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Its been one full year of congestion pricing in New York City, and downtown Manhattan looks markedly different: 23.7 million fewer vehicles, traffic delays down 25%, and a 22% drop in air pollution, to start. And thats just within the congestion relief zone. The program, which implements tolls on drivers who enter certain, once often-gridlocked areas of Manhattan, is even having positive effects outside of the streets that are subject to the toll. Congestion pricing had a rocky start in New York City, and it continues to face lawsuits. But courts have consistently ruled in its favor. One year in, its clear the program is overwhelmingly successful, says Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Planning Association, a nonprofit that pushed for congestion pricing. Heres a look at how congestion pricing has changed New York. First, what is congestion pricing? Congestion pricing is a way to mitigate traffic, and when it was implemented in New York City on January 5, 2025, it was the countrys first such program. Congestion pricing plans have been rolled out in cities around the world, though, including London, Stockholm, and Singapore. The program covers a congestion relief zone that spans almost all of Manhattan below 60th Street and includes major routes like the Lincoln, Holland, and Hugh L. Carey tunnels and bridges that go into both Brooklyn and Queens. Passenger cars with an E-ZPass that travel through that zone face a $9 toll during peak hourswhich are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekendsand a $2.25 toll overnight. Tolls are more expensive for commercial traffic, and vehicles without E-ZPass are charged a 50% premium Those tolls are meant to both reduce traffic congestion in the city and raise funds for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the citys public transit system. Environmentalists also backed the plan for its ability to reduce pollution by cutting traffic and ushering more commuters. How congestion pricing has impacted commuters Since January 5, 2025, 23.7 million fewer vehicles have entered the citys congestion pricing zone, compared to 2024. The number of drivers entering the zone is down 12%, meaning about 71,000 fewer vehicles every day. Those numbers came in in December, and so they may be even higher now. (At the programs one-month mark, it already meant one million fewer vehicles on those streets.) Between January and April, traffic delays inside the congestion relief zone dropped 25%and region-wide, including parts of New Jersey, declined 9%compared to the same period the year prior. This has translated to quicker commutes. Morning commutes are: 36% faster through the Holland Tunnel 10% faster through the Lincoln Tunnel 21% faster across the Queensboro Bridge 23% faster across the Williamsburg Bridge Commuters are saving as much as 21 minutes on a one-way trip. Some bus routes in the congestion relief zone have gotten as much as 25% faster, and school buses are facing fewer delays: Theyre on time 72% of the time, up from 58%. Some residents had concerns that congestion pricing could push traffic from lower Manhattan into other areas like the South Bronx, and parts of New Jersey and Staten Island, making congestion (and air pollution) worse for those residents. But none of those traffic impacts come to effect, Slevin says. Traffic is actually lower regionally, even beyond the congestion relief zone . . . that means this is a policy that’s not only good for the five boroughs of New York. Its also a regional policy. Slevin does warn that in other congestion pricing cases, the traffic reduction benefits dont necessarily last. In London, after an initial dip, traffic crept back up, mostly from ride-hailing drivers and delivery trucks. If traffic bounces back, the program will still raise money for public transit. New York City does have a plan to escalate the tolls as well, raising them from $9 to $12 in 2028 and then to $15 in 2031. How congestion pricing is benefiting public transit Along with easing New Yorks infamous gridlock, a goal of congestion pricing was to raise $15 billion for the MTA, which would go to new subway cars, buses, station accessibility, and so on. Already, the state has allocated $1.75 billion of congestion pricing revenue to transit projects, including modernizing subway signals. Outdated signals are a major cause of subway delays. The MTA is also already working on getting more than 400 new subway cars and 300 commuter rail cars, among other projects. Public transit throughout the region is already dealing with more commuters: Subway ridership is up 9% year-over-year, and bus ridership up 13%. Regional rail has benefited, too, with the Long Island Rail Road seeing a 10% increase in riders, and the Metro-North up 7%. It was pretty obvious that congestion pricing would reduce traffic and raise money for transit. But its been a bit surprising, Slevin says, how close it has come to the projections that were laid