%). Attendees self-reported a median of 120 minutes in PA with 17.3% of attendees meeting recommended weekly PA guidelines at the event. Significant predictors of meeting PA guidelines via event PA engagement were past event attendance, sex, age, and Hispanic ethnicity. Findings suggest that CycloBia reached a large, low-income, predominantly Hispanic population and may be effective in promoting PA. Results help understand the effect of an open streets initiative on attendees living in a midsize, border city.

A high resolution agent-based model to support walk-bicycle infrastructure investment decisions: A case study with New York City

Active transportation modes–walk and bicycle–are central for low carbon transport, healthy living, and complete streets initiative. Building a community with amenable walk and bicycle facilities asks for smart planning and investments. It is critical to investigate the impact of infrastructure building or expansion on the overall walk and bicycle mode usage prior to making investment choices utilizing public tax money. This research developed a high performance agent-based model to support investment decisions that allows to assess the impact of changes in walk-bike infrastructures at a fine spatial resolution (e.g., block group level). We built the agent-based model (ABM) in Repast-HPC platform and calibrated the model using Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Simulation (SPSA) technique. The ABM utilizes data from a synthetic population simulator that generates agents with corresponding socio-demographic characteristics, and integrates facility attributes regarding walking and bicycling such as sidewalk width and total length bike lane into the mode choice decision making process. Moreover, the ABM accounts for the effect of social interactions among agents who share identical home and work geographic locations. Finally, GIS-based maps are developed at block group resolution that allows examining the effect of walk-bike infrastructure related investments. The results from New York City case study indicate that infrastructure investments such as widening sidewalk and increasing bike lane network can positively influence the active transportation mode choices. Also, the impact varies with geographic locations–different boroughs of New York City will have different impacts. Our ABM simulation results also indicate that social promotions foucsing on active transportation can positively reinforce the impacts of infrastructure changes.

The reality of partnership: formal collaborations between law enforcement and community corrections agencies in Pennsylvania

ABSTRACTAs is the case in the UK, formal police–community corrections partnerships in the US have existed since the 1990s. However, unlike the UK where parliamentary developments and subsequent policy initiatives have provided a context in which criminal justice agencies formally work together, police–probation/parole partnerships in the US have experienced relatively little formalisation, with most extant partnerships existing informally based principally on interpersonal relations between individual police and corrections agency members. Relevant to research in the UK [Mawby, R.C., Crawley, P., and Wright, A., 2007. Beyond ‘polibation’ and towards ‘prisi-polibation’? Joint agency offender management in the context of the street crime initiative. International journal of police science & management, 9 (2), 122–134; Mawby, R.C. and Worrall, A., 2004. ‘Polibation’ revisited: policing, probation and prolific offender projects. International journal of police science and management, 6 (2), 63–73; Mawby, R.C. and Worrall, A., 2011. ‘They were very threatening about do-gooding bastards’: probation’s changing relationships with the police and prison services in England and Wales. European journal of probation, 3 (3), 78–94; Nash, M., 2008. Exit the polibation officer? Decoupling police and probation. International journal of police science and management, 10 (3), 302–312; Nash, M. and Walker, L., 2009. MAPPA – is closer collaboration really the key to effectiveness? Policing, 3 (2), 172–180; Wood, J. and Kemshall, H., 2007. The operation and experience of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). London: Home Office], the current study explores the patterns and characteristics of formal partnerships and the perceptions of police chiefs and probation/parole chiefs in a US state concerning experiences with partnering agencies, benefits, and problems. Findings are compared with research findings in the UK and Canada.

Street Play as occupation for pre-teens in Belhar, South Africa

Street play is often overlooked as an important activity for young people and can have negative connotations associated with it. There is currently no documented research which describes the meaning children and young people ascribe to street play. What people do every day - which may promote meaning, health and well-being - is regarded as occupation within occupational science and occupational therapy. This paper explores the experiences of pre-teens who engage in street play within the context of Belhar, South Africa. It reports on a study conducted to gain insight into street play from the perspectives of this group of young people, with the purpose of informing occupation-focussed occupational therapy with this population in contexts similar to Belhar. The findings of the study support an occupational justice approach to occupational therapy, which requires interdisciplinary research and practice, in order to inform policies such as the Open Streets initiatives that should promote children and young people's meaningful participation in society. They also challenge the traditional treatment modalities and recommend further research and discussion into rhetoric(s) such as play as power and identity. Key words: street play; phenomenology; pre-teens; occupational justice; play space

Jacksonville, Florida, Transportation Authority’s Mobility Corridors: Improving Transit System Performance Through Enhanced Safety and Urban Design

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is an agency responsible for transit operations and roadway development in Jacksonville (Duval County), Florida. With this responsibility, JTA is uniquely positioned to develop and to implement roadway improvements that directly facilitate transit system access and operations. Since 2012, the commitment to improving transit and safety in the city of Jacksonville has been significant. In December 2014, JTA completed a route optimization initiative that was designed to increase frequency and reliability within a newly defined system of 14 high-frequency mobility corridors. To improve greatly the safety and the experience of the first- and last-mile transit user, JTA created two supporting initiatives as part of the mobility corridors program: transit enhancements and complete streets. These initiatives were intended to deal directly with deficiencies in roadway and transit infrastructure, such as gaps in sidewalks and Americans with Disabilities Act–compliant stops and shelters (transit enhancements initiative). More significantly, they were designed to improve the safety and accessibility for all users of the transit system (complete streets initiative). The focus of this paper is the complete streets initiative that directly targets substantial first- and last-mile challenges via a range of multimodal design strategies and safety countermeasures while establishing a prioritization process for implementation.

Moving the Barricades to Physical Activity: A Qualitative Analysis of Open Streets Initiatives Across the United States.

Ciclovía, or Open Streets initiatives, are events where streets are opened for physical activity and closed to motorized traffic. Although the initiatives are gaining popularity in the United States, little is known about planning and implementing them. The goals of this paper are to explore the development and implementation of Open Streets initiatives and make recommendations for increasing the capacity of organizers to enhance initiative success. Phenomenology with qualitative analysis of structured interviews was used. Study setting was urban and suburban communities in the United States. Study participants were organizers of Open Streets initiatives in U.S. cities. Using a list of 47 events held in 2011, 27 lead organizers were interviewed by telephone about planning, implementation, and lessons learned. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. A phenomenologic approach was used, an initial coding tool was developed after reviewing a sample of transcripts, and constant comparative coding methodology was applied. Themes and subthemes were generated from codes. The most common reasons for initiation were to highlight or improve health and transportation. Most initiatives aimed to reach the general population, but some targeted families, children, or specific neighborhoods. Getting people to understand the concept of Open Streets was an important challenge. Other challenges included lack of funding and personnel, and complex logistics. These initiatives democratize public space for citizens while promoting physical activity, social connectedness, and other broad agendas. There are opportunities for the research community to contribute to the expanse and sustainability of Open Streets, particularly in evaluation and dissemination.