An end to traffic-choked streets
George Street, one of Sydney’s busiest streets, serves as a central spine connecting the city’s most important precincts and buildings. Until October 2015, it was the city’s most congested street, with an overwhelming number of buses clogging its lanes each hour. To alleviate this, Gehl proposed a 2.5 km pedestrianized boulevard served by light rail.
Over a 16-year span, Gehl played an instrumental role in transforming George Street, from developing the initial vision and strategy to implementing urban design principles and concept design. Today, George Street has been completely transformed from a four-lane transit corridor into a people-friendly boulevard with 20,000 square meters of open communal space.
The transformation of George Street has set a positive precedent for further changes in Sydney’s central area in the years to come. In 2017, Jan Gehl received a Key to the City of Sydney by Lord Mayor Clover Moore for his contribution to Sustainable Sydney 2030. In 2024, the project was recognized at the Australian Urban Design Awards as Winner of Built Projects — City and Regional Scale.