out over the years of planning, in the environmental documents and in the MTA studies. Its validating. Less traffic means safer streets, cleaner air New Yorkers are even breathing easier thanks to congestion pricing. A Cornell University study released in December found that air pollution dropped 22% in the congestion relief zone. Thats specifically concerning PM2.5, meaning particles that measure 2.5 micrometers or less. These tiny particles can enter our lungs and lead to an array of health issues, including cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological impacts. A 22% drop means PM2.5 concentrations declined by 3.05 micrograms per cubic meter. If congestion pricing had not been implemented, researchers projected those lower Manhattan streets would see an average of 13.8 micrograms per cubic meter. (The Environmental Protection Agency recommends an annual exposure limit of 9 micrograms per cubic meter.) Air quality improved outside of that zone, too, with average declines of 1.07 micrograms per cubic meter across the citys five boroughs and 0.70 micrograms per cubic meter in the broader region. This tells us that congestion pricing didnt simply relocate air pollution to the suburbs by rerouting traffic, Timothy Fraser, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. Instead, folks are liely choosing cleaner transportation options altogether, like riding public transportation or scheduling deliveries at night. Less traffic has also meant safer streets when it comes to injuries and fatalities. Within the congestion relief zone, traffic injuries are down 15%, and pedestrian fatalities have dropped at least 15%. Thats on par with levels last seen in 2018. New York Citys streets are even a bit quieter: Honking and vehicle noise complaints to the city are down 45%. Whats next for NYC congestion pricing? Congestion pricing faced an array of hurdles to get to this point. Small business owners rallied against it, at least eight lawsuits from plaintiffs including New Jersey Governor Phill Murphy and the Trucking Association of New York contested it, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul even delayed its start. Things were still challenging once the tolls began; after Donald Trump took office for his second term as president, he rescinded its federal approval, and ordered the city to halt the program. The city fought back, winning court orders to soldier on. The legal battles arent completely over. Some cases against congestion prices are still pending, and in November, Trump said he’d once again ask Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to consider killing the program. Slevin remains positive, though. For one, public approval is up. A March Siena College poll found that 42% of New York City residents want congestion pricing to stay, while 35% supported Trumps efforts to end it. Compare that to December 2023, before the program started: Siena College had found then that just 32% New Yorkers supported the toll, and a whopping 52% were against it. This is a pattern for congestion pricing programs around the world. People often resist them at the start, but once they see the benefits first hand, support grows. Slevin even says anecdotally, she knows a few people who used to be against it in New York City, but are now congestion pricing fans. Another reason to be optimistic is the fact that so far, all the courts have ruled in favor of congestion pricing. I think at this point it will be hard to remove it, because it is delivering benefits for people. The money is going back into the public transit network. And our region absolutely needs the transit network to work for our economy to thrive, Slevin says. I dont think eliminating hundreds of millions of dollars for public transit spending is going to be very popular. New York Citys streets could even see more improvements. With less traffic thanks to congestion pricing, that gives the city space to create more public plazas or improve bus service. The city’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, already made fast, free buses and safer streets a key part of his platform, and so he may build on congestion pricings success. The entire country has watched New York City implement congestion pricing and fend off Trumps attacks against it. Now, theyre seeing its success, and that could spur other cities to take similar action. The Regional Planning Association has already fielded calls and interests from other cities, both in the U.S. and internationally. It shows that cities can do big things to deal with their problems,” Slevin says. “And it gives inspiration to other cities across the country.”
