CYCLE

OBJECTIVE B

THE PEDESTRIAN REALM IS ACTIVE AND VIBRANT

Visually active and physically permeable frontages increase activity along the street, making the pedestrian realm feel more vibrant and safe for caregivers walking during the day and the evening hours. This means having ground-floor activities and services, visual transparency between the buildings and the street, public entrances, and good lighting. Additionally, blank walls, especially along routes frequented more often by caregivers and their small children, can provide an opportunity for storytelling and brain stimulation through public art projects such as colorful murals. Residential neighborhoods with windows facing the street have just as much visually active frontage as a bustling shopping strip. Designing diverse building frontages and adding interactive urban design solutions like small rest and play nooks and lighting can help animate the frontage zone for the comfort and safety of caregivers and young children. Activating the public realm requires that it is clean and wellmaintained so that caregivers feel comfortable bringing their children into those spaces.

OBJECTIVE C

THE PEDESTRIAN REALM IS TEMPERATE AND COMFORTABLE

Use of shade and shelter keeps public spaces temperate and makes walking, playing, and resting more comfortable. Providing shade and shelter reduces exposure to the elements. Having spaces to stop, rest, and regroup reduces stress on the caregiver and the fatigue of journeys for young children. Large public spaces like parks, playgrounds, and plazas should feature ample shaded seating spaces and safe comfort stations equipped with diaper-changing facilities. These are important along walkways, too, so that caregivers have areas where they can pause, tend to their child, or just take a breath without obstructing other people walking. The public realm along streets can include simple urban design solutions that help caregivers on their journey, like rest benches and trees within the street furniture zone, porous building facades with awnings or arcades, and small pocket parks for rest and play. These need sufficient space for strollers or multiple members of a family to rest. These ideas may be implemented as temporary or permanent solutions in underutilized spaces in setbacks and vacant lots where possible. Part of making the pedestrian realm temperate and comfortable is bringing shade, ideally through trees and natural canopies, and ensuring good stormwater management, including through bioswales. Both of these—also known as green and blue infrastructure—can help mitigate extreme rain events while providing natural elements that are good for young children and caregivers alike.