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Atlanta (July 23, 2009) — Amber Hawkes and Georgia Sheridan, Planetizen
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premiere research universities. Ranked
among U.S. News & World Report's top 10 public universities, Georgia Tech educates more
than 16,000 students every year through its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal
Arts, Management and Sciences. Tech maintains a diverse campus and is among the nation's top producers
of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both
undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the
Georgia Tech Research Institute. During the 2003-2004 academic year, Georgia Tech reached $341.9
million in new research award funding.
Rethinking the Street Space: Why Street Design Matters
Across the world, cities are looking to redesign their public streets with progressive design manuals that address livability and quality of life issues. In the past, streets have been designed solely for the automobile, pushing others to compete for the remaining space. However, new streetscape design manuals are beginning to regulate the streetscape in order to create a more equitable environment.
According to Hawkes and Sheridan, there are many reasons why good street design is difficult to achieve:
* streets must fill a wide variety of functions for diverse groups at different times
* historically, street design has been role of traffic engineer to move traffic through the area
* a wide variety of stakeholders are now vying for a seat at the negotiation table
* the power to regulate the street space makes communication and collaboration difficult
* timing and money are a continuous challenge
In addition to affecting the flow of traffic, street design affects the quality of the urban environment, human pyschology, and health. The new Urban and Metropolitan Policy Roundtable is one such way President Obama is addressing this issue.