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If 2025 was the year purpose went quiet, 2026 is when the fork in the road will become impossible to ignore. Insights from the Purpose Collaborative, a 40-member network of impact-driven companies, predict what the year ahead will mean for responsible businesses. On one path, companies move purpose from statements and discrete programs into the structure of the business: strategy, governance, KPIs, products, data, and even AI. On the other path, purpose gets quietly defunded, depoliticized, or pushed so far into the background that only a handful of insiders can see it. Both routes have real implications for long-term business success. For companies that can integrate and connect purpose to actual business value, it will be a source of competitive advantage, helping them stand out from the AI workslop, says Caleb Gardner, managing partner of 18 Coffees. For others, it will fade into the background as they fight for survival. Many of the experts we spoke with identified this bifurcation. Some organizations will double down on purpose as a discipline and driver of resilience. Others will keep doing the work with as little visibility as possible, hoping to avoid backlash in a polarized Trump era. The stakes are no longer about having a nice-to-have purpose platform” but about whether purpose becomes the backbone of the business or disappears completely. Against that backdrop, we asked members what they see as the biggest trends, the hardest barriers, and the boldest steps leaders should take. Their answers point to a year defined by proof, participation, courage, and resilience. A fork in the road: Structural purpose vs. quiet retreat Members see a widening gap across sectors and regions. On one side are the companies treating purpose as a long-term operating system: one thats deeply integrated into strategy, measurement, and governance. The dominant purpose-related trend will be the shift from Purpose as Story to Purpose as Proof, says Fabio Milnitzky, CEO of iN. Companies will move away from treating purpose as a slogan and toward treating it as a disciplined, measurable system that must demonstrate impact on people, planet, and profit. Purpose will only be credible when it can withstand scrutiny from investors, regulators, employees, and communitiesand when it shapes what a company does and doesnt do. Purpose will stop being a department and start being a discipline, says Joe Waters, founder of Selfish Giving. When companies embrace purpose in this way, every partnership, product, and story flows from a coherent set of values. Purpose will show up in hiring, investment decisions, access to capital, reputation, and resilience if (or when) a crisis hits. There will be a bifurcation of companies that quietly remain focused on purpose and embed it deeper into the enterprise, and those who retrench in favor of prioritizing to focus on short-term business pressures, says Karimah Huddah, founder of illumine.earth. On the other side are organizations scaling back external purpose work in response to political pressure, ESG and DEI backlash, and economic uncertainty. Purpose will move from public declarations to quiet, behind-the-scenes stewardship, says Jessica Marati Radparvar, sustainability communications strategies and founder of Reconsidered. With political, cultural, and regulatory uncertainty rising, companies will shift their energy inward. For these companies, the work may continue, but it will be far from the spotlight. That may protect them from some political blowback, but it also risks eroding trust if employees and communities cant clearly understand what the organization stands for. Corporations may decide that they can cancel or reduce their purpose-based work based on the current political climate, says Marcus Peterzell, CEO of Passion Point Collective. In this environment, whether purpose is structural or superficial will matter more than ever. From story to proof: Purpose balances performance and risk If theres one global through line for the year ahead, its that purpose must prove itself. Over the last decade, most large companies have adopted purpose statements, but relatively few have embedded them deeply into strategy, culture and governance, says Milnitzky. Pressure from investors, regulators, employees, and society will increasingly be: Show the proof. This means linking purpose to hard indicators such as retention, safety, inclusion, decarbonization, product portfolio, reputation, and total shareholder return. Purpose has moved out of the brand book and into the boardroom. The organizations that lead will treat it as a performance system with clear inputs, outputs, and accountability, not as a set of inspirational words on a wall. That proof is not just about upside: Members see purpose moving squarely into the language of risk and resilience. We’ll spend less time touting the business case for sustainability and move more proactively toward a steely, laser-focus emphasizing the financial and reputation risks inherent in ESG-related decision-making or inaction, says Sarah Riley, sustainable brand advisor at R&G. As Riley notes, the challenge isnt convincing stakeholders that ESG issues existits cutting through fatigue, denial, and politicized narratives with honest assessments of whats at stake. Resilience will be a dominant