Car-free streets are popping up in cities around the world
With the San Francisco Bay Trail curving around waterfront China Basin Park, car-free thoroughfares speckled with 'street rooms'(usable street art for eating, climbing, or chilling), and outposts of some of the city's hottest eateries (looking at you, Arsicault Bakery), the approximately 500 new apartments in two eye-catching buildings filled quickly, with residents eager to plug in to communal work spaces, or take advantage of the easy access to buses, trains, trams, and ferries connecting to Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area.
(You can walk across San Francisco in a day. Here's how.)
'COVID made us reassess what we value in open space and what the idea of city life can mean,' says Corbett Belcher at CMG. 'We created a structure for a lively neighborhood that focuses on social and ecological well-being, a place where cars don't dominate, people do.'
The need for reduced emissions and desire for enhanced quality of life in urban settings isn't unique to this West Coast city. Across the country and around the world, car-free is having a moment. Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius was named European Green Capital for 2025, thanks in part to the city's investment in an eco-friendly public transportation system, which includes electric buses and trollies. Several new routes will be added by 2028 to widen car-free access, while roughly 62 miles of new bike lanes have been added since 2016.
The sustainability-minded city makes it easy for visitors to explore miles of pedestrian paths and designated routes leading to gardens, monuments, and museums on foot. Vilnius has also reduced pedestrian wait times at traffic lights to make foot-friendly commutes more efficient for residents. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia might be America's most walkable city, but it's also home to one of the country's largest trail networks, spanning more than 400 miles (and growing), and connecting parks, job centers, suburbs, and rural communities. Visitors can roll or stroll along the Schuylkill River Trail (SRT) to beloved spots like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Valley Forge National Historical Park. Free yoga classes are sometimes offered on the Race Street Pier along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Photograph by Dina Litovsky, Nat Geo Image Collection
Indego Bike Share operates 250 stations and has 2,000-plus bikes across the city, with 40 new stations being added in 2025. Earlier this year, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker reclassified more than 35 miles of curbside lanes and all bike lanes as no-stopping or parking zones. Paris, France
In March, Parisians voted in favor of the "garden roads" project, which will pedestrianize 500 streets over the next several years. Previous initiatives, championed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, have rerouted traffic to main avenues, leaving side streets car-free and more pleasant for walking and dining al fresco.
Visitors will also notice vehicles are absent along the Seine River quays, turning them into a haven for walkers, joggers, picnickers, and apéro hour pop-ups. Bike lanes are ubiquitous, well-marked, and heavily used, and with 1,480 docking points on the city's Vélib bike share system—and more on the way—two-wheeling around the City of Light is safe, economical, and enjoyable. Dubai, UAE
Approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2024, the Dubai Walk master plan has big pedestrian plans for the city of four million, including an integrated network of more than 4,000 miles of walkways featuring air conditioning, shaded spaces, and interactive digital screens, allowing for year-round use.
(Welcome to the adventure hub of the United Arab Emirates, where mountains, sea and desert collide)
Among the first being created are the 9.3-mile Al Ras Historical Route in Ras Al Khaimah and Al Souk Al Kabeer, and the Future Loop project, an elevated, climate-controlled pedestrian path that will connect 10 key landmarks including the Dubai World Trade Centre, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Museum of the Future, and nearby metro stations. Tampa, Florida
'Our goal was to bring people closer to what matters: Their home, offices, parks, restaurants, and entertainment,' says Josh Taube, CEO of Strategic Property Partners, the developer behind Water Street Tampa. Residents and visitors enjoy outdoor dining, concerts, and farmers' markets in shady parks, yoga studios and gyms, and trendy hotels, like the Tampa EDITION, home to one of the city's first Michelin-starred restaurants.
Adding to Water Street's easy living is the free TECO Streetcar that makes stops at Amalie Arena, Ybor City, Tampa's busy cruise ship port, and other popular downtown destinations. Bogotá, Columbia
Bogotá is home to what might be the original pedestrian-friendly event, the perennial Ciclovía, which celebrated 50 years in December. What started as a citizen protest of the takeover of cars in the city has turned into an every-Sunday affair, when approximately 75 miles of streets are closed to vehicles and opened to an estimated 1.7 million people who walk, cycle, skate, and jog around the Colombian capital. Not only is it more popular than ever, Ciclovía has become a model for similar events around the world, such as CicLAvia in Los Angeles. New York City, New York The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long park built on a section of abandoned railway track in New York City. Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, Nat Geo Image Collection
Bryant Park is often cited as a catalyst for New York City's pedestrian-focused renaissance, revitalized to award-winning status in the 1980s by the Bryant Park Corporation and CEO Dan Biederman. Biederman is also involved in New York's Future of Fifth, a pedestrianization plan to begin in 2028 that will remove two lanes of traffic and widen sidewalks along Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park.
