Before & After: 30 Photos that Prove the Power of Designing with Pedestrians in Mind

Save this picture! Padre Alonso de Ovalle, Santiago, Chile. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Providing more public space for pedestrians is one of the main goals of urban renewal projects taking place in cities around the world.

By planting more trees, implementing more sidewalks and bike paths and establishing new seating areas, it is possible to design more welcoming places with less traffic congestion and that promote sustainable methods of transportation, such as walking or biking.

With the aim of publicizing urban renewal projects that have made cities more pedestrian friendly, Brazilian group Urb-I launched the “Before/After” project, which compiles before and after photos that show how cities have redistributed their public space.

The project is collaborative so that anyone can use Google Street View, or another similar tool, to raise awareness of the changes taking place in their cities.

Read on to see the transformed spaces.

Save this picture! Padre Alonso de Ovalle, Santiago, Chile. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Boulevard Ion C., Bucharest, Romania. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Forth St., Auckland, New Zealand. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Minquen W Rd, Taipei, Taiwan. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Calle Marqués de Leganés, Madrid, Spain. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Coenties Slip, New York, United States. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! R Sacadura Cabral, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! R Nova do Carvalho, Lisbon, Portugal. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Plaza Tiradentes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Dutch Kills Green, Queens, New York, United States. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Avenue General Brosset, Lyon, France. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Agias Sofias, Thessaloniki, Greece. Imagen 2015 por Kosmas Anagnostopoulos. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Av. Duque de Ávila, Lisbon, Portugal. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Avenida Francisco I Madero, Mexico City. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Avenida José Larco, Lima, Peru. Image Courtesy of Urb-I

Save this picture! Avenue General Brosset, Lyon, France. Image Courtesy of Urb-I