the Future Design of Streets is a knowledge platform. Our website is an open-source platform where you can find a selection of our projects and activities: projects | events | platform.

Streets are important for all of us, as social collective spaces and as urban base components. Streets are adaptable because of their ability to integrate new uses and technologies, making them resilient. Both now and in the future. To address societal, environmental, and technological challenges, street design must achieve a balance and be redefined. What are possible new strategies for street design? Who is using the street space? How can we design to improve streets? And how can street interventions be more social and natural in practice?

It is clear that streets are more than spaces for mobility flows alone. Expanding the scope of street design to include social perspectives and nature will not only change how we view streets but will also bring new possibilities and challenges for organising and designing them in the coming decades. Our platform collaborates with academic institutions and planning organisations, including municipalities, design offices, research centres, and universities.

the Future Design of Streets platform is involved in several academic and design projects. We work within the academic framework, as well as with various stakeholders, including municipalities and other governmental organisations, mobility and planning consultancy offices, and knowledge organisations. We also offer on-demand workshops to explore potential and possible options for local areas with municipalities, and we have published a book about streets.

Since 2020, we have undertaken many activities, including four international webinar series, three city editions, and an international conference, which were organised and brought together more than 100 participants from 18 countries and various professional fields. In these events, we engaged a broad and diverse audience from different areas, such as designers (architects, landscape architects, urban planners), engineers (mobility, infrastructure), researchers (sociologists, economists, spatial disciplines, historians), and specialists within the public sector (municipalities, governmental organisations, knowledge centres). We also engaged with many citizens, social organisations, and politicians. Currently, approximate 1,500 individuals follow us.

Recently, many cities, towns, and villages have demonstrated creative and tactile street adaptations and interventions, providing space for people to enjoy the street as a place to meet, play, and socialise. In some cities, these changes were achieved with just a bit of tape and paint, while in others, they marked a key moment to implement long-term planning strategies. Facing the challenges of climate adaptation and social cohesion, it has become increasingly urgent to learn from and preserve the positive experiences of recent years and to accelerate real, fundamental change in street design and planning.

The Platform operates as a legal association—a non-profit organisation—led by Daniel Casas Valle, Ivo Oliveira, and Catarina Breia Dias. In various ongoing and past events and projects, it has received support from three Portuguese universities: Universidade do Minho – Escola de Arquitetura, Arte e Design; Universidade Portucalense – Departamento de Arquitetura e Multimédia Gallaecia; Universidade do Porto – Faculdade de Arquitetura. It also collaborates with partners such as CCDRN, Ordem dos Arquitetos – Secção Regional Norte, International Federation of Pedestrians, Associação Portuguesa de Urbanistas, New Enviroments, and Urban Dynamics.

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the Future Design of Streets Association

is a non-profit organisation

NIF/VAT: PT517434539