Photo Source: Chan Krieger Sieniewicz

The Shanghai Planning Bureau is currently soliciting feedback and ideas on the designs. See more photos and view the public feedback page here (translated automatically using babelfish). 

Photo Source: San Jose/Guerrero Coalition to Save Our Streets

San Jose Avenue and Guerrero Street in San Francisco have been transformed over the years through the the efforts of the San Jose/Guerrero Coalition to Save Our Streets, which consists of numerous neighborhood stakeholders including local businesses, residents, advocacy groups for pedestrians and bicyclists, senior citizen groups and health organizations.

Plans to change the streets from auto-oriented speedways to more livable places involved engaging the community in English and Spanish to get feedback on how to accommodate everyones needs. Funding for the projects came from grants, such as one from San Francisco Beautiful, and neighborhood fundraising.

The New York Times reports on new colorful outdoor benches being used in several Los Angeles neighborhoods to improve the street environment. These neighborhoods, comprised of low-income immigrant residents, have lacked basic street amenities for too long, especially at bus stops.

Central City Neighborhood Partners, a non-profit operating in the Central City and Westlake areas of LA, organized user surveys at numerous bus stops. Over 500 random respondents answered questions about comfort, transportation cost and overall customer service. The most requested amenity residents said they wanted was a bench.

James Rojas from the Latino Urban Forum writes in Rethinking Bus Stops:

“Like train stations and airports, bus stops are the ‘welcome mats’ to the transit system and the communities they serve. The user is introduced to the transit system and the different communities and locations that the system serves through the bus stop.”