If a city is "home" to hundreds of thousands of people, then its streets are the rooms. In the best circumstances, these rooms are designed primarily for people, rather than vehicles. Functioning as more than thoroughfares for gasoline-powered transportation, they form the matrix of a humane, harmonious public realm.

Lawrence Moy, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Streets, explained that in Center City, our "rooms" are the same size they were in William Penn's 1682 plan. Most streets are "three-carts" wide and have sidewalks that can successfully handle three people abreast. Three centuries later, the same space has to accommodate automobiles, trucks, buses, streetcars, pedestrians, bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, food vendors, newsstands, outdoor cafes, and driveways for parking garages. Typically, automobile commuters and business owners demand "wider and faster" solutions; when, to the contrary, the narrowness of many Philadelphia streets can be used to advantage for "traffic calming," producing a slower pace that increases pedestrian safety and improves the ambiance of the city.

Architect Neil Payton looked beyond the obvious differences between city and suburb-density and mix of land uses-to the street itself. In suburbia, the street is perceived only as an access route to housing. The concept of a "great street" does not even exist in the suburban lexicon. To promote, at minimum, a "livable" street—enjoyable for walking and for meeting your neighbors—Mr. Payton created a twelve-step program for developers addicted to post-World War II "suburban" ideals. His conference handout included concepts such as narrow streets; lanes for parallel parking; sidewalks on both sides of the street; regularly spaced street trees; grid patterns (instead of street systems with arterials, collectors, and cul-de-sacs); narrower, deeper lots; houses built closer to the sidewalk; and side yards, front porches, and rear garages. In each case, Mr. Payton gave the rationale behind the idea and answered the objections often voiced by governmental agencies, which have typically followed conventional wisdom. For example, by determining street width based solely on access for multiple fire trucks, land-use regulators ignore counterbalancing statistics about pedestrian safety: narrower streets force drivers to slow down.

Mr. Payton's comments reminded moderator Alan Greenberger that the American suburb evolved from a grid pattern to one of cul-de-sacs, partly because of economics. The infrastructure required for intersections is more expensive to build. Cul-de-sacs demand less road frontage per house; thus, developers need less material for street paving and for sidewalks (should there be any); fewer stormwater inlets; and no traffic signalization.

Showing slides from around the world, architect Roger Whitehouse discussed the "graphics" of the street. In the last fifty years, devotion to the automobile has become the only deciding factor in street design. He cited a contrasting situation—that of New York City decades ago, when designs for "street furniture" (mail boxes, telephone kiosks, lighting fixtures, and signs) were integrated, using an elegant sense of scale and an unabashed swell of civic pride. Mr. Whitehouse then described a specific difficulty found in cities. People arrive at an intersection (for example, when coming up from the subway) and do not know which direction they are facing. He is working on a project for New York City that includes a special lamp base with an orientational map. The design provides an illustration of the immediate area; points the way to cultural destinations; and includes a small, eye-level street sign (which is also tactile, as an aid to blind people).

During the question-and-answer session, an audience member asked how graphics could better make streets into "rooms," rather than merely "hallways." Mr. Whitehouse responded with a comparison of standardized regulatory signs, such as those seen on major roads, and those which should reflect the specific character and smaller scale of a neighborhood. Mr. Moy noted, however, that in Philadelphia, the issue of scale must also include consideration of graffiti. Raising the sign out of harm's way means that the size of the sign itself and its lettering have to be increased, rather than reduced. Mr. Moy also explained that Philadelphia's signs unintentionally document the evolution of the city, with layers of different sign systems jumbled together. Affected by jurisdictional and/or funding problems with other agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Philadelphia Parking Authority, the creation of a consolidated sign is not easy. The City has nonetheless seized the opportunity to address the streetscape in a comprehensive way on new projects, such as the Avenue of the Arts.

Moderator: Alan Greenberger, A.I.A., MGA Partners

Panelists:
Lawrence M. Moy,
Philadelphia Department of Streets

Neil Payton, A.I.A.
Torti Gallas & Partners - CHK

Roger Whitehouse,
Whitehouse & Company