No one appreciates an urban repurpose like a New Yorker, including The High Line, the former elevated railway transformed into a 1.45-mile greenbelt on Manhattan's West Side that attracts an estimated eight million visitors each year. Little Island, the 2.4-acre park built on stilts over the Hudson River, opened in 2021 and draws more than one million annual visitors (70 percent from outside the city) to its lush walking paths and robust summer performance calendar. 'People leave with a more favorable impression of a place if they have a pedestrian experience,' says Biederman. Kimberly Lovato has written about travel news, food, lifestyle, and hotels for prestigious publications including National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Virtuoso: The Magazine, AFAR, The Saturday Evening Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. She is also the author of a travel-themed children's picture book. Follow her on Instagram @KimberleyLovato
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National Geographic
04-08-2025
- National Geographic
Car-free streets are popping up in cities around the world
Once an area of soulless parking lots and bygone shipping yards, San Francisco's newest neighborhood, Mission Rock, just south of downtown, is now a waterfront work-live-play district. Here, open views of the Bay Bridge and Oracle Park are only outshined by pedestrian plazas, wide streets, and eight acres of green space, offering something rarely found in urban centers: breathing room. The 28-acre locale is a result of a years-long, multi-phase partnership between the San Francisco Giants, the Port of San Francisco, Tishman Speyer, and CMG Landscape Architecture. The goal? To reimagine what an urban neighborhood could feel like. With the San Francisco Bay Trail curving around waterfront China Basin Park, car-free thoroughfares speckled with 'street rooms'(usable street art for eating, climbing, or chilling), and outposts of some of the city's hottest eateries (looking at you, Arsicault Bakery), the approximately 500 new apartments in two eye-catching buildings filled quickly, with residents eager to plug in to communal work spaces, or take advantage of the easy access to buses, trains, trams, and ferries connecting to Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area. (You can walk across San Francisco in a day. Here's how.) 'COVID made us reassess what we value in open space and what the idea of city life can mean,' says Corbett Belcher at CMG. 'We created a structure for a lively neighborhood that focuses on social and ecological well-being, a place where cars don't dominate, people do.' The need for reduced emissions and desire for enhanced quality of life in urban settings isn't unique to this West Coast city. Across the country and around the world, car-free is having a moment. Vilnius, Lithuania Vilnius was named European Green Capital for 2025, thanks in part to the city's investment in an eco-friendly public transportation system, which includes electric buses and trollies. Several new routes will be added by 2028 to widen car-free access, while roughly 62 miles of new bike lanes have been added since 2016. The sustainability-minded city makes it easy for visitors to explore miles of pedestrian paths and designated routes leading to gardens, monuments, and museums on foot. Vilnius has also reduced pedestrian wait times at traffic lights to make foot-friendly commutes more efficient for residents. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia might be America's most walkable city, but it's also home to one of the country's largest trail networks, spanning more than 400 miles (and growing), and connecting parks, job centers, suburbs, and rural communities. Visitors can roll or stroll along the Schuylkill River Trail (SRT) to beloved spots like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Valley Forge National Historical Park. Free yoga classes are sometimes offered on the Race Street Pier along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Photograph by Dina Litovsky, Nat Geo Image Collection Indego Bike Share operates 250 stations and has 2,000-plus bikes across the city, with 40 new stations being added in 2025. Earlier this year, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker reclassified more than 35 miles of curbside lanes and all bike lanes as no-stopping or parking zones. Paris, France In March, Parisians voted in favor of the "garden roads" project, which will pedestrianize 500 streets over the next several years. Previous initiatives, championed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, have rerouted traffic to main avenues, leaving side streets car-free and more pleasant for walking and dining al fresco. Visitors will also notice vehicles are absent along the Seine River quays, turning them into a haven for walkers, joggers, picnickers, and apéro hour pop-ups. Bike lanes are ubiquitous, well-marked, and heavily used, and with 1,480 docking points on the city's Vélib bike share system—and more on the way—two-wheeling around the City of Light is safe, economical, and enjoyable. Dubai, UAE Approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2024, the Dubai Walk master plan has big pedestrian plans for the city of four million, including an integrated network of more than 4,000 miles of walkways featuring air conditioning, shaded spaces, and interactive digital screens, allowing for year-round use. (Welcome to the adventure hub of the United Arab Emirates, where mountains, sea and desert collide) Among the first being created are the 9.3-mile Al Ras Historical Route in Ras Al Khaimah and Al Souk Al