theme, says Neill Duffy, chief executive and Founder of 17 Sport. Around the world, people are living through instability that feels both relentless and unpredictable. Climate volatility, political polarization, economic pressure, and the erosion of institutional trust are no longer background noise, theyve become part of daily life. Purpose, Duffy says, becomes a stabilizing forcesomething that keeps organizations principled when incentives reward caution and short-termism. It can also support communities not by shielding them from disruption but by helping them navigate with greater clarity and confidence. The metric that matters most may not be return on investment, but something more human: Return on involvement. Brands that help people act on their valuesnot just advertise themwill win the decade, Waters says. Taken together, these perspectives suggest a new equation: purpose equals proof, resilience, and participation. Beyond campaigns: Participation, community governance, and creator ecosystems What does purpose-led participation mean in the year ahead? Were entering a Participation Era, where purpose is defined by what brands help people do rather than what they say, said Fred Haberman, CEO of Haberman. With loneliness at an all-time high and trust in brand messaging at an all-time low, people are seeking real connection and meaningful experiences. The organizations that lead will use technology with intention to create more space for humanity: building micro-communities, inspiring acts of service, and helping people come together around shared impact. Here, purpose is measured less by impressions and more by involvement: who shows up, what they do together, and how those experiences change behavior and community outcomes. Participation is also about power. Instead of treating communities as audiences toconsult, leading brands will share in governance, says Melissa Orozco, CEO and chief impact officer of Yulu Impact Communications. Indigenous-led councils, youth panels, and lived-experience advisers will shape how purpose programs are designed and evaluated, marking the end of performative engagement and the rise of shared power. That shift from feedback to co-ownership raises the bar on authenticity. It asks brands not just to listen, but to structurally redistribute influence over how purpose programs are conceived, funded, and evaluated. Members also point to creators and influencers as catalysts in this ecosystem. Purpose will become far more collaborativeand more creative, too, says Carrie Fox, founder and CEO of Mission Partners. As nonprofits continue to face headwinds from shrinking government and corporate funding, we can expect to see a surge in cross-sector innovation, including deeper corporate-nonprofit partnerships, the formation of creative coalitions, and the development of new revenue-generating models designed to sustain mission-critical work. Brands will move beyond hiring influencers to building purpose-centered ecosystems alongside them: codesigning programs, educational content, resources, and community-driven activations, and ideally doing this all with creators with specific lived experiences and a clear alignment to the brand’s products and purpose, says Stephanie Belsky, cofounder and CEO of Love of Good, Inc. But this dynamic of influencers as collaborators only works if companies are as clear and committed as the creators they partner with. Influencers are increasingly choosing partnerships based on shared values, not just rates, Belsky says. Many brands still lack the internal clarity to meet that standard. This can erode trust. Audiences can instantly detect when a creator is asked to carry a message a brand hasnt embodied internally. Purpose work thrives when brand story, operational behavior, and creator messaging are aligned. The message is clear: in the Participation Era, you cant outsource purpose to your partners. They will simply reveal whether its real or not. Purpose under pressure: Polarization, caution and the courage gap The political context for 2026 is impossible to ignore. Purpose Collaborative members point to Trump-era politics, ESG suppression, and culture wars as defining pressures. We’re entering a new era thanks to the rise of Trump-style politics and it’s one that seems outwardly to be stymieing sustainability efforts through green-hushing and straight-up ESG suppression, Riley says. Political volatility, economic pressure, ESG and DEI pushback, and climate anxiety are creating an environment where many organizations instinctively pull back, speaking less, committing less, and protecting themselves from scrutiny rather than advancing their principles, Duffy says. The continued polarization of social issues will remain one of the most significant barriers, Fox says. As issues become increasingly politicized during a midterm election year in the U.S., corporate leaders, celebrities, and public figures may hesitate to take clear stands, instead opting for softer, middle-of-the-road positions. Taken