Street issues? Check out the new web portal—www.restreets.org—dedicated to improving city streets. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, re:Streets provides a fundamental rethinking of America’s streets.

The web portal answers the question: What would streets look like if they accommodated people of all ages and abilities, promoted healthy urban living, social interaction and business, and supported regeneration of the environment?

“Our objective is to provide clear design ideas for cities to revitalize American streets, so they serve a wide range of community needs, including transportation, commerce, education, recreation, and gathering,” said Susan Goltsman, a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a principal at Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc. (MIG), and project director for re:Streets.

Building on the Complete Streets movement, re:Streets has developed a comprehensive design manual for creating streets that promote expanded functions and turn new design ideas into a series of best practices that can be applied to any community.

The interactive web portal is focused on practical, implementable solutions with best practices, design ideas, and case examples. It’s organized by the functions of a street: mobility, way finding, commerce, social gathering, events and programming, play and recreation, urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and image and identity.

re:Streets is a multidisciplinary collaboration focused on the planning, design, and construction of streets as a method for improving the livability of the built environment. It pushes beyond the current standards to explore the future of streets and what America's roadways would be like if they were designed for living, not just driving.

“re:Streets is available to anyone who wants to design a better street,” Goltsman said. “As solutions are tried and streets are built or remodeled, the results will be added to the web portal, creating an evolving, collaborative reference for improving our communities and the health of the planet.”

For information on re:Streets and its project partners, visit restreets.org or contact Susan Goltsman at susang@migcom.com.