Street Reclaiming

Book excerpt: This book is about the cultural and economic significance of "street life." Ever since ancient Athens and Greece, Engwicht argues, streets have been a major center of commerce, socialization, and cultural exchange. But the advent of automobiles and suburbanization in the 20th century eroded the richness of American streetlife. Streets and sidewalks, once filled with people and furniture, are now filled with automobiles carrying citizens to those indoor streets, malls. Using an abundance of drawings that detail urban traffic patterns, Engwicht prescribes a series of creative methods for returning vibrancy to the street--everything from reducing traffic with more one-way routes to making avenues more like living rooms with the addition of rugs, television sets, and bulletin boards.