together, these perspectives describe a caution culture in which organizations say less, do less, and hope to ride out the storm. But as several members warn, that instinct can undermine purpose at its core. The biggest challenge is courage, says Bianca Bello, strategy director at HelpGood. With Trump in office, the priorities of this country have shifted dramatically away from marginalized communities. Committing to purpose in 2026 will feel increasingly risky, and businesses are risk-averse. Some argue that the riskiest move is trying to appease everyone. When we talk about bold steps leaders must take to protect purpose in polarized environments, the first thing I say is this: neutrality is no longer a strategyit is a form of erosion, Milnitzky says. In politically and culturally divided climates, purpose becomes fragile when leaders attempt to appease everyone. Others frame it as a test of long-term consistency and a willingness to speak when others are staying silent. Think long-term about your purpose and be boldly consistent, and you’ll be rewarded for it no matter the political climate, Gardner says. And in some cases, silence will no longer be neutral; it will be a risk, Orozco says. The brands that choose courage, and back it with transparency, consistency, and community investment, will win long-term trust and loyalty. In a moment when the cultural and political ground feels increasingly unstable, the boldest leadership move is also the simplest: stay rooted in your purpose, Fox says. Set a clear strategy aligned with your values, and dont back away from it when the climate gets tough. Filling the gap: When business becomes the backstop Members anticipate that shrinking public funding and evolving regulation will widen gaps in the social safety net. I hope that the biggest trend will be an aggressive search for ways to fill the services and funding gap of the federal dollars that have been taken away from public assistance programs, Bello says. Companies that value purpose should fund and lift up nonprofits and grassroots organizations working in local communities to fill this gap. Here, purpose becomes less about nice to have programs and more about filling structural holes in healthcare, housing, education, climate adaptation, and community resilience. Corporate resources, relationships, and platforms can help sustain work that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Against this backdrop, members expect more experimentation: new revenue models, cross-sector coalitions, and influencers mobilizing audiences at scale. We can expect to see a surge in cross-sector innovation, including deeper corporate-nonprofit partnerships, the formation of creative coalitions, and the development of new revenue-generating models designed to sustain mission-critical work, Fox says. National politics doesn’t play out the same way at the local level, says Laura Ferry, president of Good Company. Invest in regional partnerships, local suppliers, community health, and small business ecosystems to make purpose tangible. Local impact builds broad, cross-partisan support. In an era of national polarization, the local dimension of purpose may be where the broadest and most durable coalitions form. Inside-out: Employees as the engine of purpose When purpose is stress-tested, employees feel it first. Many members highlight internal culture, communication, and middle management as make-or-break factors. Well see a renewed focus on internal communicationsnot just to defend new initiatives with solid business cases, but to reassure employees that the company hasnt abandoned its values, Radparvar says. Leaders will need to protect morale and culture at a time when being too loud puts a target on your back, but being too quiet risks letting purpose wither from within. With the policy landscape shifting, companies are rediscovering that their most powerful driver is their own people, Ferry says. Expect a stronger push toward purpose-driven partnerships that energize employees, strengthen culture, and demonstrate values in action. Middle managers are key to this effort, yet they are not always empowered to be champions of purpose. That middle-management bottleneck is wheremany purpose strategies stall. Without the tools, time, and incentives to act on purpose, even the strongest commitments can remain theoretical. And directives must come from the top. You must have leadership buy-in, says Phillip Haid, founder and CEO of Public Inc. If the CEO is not bought in, don’t bother as it won’t gain traction. Tangibly map out how the company’s purpose drives internal and external business results as it’s the only way to ensure the purpose is truly lived and sustained.” Purpose is real only when it is lived inside the organization well before what’s declared outside of it, says Nicole Rennie, CEO and executive producer of FORWARD storystudio. Make space for employees to share their stories, their why, and the impact they feel they’re having. Invite them into