Kabeer, and the Future Loop project, an elevated, climate-controlled pedestrian path that will connect 10 key landmarks including the Dubai World Trade Centre, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Museum of the Future, and nearby metro stations. Tampa, Florida 'Our goal was to bring people closer to what matters: Their home, offices, parks, restaurants, and entertainment,' says Josh Taube, CEO of Strategic Property Partners, the developer behind Water Street Tampa. Residents and visitors enjoy outdoor dining, concerts, and farmers' markets in shady parks, yoga studios and gyms, and trendy hotels, like the Tampa EDITION, home to one of the city's first Michelin-starred restaurants. Adding to Water Street's easy living is the free TECO Streetcar that makes stops at Amalie Arena, Ybor City, Tampa's busy cruise ship port, and other popular downtown destinations. Bogotá, Columbia Bogotá is home to what might be the original pedestrian-friendly event, the perennial Ciclovía, which celebrated 50 years in December. What started as a citizen protest of the takeover of cars in the city has turned into an every-Sunday affair, when approximately 75 miles of streets are closed to vehicles and opened to an estimated 1.7 million people who walk, cycle, skate, and jog around the Colombian capital. Not only is it more popular than ever, Ciclovía has become a model for similar events around the world, such as CicLAvia in Los Angeles. New York City, New York The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long park built on a section of abandoned railway track in New York City. Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, Nat Geo Image Collection Bryant Park is often cited as a catalyst for New York City's pedestrian-focused renaissance, revitalized to award-winning status in the 1980s by the Bryant Park Corporation and CEO Dan Biederman. Biederman is also involved in New York's Future of Fifth, a pedestrianization plan to begin in 2028 that will remove two lanes of traffic and widen sidewalks along Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park. No one appreciates an urban repurpose like a New Yorker, including The High Line, the former elevated railway transformed into a 1.45-mile greenbelt on Manhattan's West Side that attracts an estimated eight million visitors each year. Little Island, the 2.4-acre park built on stilts over the Hudson River, opened in 2021 and draws more than one million annual visitors (70 percent from outside the city) to its lush walking paths and robust summer performance calendar. 'People leave with a more favorable impression of a place if they have a pedestrian experience,' says Biederman. Kimberly Lovato has written about travel news, food, lifestyle, and hotels for prestigious publications including National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Virtuoso: The Magazine, AFAR, The Saturday Evening Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. She is also the author of a travel-themed children's picture book. Follow her on Instagram @KimberleyLovato
San Francisco Chronicle
01-08-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Exclusive: Nvidia on the verge of waterfront S.F. office deal. Here's where the chipmaker could land
The San Francisco Giants may be on a losing streak, but the baseball team's real estate division is on a heater. Mission Rock, the mixed-use campus near Oracle Park that's being co-developed by the Giants and Tishman Speyer saw Visa Inc. lease the first of its two office buildings in 2019, long before the 13-story tower was built. In May, fintech company Coinbase leased space at the second office building, which already counts the Golden State Warriors among its tenants. And Sam Altman's crypto venture almost landed at Mission Rock. Real estate insiders with insight into the deal have confirmed to the Chronicle that the Silicon Valley-based company is 'close' to signing a lease for 45,000-square feet in the eight story office building that recently landed Coinbase. Spokespeople for Nvidia and Tishman Speyer declined to comment on the pending deal when contacted by the Chronicle. The Chronicle first reported in May that Nvidia, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, was in the market for a roughly 30,000 square-foot sales office in San Francisco, though it was not clear at the time which locations Nvidia was scouting. With downtown office vacancy hovering around 35% more than five years after the start of the pandemic, the company certainly had plenty of options. Nvidia is widely regarded as a corporate and material cornerstone of the artificial intelligence industry, which has been a major cause of recent leasing momentum in San Francisco. The company's CEO, Jensen Huang, already owns a mansion in the city, and in recent months described San Francisco as 'thriving again,' thanks to AI. It's unclear if the company, which was reportedly searching for 'high-end' space in the city, according to sources, looked for space in the city's downtown core. But the pending move to Mission Rock would place it in the vicinity of AI heavyweight OpenAI, which in recent years leased close to 1 million square feet of office space across multiple buildings near the Chase Center in Mission Bay. Robert Sammons, senior director for tech research at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, noted that Mission Rock, and Mission Bay as a whole, has performed 'well' compared to other submarkets in the city with much more space available. The Mission Bay neighborhood has a vacancy rate of 'just' 12.2%, which is the second lowest vacancy rate in the city after the Presidio, he said.
