STREET – Street Transformations, Rebalancing Ecology and Environment issues in urban Territories

STREET research project explores street transformation projects to understand their contribution in sustainable, climate adaptable and ecological urban environments. The research consists of in-depth study, on processes and projects of streets interventions in 5 Portuguese cities, developed after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015), with the aim to identify sustainability indicators and design an evaluation tool supportive of an overview of street transformations committed to a sustainable future.

Public spaces have an important role for environmental regulation, ecology protection and risk management (UN-Habitat, 2015). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 goals, set out the path towards sustainable development by cities and communities (UN, 2015). The design of street, at local level (street space and network), influence on livability, walkability, sociability, environmental impact and productivity of neighbourhoods. Therefore, improving existing streets can enhance the quality of life, urban ecosystems and social cohesion (ONU-Habitat, 2016).

Since streets are a fundamental component of the public space system, covering a major part of the public space in urban areas (Casas-Valle, Oliveira and Dias, 2023), it is assumed that improving existing streets will make a decisive contribution to the transition towards more sustainable urban environments. Within the main challenges of contemporary society and its negative environmental impact, new urban streets interventions can perform a strategic role rebalancing its social, environmental and mobility components and, consequently, the role of the public space.

At the same time, a structured analyses of the adaptability of the streets for the new climate context and circularity principles will allow to understand how to integrate functionality, durability and adaptability on street design.

The research focuses on recent street transformation projects (2015-2025) to investigate which design and planning tools were applied to improve sustainable conditions for street space and their surroundings. The development of the assessment tool is based on the establishment of objective analysis criteria, that enable detecting the benefits of streets transformation into a more sustainable urban environment. The tool will be tested and refined based on 20-25 through before/after analysis, highlighting the design and project components with potential impact on sustainability.

In parallel, it will offer also a systematic overview of good practices in street transformation, and an interdisciplinary reflection on the applicability and replicability of various approaches and project principles.

The achievements of STREET research project will lead to a publication and exhibition of an overview of 20-25 street projects that provides possible design principles, solutions and approaches for climate adaptability and the potential reinforcement of social and natural values of streets.