MNN - Mother Nature Network

Why are some streets so much more pleasant to walk down than others? If you immediately thought the difference has to do with frequent crosswalks, wider sidewalks, bike lanes and mixed-use development, you'd be right — but much subtler changes you may never have thought about also play a big factor in how pedestrian-friendly a street is.

 

 

That's what this quick, four-minute video from 180 Degree Design illustrates (via Switchboard). The video looks at two sections of a single street in Kansas City that have much in common; both sections are five-lane roads with street parking on both sides of the street. Yet the feel of the streets are dramatically different due to smaller details like the width of the parking spaces, the type of streetlighting used, and the spacing of street trees.

 

The narrator of the film's Kevin Klinkenberg, a principal at 180 Degrees Design, who ends the piece with this statement: "The importance that I'd like to get across here is to really nitpick all of the details on your street sections. We try to be very particular about the details because it's absolutely the difference between success and mediocrity."

 

Now that you know what details to look for, rate the major street near you. Is it successful? Or is it mediocre at best for pedestrians?