The goal of the book is to give cities and residents new tools to tame traffic, particularly around schools and in neighborhoods. However, taming traffic is really a means to an end: creation of vibrant neighborhoods, enrichment of the social and cultural life of the city and creation of a robust local economy. Chapter 1 explores how we lost our streets to traffic in the first place. This gives us important clues as to how we may win them back. Chapter 2 addresses the issue as to whether increasing intrigue and uncertainty as a way of slowing traffic compromises safety. It presents a new model for understanding safety that explains under what conditions uncertainty improves safety and when it compromises safety. Chapter 3 looks at how increasing human activity reduces traffic speeds. Chapter 4 explores six design principles for changing the psychological feel of streets in a way that seduces drivers into slowing down. Chapter 5 gives examples of social programs that tie these approaches together. Chapter 6 looks at liability and argues that the ‘intrigue and uncertainty’ approach to slowing traffic should reduce a city’s current exposure to liability. (a)
Abstract