the purpose dialogue early and often. Purpose, AI, and the future of human work AI runs through many of our members predictions as a force reshaping the logic and value of work. The shift wont just be about more AI or smarter tools, says Sophia Story, chief revenue officer of 3 Sided Cube. It will be about how responsibly we use them. Ethical, transparent, measurable AI will become the new baseline, with teams doubling down on clear policies, real guardrails, and continuous improvement to make sure their tech is doing good, not just sounding good. Over the last year, AI-enabled jobless growth forced companies to answer an existential question: What are humans actually for? Gardner says. Companies have justified centering purpose at least partly because they needed humans (who deeply care about their impact on the world) to be productive. If the narrative becomes about how AI can do the work better, purpose advocates may lose their most powerful business case. Story points to data, regulation, and skills as three pressure points: Purpose-led data models only work when theres real clarity around governance, stewardship, rights, and what happens when things go wrong. Right now, thats still pretty messy. Regulation is another pressure point. New rules are landing fast. If organizations dont design in data ethics and responsible AI from day one, theyll end up scrambling to retrofit compliance later. For some, purpose may become the lens through which AI is deployed. With purpose and AI working together, companies can accelerate advances that strengthen communities, address major social challenges, and expand human potential at a pace not seen since the rise of the modern web, says Kristian Merenda, partner at Carol Cone ON PURPOSE. But that will only happen if organizations slow down long enough to redesign systems, workflows, and habits. The biggest challenges will center on building responsible AI use policies, realigning systems, and redesigning workflows so organizations can use AI effectively and ethically to create both business and social good, Merenda says. Importantly, make sure work isn’t muddled by the mire of AI-gloss, says Elliot Kotek, founder and CEO of The Nation of Artists. Ensure that real people and real stories feel represented and honored at the deep-gut, big feels level. There’s a strength that comes from those stories that realistically represent their communities that can’t be manufactured en masse, and audiences respond to that sincerityit’s that old adage that you always remember how someone, or something, made you feel. AI will either hollow out the human business case for purposeor, if guided well, become one of the most powerful tools for scaling it. Leading organizations will navigate barriers and emerge stronger Across all these predictions runs a common idea: pressure is not just a threat to purpose but a test of whether its real. Let pressure clarify your purpose, not cloud it, Fox says. Leaders often describe this moment as heavy, dizzying, and uncertain. And it is. But as one nonprofit leader reminded me recently: diamonds are formed under pressure. The same is true for purpose. Under intense conditions, your purpose can either crack or sharpen. In 2026, the purpose that survives will be the kind that is disciplined, measurable, participatory and brave. It will be embedded into structures and systems, not just stories. And it will be carried not only by enterprises, but by employees, communities, and creators who see themselves as part of something biggerand are willing to take on the mantle of participation.
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2026 will be a good year for people who love to walk where cars once drove. As climate change acceleratesand cities continue to grapple with congestion and air pollutionurban priorities have been shifting. In May this year, Parisians voted to close 500 streets to traffic across all 20 arrondissements. London is moving forward with plans to pedestrianize sections of the world-famous Oxford Street, as well as Regent Street, and Piccadilly Circus. Meanwhile, Barcelonas centuries-old promenade, La Rambla, is in the last stretches of a long-term redesign that will be completed in 2027, widening the pedestrian promenade and limiting access to residents vehicles and public transport. The U.S. isnt exempt from the trend. Next year alone, half a dozen cities, from Bentonville, AR, to Houston, TX, will reduce or remove car traffic on some of their streetsnot for a weekend pilot or a seasonal experiment, but for good. These projects matter in a country that still funnels tens of billions of federal dollars every year into new roads and highways. And they are particularly notable after the Trump administration recently withdrew previously awarded grants for some bike, trail, and pedestrian projects. Ever since cars became dominant in the 1950s, urban thinkers like Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl have argued for cities designed around people, not