Global Designing Cities Initiative

Global Designing Cities Initiative
Name	Global Designing Cities Initiative
Formation	2016
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	New York City
Parent organization	National Association of City Transportation Officials

Global Designing Cities Initiative The Global Designing Cities Initiative is an international program focused on urban street design and multimodal transportation safety. Founded as a project of the National Association of City Transportation Officials in 2016, the Initiative collaborates with municipal agencies, planners, and advocacy groups to develop design guidance for streets in dense urban contexts. It operates at the intersection of policy, engineering, and public health, working with partners across continents to implement complete streets, protected bikeways, and pedestrian-first interventions.

History

The Initiative was established in 2016 under the auspices of the National Association of City Transportation Officials following a period of urbanist reform influenced by experiences in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Bogotá, New York City, and Barcelona. Early work drew on precedents from the Vision Zero movement, the Complete Streets campaigns in the United States Department of Transportation era of the 2010s, and street trials such as the Open Streets programs and tactical urbanism projects in cities like San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Initial projects involved technical assistance to municipal governments including the City of Los Angeles, Mexico City, Bogotá's Ciclovía planners, and the City of São Paulo, expanding later to partnerships with regional bodies such as the European Cyclists' Federation and the Asian Development Bank. Key figures and advisors have included professionals active in organizations such as the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, the Transport Research Laboratory, and the World Resources Institute.

Mission and Objectives

The Initiative's mission emphasizes safe, equitable, and sustainable street design inspired by models from Copenhagenize Design Co., the Dutch Cycling Embassy, and research institutes like the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Core objectives include reducing fatalities consistent with Vision Zero, increasing active transportation modal share similar to targets set by the European Union and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and promoting inclusive public space following guidance by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. It aims to influence municipal design standards akin to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and to inform policy discussions in forums such as the United Nations Habitat Assembly.

Key Programs and Initiatives

Programs include technical assistance to cities modeled on the UrbanShift and C40 Cities programs, rapid response design teams comparable to those employed by the Agència de l'Habitatge in Barcelona, and demonstration projects reminiscent of Piedmont Avenue and Times Square pedestrian plaza transformations. Initiatives cover protected bike lane installations like those promoted by PeopleForBikes, pilot curb extension projects similar to efforts in Seattle, and bus rapid transit interventions aligned with TransMilenio and Bogotá-era reforms. The Initiative has run campaigns in collaboration with advocacy organizations such as Transportation Alternatives, Bike Delhi, and Critical Mass organizers, and has provided guidance used by municipal departments including the New York City Department of Transportation, the London Boroughs, and the City of Melbourne.

Methodologies and Publications

Methodological approaches draw on the evidence base of institutions such as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Netherlands), the German Institute of Urban Affairs, and academic programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University College London, and the University of California, Berkeley. Publications include design guides, case study compendia, and toolkits similar in scope to documents from the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the American Planning Association. Notable releases echo frameworks used by the National Association of City Transportation Officials including street design guides, and reference evaluations inspired by work at the Brookings Institution and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The Initiative employs data-driven evaluation methods akin to those used by the Transportation Research Board and the RAND Corporation.

Partnerships and Funding

Partners include municipal governments such as New York City, Mexico City, Bogotá, Santiago, Munich, and Tokyo, as well as multilateral organizations like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. It collaborates with nonprofit organizations such as the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, United Nations Environment Programme, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Funders and supporters have included philanthropic entities similar to the Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, and corporate partners active in mobility such as Siemens and WSP Global. Academic partners include Columbia University, Imperial College London, and the University of Melbourne.

Impact and Case Studies

The Initiative has influenced projects in cities including New York City's protected bike lanes, Bogotá's bus priority corridors, Mexico City's street redesigns, Paris's pedestrianization schemes, and pilot programs in Jakarta and Cape Town. Case studies document reductions in crash rates comparable to results reported by Vision Zero Network partners and modal shift outcomes similar to analyses by the European Cyclists' Federation. Evaluations reference quantitative assessments used by the World Resources Institute and qualitative community engagement practices aligned with Project for Public Spaces and the Local Government Association (UK).

Criticisms and Challenges

Critiques have addressed issues similar to those faced by the Complete Streets movement, including debates over displacement effects studied in reports from the Urban Institute and concerns about equity highlighted by researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Cape Town. Implementation challenges mirror those reported in Los Angeles and London projects, such as political resistance seen in the New York City plaza controversies, funding constraints analogous to municipal budget crises chronicled by the International Monetary Fund, and institutional fragmentation documented in casework by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Scholars and advocacy groups including Transportation Alternatives, the National Association for City Transit Officials, and academics from Princeton University and the University of Toronto have called for more rigorous post-implementation monitoring and clearer protocols for community consultation.

Category:Urban planning organizations