Eater
29-07-2025
- Eater
The Rockefeller Center Restaurant From Ignacio Mattos Will Close in the Fall
is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author. Lodi, the Italian aperitivo-style cafe by Ignacio Mattos that debuted in Rockefeller Center in the fall of 2021, is closing 'on or about October 30,' citing high operating expenses related to the increased cost of goods as the cause. Lodi was among the first restaurants to open at the Midtown Art Deco landmark address as part of an ambitious turnaround effort led by developer Tishman Speyer. Restaurants from highly regarded teams, including Le Rock from the Frenchette duo, Korean-leaning Naro from Atomix, and all-day pasta and wine spot Jupiter from King, debuted nearby. Mattos earned praise from critics as well as a spot on the New York Times list of the 100 best restaurants in New York City. 'We deeply appreciate the efforts of Lodi's staff and support from our guests and the community,' wrote Mattos in a statement to Eater. 'We are saddened that economic events drove this closing. It has been an honor to serve our wonderful guests and the community over these years.' This shutdown raises broader questions about the future of mid‑range independent cafes in high‑traffic, high-rent corridors of the city, particularly the notoriously challenging Rockefeller Center, which was hit hard during COVID and has not traditionally been considered a cool place to gather outside of the December holidays. Lodi, in particular, spotlights the perils of an all-day cafe that straddles tourist and local appeal in a more challenging economic climate. Tishman Speyer, which has owned the property since the early 2000s, set out on the 'next-level' multi-billion-dollar overhaul that stirred debate over whether the developer's efforts to draw New Yorkers to Rock Center, in part by courting big-name chefs, would work. Back when the restaurants opened just after COVID, Eater reported that Rockefeller Center was betting its future on independent restaurants, citing how projects like the Market Line food hall on the Lower East Side in 2019 also attempted to bring New Yorkers to an area with big-name chefs. But with the Market Line having closed several years later, the shutter of Lodi is the first crack in the Rockefeller Center reinvention's facade. Lodi's opening marked the debut of one of the most luxurious new bakeries in the city, offering memorable kale and egg tart, a porchetta sandwich, a maritozzo con la panna, and a flauto al cioccolato (chocolate croissant). An alum of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Louis Volle, oversaw the bakery and viennoiserie. The restaurant opened with Maxime Pradié running the kitchen — since then, he became the chef and owner of a little French spot, Zimmi's, in the West Village. Lodi debuted with breakfast in the morning, followed by items like salumi, antipasti, and pastas from the all-day menu. In the fall of 2023, the restaurant did away with its bakery anchor in order to add another 24 or so seats to the dining room. The move expanded the restaurant's capacity to nearly 130 seats, including outdoor tables. Earlier that same year, the restaurant's employees attempted to unionize with the Restaurant Workers Union Local 1. After voting down unionization, workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Mattos with the National Labor Relations Board, which triggered a prolonged legal battle. In the spring, the case was heard by an Administrative Law Judge, who dismissed nearly all of the union's claims, with the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) deeming that a rerun election was not justified, as it was 'virtually impossible to conclude that the misconduct could have affected the election results.' Just after those Lodi unionizing efforts, Mattos parted ways with his Dimes Square restaurant, the Corner Bar in the Nine Orchard Hotel. Andrew Rifkin, a managing partner at DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, opened Nine Orchard in 2022; it's in the process of being sold to a Texas hospitality group, McGuire Moorman Lambert (MML), that has recently hired chef April Bloomfield of Sailor in Fort Greene, to oversee all of the restaurants within their group. Eater has reached out to a representative at Tishman Speyer to find out if there are any future plans for the Lodi space. Eater NY All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
