...UNDER
DEVELOPMENT!
s.E.T. Guidelines Kit
Welcome to the beta version of our SET Guideline Kit! During the last couple of years, we have been quite busy and fascinated looking at street experiments around the globe, and their incredible potential to transform not just streets but our immediate context, people's behaviour, public realm and even mobility!
We have studied, analysed and participated in street experiments… We have talked to experts, activists, organizations, decision-makers, and citizens, so we thought it would be a good to share these insights with you because sharing is caring… and we care for more sustainable and resilient cities!
Whether you are a beginner, a city representative, an urban planner, an activist, or an expert, we can all learn from each other's experiences with street experiments. Our goal with the SET Guideline Kit is to share some ideas on how to create impactful street experiments with long-term effects. There are several sections in this kit that can guide you through the considerations that street experiments need to take to overcome challenges and transform our streets from places for cars to places for people: improving the overall quality of life for citizens.
This section contains the first and essential steps for starting a street experiment. You will also learn about the kinds of street experiments and examples, which will help you to determine what will work for your particular situation.
1. How
to start?
Setting the scene:
Who´s in your team?
It is easier to overcome the challenges encountered in developing a street experiment when an interdisciplinary team is involved. It is equally important for the team to develop relationships with key stakeholders including citizens.
A successful experiment depends on a good understanding of the city dynamics. A change cannot be introduced without in some way affecting the other components, and this must be considered at each stage of the street experiment.
Understanding the city as a system.
Radical
Visualising
the sustainable transition
pathway
Street experiments are a great tool toward sustainable cities.
Five distinctive characteristics have been explored to achieve systemic change:
Challenge-driven
Feasible
Strategic
Communicative /
Mobilizing
Remarked street
An understanding of the needs and/or challenges of a specific location can help determine which type of street experiment to undertake.
A street experiment can be a...
Choosing the right type of street experiment
Repurposed
parking (Parklets)
partially repurposed street & squares
completely repurposed street
Developing the street experiment transition agenda (timeline)
A street experiment timeline should be designed with a long-term view in mind. Including a learning-by-doing approach in structuring the transition agenda which can be considered as the project’s framework.
2. Creating
Impact
This section elaborates on the different aspects one needs to consider in order to turn a street experiment into an impactful event. This section explores and explains the key factors influencing the success of a street experiment.
Planning
It isn't just a matter of spatial planning that is required for street experiments, but an array of organisational issues that go beyond the physical aspects.
Communication
As an important element of the street experiment's success is the creation of extensive, inclusive and transparent communication channels from the outset.
Acceptance
Acceptance allows a behavioral change towards the street experiment that enables it to be carried out without conflict. Street experiments cannot achieve the kind of equitable, sustainable mobility landscape that they aim for unless conditions are met that encourage acceptance.
Governance
Understanding governance structures is important for navigating complicated bureaucracies and gaining political support; this not only helps make trade-offs but also facilitates negotiations with multiple stakeholders to meet local requirements.
Mobility
Behaviour
Street experiments in some way or another transform a street's or public space's pre-existing mobility functionality. This brings opportunities for finding compromises and potentially changing the current mobility scenario towards one that invites citizens to actively travel.
Citizen
Engagement
Active involvement of citizens builds a sense of ownership and acceptance. Bringing different actors together increases support while addressing inflexible notions.
3. Experiment's
Design
Using the tools in this section, you can develop street experiments that meet the diverse needs of diverse users. The goal of these tools is to achieve a visually harmonised and cohesive design, providing an identity to the created space and project.
Identity &
Branding
Understanding a project's identity can provide insight into both the social and perceptual aspects of the environment. The street experiment site becomes easier to understand and more enjoyable for visitors.
Designing a successful
Street experiment
With the right design composition in place, neighbours can be positively invited into the streets, which will influence all kinds of social interactions, help build community, and strengthen ties between neighbours.
This section dives into the different assessment tools used during, before, and after the street experiment. Additionally it describes assessment tools for citizens engagement and a transition experiments rubric.
4. Evaluation*
*More on each section coming soon!
5. Iterative
Process*
This section will describe the next steps to upscale and upgrade the experiment with a learning-by-doing approach.
6. Disemination*
Promotion of the street experiment project, how to incite others to start street experiments, and ways to support citizens, organizations, cities, etc. are included in this section.