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National Street Service

Establishing a collective vision for the future of streets in the US

Sector

Transportation & Mobility

Region

North America

Timespan

2017–2018

Credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy

Streets make up 30% of a city’s built environment. In the U.S. 250 million passenger vehicles result in crowded and uninviting roadways. Gehl was asked by Greenfield Labs, a mobility research arm of Ford Motor Company, to help create a vision for the future of our streets.

Gehl conceived and created tools and materials for the “Soul Searching” curriculum — a program designed for Street Rangers to get to know their streets better, improve their streets for people, and ultimately host public events to share their findings and celebrate streets with their communities. Credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy
Philadelphia hosted three connected block parties where City Leads introduced the ‘Welcome Mat Experiment,’ aimed to provoke reflection. Credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy
The NSS uses art, culture, and clever forms of media that are simple, elegant, and engaging in order to get everyday people to think bigger when it comes to streets. Credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy

A new paradigm for city streets

Cities have become congested and unsafe, making public spaces increasingly inhospitable. With rising traffic, CO2 emissions, and roadway injuries, there is an urgent need to rethink our streets and transportation systems. Ford recognizes this societal and industrial shift and aims to become a broad-ranging transportation company. Ford’s goal is to go beyond corporate responsibility and address people’s day-to-day mobility needs.

In collaboration with Gehl, The National Street Service (NSS) was established to celebrate, educate, and steward the country’s public streets. It began with deep ethnographic research conducted by Greenfield Labs, exploring what people believe streets are for. 

Focusing on shared values, empathy, and inclusive participation, the team tested hypotheses on transforming individual beliefs about streets into engaging tools for lasting change.

Video by H.P. Mendoza
Anna Muessig, Team Director US Cities, Partner Blaine Merker, Enterprise & Corporations Lead, Head of Climate, Partner
Credit: LHM/MOR, DobnerAngermann

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‘People-first’ includes you

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