vehicles. The conversation is still timely. According to several experts interviewed for this story, the tides are shifting. I think we are certainly seeing momentum in the car-free or car-lite movement, says Ben Crowther, policy director for the nonprofit America Walks. Here are six streets pedestrians can reclaim next yearno cars, or fewer cars, allowed. [Image: courtesy Downtown Houston+] 1. Main Street in Houston, TX Houstons Main Street, long a transit corridor, is being reinvented as a seven-block pedestrian promenade through the heart of downtown. The Main Street Promenade will feature shaded walkways, plazas, outdoor dining, and a series of flexible public spaces designed for lingering, not just passing through. Led by Downtown Houston+ in partnership with the City of Houston, and designed by Workshop, the project builds on the success of the More Space: Main Street initiative, a temporary program launched in 2021 to test reduced vehicle access. Its permanent transformation is timed to welcome visitors for the 2026 FIFA Mens World Cup, but the redesign is meant to serve residents long after the crowds leave. The streets physical makeover is substantial. Pedestrian space will be expanded across seven blocks, creating a continuous, safer corridor through downtown. Tree canopy will increase by more than 150%, with new trees added alongside shade structures and storefront awningscritical infrastructure in a city defined by heat. A series of outdoor rooms will support activities like casual dining and small events, while murals and public art installations will reinforce Main Streets identity. A raised street design and improved crossings aim to make the promenade accessible to people of all ages and abilities. The new promenade is a fitting evolution for a street that has carried Houston through multiple transportation eras, from horse-drawn carriages to trolleys, cars, light railand now, pedestrians. [Image: courtesy KC PWD] 2. 18th Street in Kansas City, MO Kansas Citys 18th Street, the cultural backbone of the historic Jazz District, isnt becoming fully car-freebut its redesign marks a significant shift toward people-first planning. Like Houstons Main Street, the 18th Street Pedestrian Mall project has been years in the making before accelerating toward completion ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Rather than banning vehicles outright, the project will remove curbs, gutters, and on-street parking to create a seamless corridor that is more akin to a shared street. Vehicular traffic will still be allowed at the center, but its dominance will be dramatically reduced. Replacement parking is being relocated to a new garage just south of the street, freeing up space for wider sidewalks, traffic calming measures, and safer, more accessible crossings. The redesign also lays the groundwork for expanded programming like farmers markets and live concerts. A City spokesperson said it will also make it easier for the Jazz District to close three blocks of 18th Street for major events like Juneteenth, First Fridays, and Halloween celebrationssomething that was logistically difficult under the old street design. The nuance matters here. Patricia Brownwho helped lead the pedestrianization of Trafalgar Square in London in the early 2000sargues that framing projects as car-free versus car-lite can be counterproductive. Were never going to have a car-free city, and we shouldnt, she told me. The real question is how you put people front and center and reduce vehicle dominance. Kansas Citys 18th Street offers a case study in exactly that approach. [Photo: courtesy Design Workshop] 3. A Street Promenade, in Bentonville, AR In Bentonville, Arkansas, pedestrianization is less about reclaiming a single block and more about stitching an entire downtown together. At the center of that effort is “A Street Promenade“a linear, pedestrian-only plaza that is part of the citys broader “Quilt of Parks” initiative. “A Street Promenade,” which just opened in November, has been remade from a vehicle corridor into a pedestrian promenade that links the town square with parks, local businesses, and civic spaces through a sequence of garden rooms and parklets. The promenade is designed for everyday use, but flexible enough to support markets, parades, and citywide events. The project emerged from a Design Excellence partnership launched in 2018 between the citys Parks and Recreation Department, the Walton Family Foundation, and Design Workshop (the same studio behind Houstons Main Street transformation.) The goal was never just to remove cars, says Conners Ladner, a principal at Design Workshop. It was about strengthening how people move through and gather within the city center. [Photo: courtesy Qmunity District] 4. Post Street in San Jose, CA In downtown San Jose, Post Street has become a template for how temporary street experiments can turn into permanent change. Once a conventional downtown roadway, the street was permanently closed to cars this spring following