Evolving needs and ideas about what comprises the public realm and who its users are.Universal design, accessible design, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).Increased interest in and use of active programming of public places, as a way to increase street /public life and as a way to generate income to support operations.Evolving technologies – Projection, dynamic lanes, fountain technology, programmable lighting and sound, etc.Future – Autonomous vehicles/driverless cars – land use impacts.Growing aging population – facilities for pedestrians and the disabled.

Urbanization of first ring suburbs – e.g.Growth in cycling, demand for more bicycle facilities including shared and separated.Minneapolis Vision Zero objectives: to eliminate deaths and life-threatening injuries on our streets “Road/lane diets,” traffic calming measures, shortening of cross-walk distances, bump-outs at intersections, shared streets/woonerfs, emphasis on pedestrian safety e.g.Rebalancing of the public right-of-way (ROW) to provide more space for other modes – prioritizing transit, bicycles, pedestrians, and disabled people over car-oriented designs.Trends Influencing Urban Public Realm Projects Suburban and exurban town centers and commercial corridors.First ring suburban neighborhoods, town centers, and commercial corridors.Neighborhood parks (playgrounds, pools, courts, and recreation facilities).Geographic Locations of Public Places (relative to city) Event and performance spaces and facilities.Food and beverage concessions – fixed buildings and seasonal, mobile carts.Signage: wayfinding, rules, interpretive.Lighting: Light poles, up-lights, feature lighting, programmable lighting.Water features (ponds, lakes, fountains, splash pads, natural water, rain gardens, stormwater management features).Recreational and programming facilities such as ping-pong tables, Jenga, other games, lending libraries.Loose furniture: benches, chairs, tables, umbrellas, waste receptacles.Hardscape (plazas, sidewalks, streets, boulevards).Valuable developable land (how to put a park in an urban area where land values are high – who pays?)įeatures of Urban Public Realm projects/places.Undevelopable land (poor soils, environmental conditions, subsurface structures, pipes, tunnels).Abandoned/contaminated industrial sites.Newly envisioned/needed places in locations that do not yet have them.Old sites/places in need of repositioning as a new use.Old sites/places in need of revitalization.Parks/gardens on vacant house lots (urban agriculture).Roadway Infrastructure remnants – land around cloverleafs, spaces under bridges and overpasses.Transit mall, pedestrian mall, shared street, “woonerf”.Public “Right-of-Way” or “ROW” (Street, sidewalk, bikeway, etc.).The purpose of this section is to list types of places, projects, sites, features, geographic locations, benefits, and trends affecting the urban public realm.

Urban realms model chapter