Iacofano Daniel S. - Streets Reconsidered

Streets Reconsidered | Inclusive Design for the Public Realm

reStreets.org

MIGcom.com

800-790-8444

This book has been a long labor of conversations, visions, arguments, consensusand many trips back and forth across the country. It began with a glimmer of an idea of how streets, which take up so much of our space, could be so much more than what they are. In 2011, we held the first re:Streets charrette here in Berkeley; ten more followed nationwide. We gathered the ideas of hundreds of professionals about the benefits streets can offer communities; we are grateful for all their contributions. Wed like to thank our MIG colleagues who ran test kitchens designing and implementing our often unorthodox concepts; they always make our ideas even better in reality. We would also like to note the MIG creative team that turned thoughts and ideas and into a compelling book: writer Joyce Vollmer, art director Carie DeRuiter, designer Sara Raffo, production designer Catherine Courtenaye, streetscape designer Rishi Dhody, photographer Billy Hustace and illustrator Markus Lui. Thank you.

Daniel Iacofano

I owe thanks to many people. To mom and dad, for always loving and inspiring me. To my brother, who has always been there for me. To my professors at Cal, who taught me to ask why before jumping to a solution. A special thanks to Allan Jacobs, who was the first person to tell me to believe in myself. To Susan, who taught me to stop complaining and to channel my complaints and frustrations into getting my crazy designs and dreams built; I will always remember the scoldings and the conversations during our long car rides. To Daniel, who taught me the value of planning and to have a vision. The journey to build a different kind of street across the country, test new ideas and convince people to embrace change would have been impossible without his leadership and support. And to Joyce, who transforms words and facts into memorable stories that appeal to everyone; thank you for patience and creativity. This book would not be possible without her help.

Mukul Malhotra

re:Streets Project Advisory Group 20102012

Chris Beynon, Board of Directors, International Downtown Association (IDA) and Principal, MIG, Inc.

Maggie Campbell, President, Partnership for Downtown St. Louis

Tim Gilbert, Board of Directors, America Walks; Liaison to Complete Streets Coalition

Susan Goltsman, Co-Founder and Principal, MIG, Inc.

Daniel Iacofano, Co-Founder and CEO, MIG, Inc.

Elizabeth Macdonald, Department of City and Regional Planning, UC Berkeley

Mukul Malhotra, Director of Urban Design and Principal, MIG, Inc.

Rock Miller, Vice President, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

Anne Nelson, Environmental Program Coordinator, Bureau of Environmental Services, City of Portland

Norm Steinman, Director, Department of Transportation, City of Charlotte, North Carolina

This project was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

At the intersection of the public realm, the eat local movement, and the lack of local fresh food in many urban neighborhoods, lies urban agriculture: food grown on the street for the local community. How we choose to produce and distribute food has far-reaching effects on the community fabric, health, regional and local development, ecological security, economic development and social justice. Urban agriculture in the public right-of-way can become a vital, nourishing and energizing element of the street sceneespecially on neighborhood streets.

Gilman Gardens, Seattle. Photo by Ben C. Forbes.

Food is not just a simple set of substances that nourish our bodies. The worldwide food revolution has many people more closely examining what we put in our mouths, where it comes from, the quality of ingredients, additives, and energy costs to grow and transport it.

By 2050, global population will increase by as many as 3 billion peopleeven by the most conservative estimatesand nearly 80 percent will reside in urban centers. Our highly industrialized society, with easy access to fuel for food production and transportation, has made agriculture an almost exclusively rural activity. The consequence of deforesting all that new land for agriculture could be devastating to the environment.

Why Farm on the Street?

With the movement to free up land for non-auto related use within existing rights-of-way, streets present a great opportunity for growing food. Thats even more beneficial in built-out urban areas with poor access to fresh, affordable produce.

Streets allow both horizontal and vertical spaces to be used for plants. Horizontally, plants are in the ground or in raised beds in areas that might ordinarily be devoted to landscaping, such as planting strips, medians, and bulb outs, or in reclaimed paved areas like parking lanes. Plants can also be grown on rooftops. Vertically, plants can be grown in areas not usually used for vegetation, such as attached to walls and fences, hung from supports, and trained on arbors along or over a sidewalk.