years of pandemic-era pilots. It now functions as a pedestrian-only corridor at the heart of the citys LGBTQ+ district, known as Qmunity. (Its the citys second major pedestrianization effortfollowing San Pedro Square, which closed in 2024.) Earlier this year, the city unveiled a permanent street mural by local artist Danny Feliz Hanson and community volunteers. Next year, the city is planning further upgrades, including an artist-led initiative to transform the safety barricades at each end of the street into reflective, neighborhood-branded design features. When the World Cup rolls around, Post Street will be a designated Entertainment Zone, but a spokesperson from the San Jose Downtown Association emphasized that the decision to pedestrianize Post Street wasnt driven by FIFA. San Jose began experimenting with temporary closures during the pandemic, and after tracking their impacts, the City Council voted unanimously in February 2025 to make the change permanent. Recent data shows consistent increases in foot traffic and visitor dwell time in the area since the closure. [Image: Greektown Neighborhood Partnership/SmithGroup] 5. Monroe Street in Detroit, MI In Detroits Greektown, Monroe Street is being reimagined as a civic space. The Monroe Streetscape Improvement Project, led by the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership and designed by SmithGroup, is transforming a four-block stretch into a safer, more walkable corridor that can flex between everyday use and large-scale events. Backed by $20 million in funding from the state of Michigan, the project is branded as A New Greektown, and prioritizes pedestrians without eliminating access altogether. Wider sidewalks, curbless lanes, and designated pick-up and drop-off zones reduce barriers between street and sidewalk, while still accommodating transit and essential vehicles. More than 50 new trees, enhanced lighting, and signature district signage aim to improve both comfort and safety, especially during evening hours. The redesign also leans into Greektowns role as one of Detroits most active entertainment districts. Eighty thousand square feet of granite paversmaking it the largest granite-paved street in Michiganwill create a unified surface for outdoor dining, festivals, and markets. Integrated art and heritage installations will celebrate the neighborhoods history, while removable bollards will allow Monroe Street to become fully pedestrianized during programmed events. A spokesperson from the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership said that current plans envision pedestrian-only weekends, with flexibility to adjust based on what works. Construction is unfolding in phases: the first segment is already complete, while the second phase is scheduled to wrap up in late 2026. [Photo: courtesy Sunset Dunes] 6. Sunset Dunes in San Francisco, CA San Franciscos Sunset Dunes marks a different scale of ambition altogether. Stretching across two miles, the 50-acre coastal park is billed as the largest pedestrianization project in Califonias historytransforming a former highway into a public park. The shift began with a ballot measure passed by voters, asking whether a long-debated stretch of the Great Highway should stop functioning as a road and start functioning as a park. The answer was yes. The city officially opened Sunset Dunes as a park in April 2025, rolling out initial activations like bike infrastructure, public art, and wayfinding. Since then, the space has continued to evolve, with picnic tables overlooking the ocean, a rotating outdoor art gallery, and free weekly programming. Whats notable is how explicitly the city is treating Sunset Dunes as a living experiment. A first round of community engagement wrapped up this year, focused on understanding how residents want to use the space and whats currently missing. The results will be published by the end of 2025, with a second phase of engagement launching in 2026 to shape a long-term vision plan, supported by landscape architecture firm CMG Landscape Architecture. The goal: to move from a repurposed roadway to a purpose-built coastal park, much like Crissy Field, a former military airfield that was transformed into a coastal park two decades ago. A spokesperson from local nonprofit, Friends of Sunset Dunes, told me design priorities will center on access and restoration. Since the park runs alongside a sensitive dune system, planned improvements will aim to restore dune ecology, improve beach access for people with mobility challenges, and create a continuous promenade that feels like one park. In the meantime, the programming will keep testing what works. In January next year, the nonprofit will launch weekly traditional Chinese dance classes designed for the neighborhoods large senior population. More temporary installations and pilot uses will follow as an intentional strategy to learn from the public before locking in permanent design decisions.
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