First-Ever Sunday Streets Event Transforms Downtown Berkeley
Some 40,000 people flooded downtown Berkeley on a brilliantly sunny day in October, as the city became the latest in the San Francisco Bay Area to host a "Sunday Streets" event. Organizers closed 17 blocks of Berkeley's Shattuck Avenue to cars––and opened them to pretty much everything else. Cyclists pedaled, hula hoops turned, children frolicked, climbers scaled a mobile rock wall, and musicians inspired scores to break out in dance. Families took leisurely strolls through streets transformed, while restaurants in North Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto" turned a brisk business. Residents surveyed a demonstration "parklet" that could soon see Berkeley parking spaces transformed into temporary green spaces, and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition showcased plans for a major upgrade to the city's bicycle network at Hearst Avenue.
November 9, 2012
Thousands Play in Oakland’s Streets at the First-Ever ‘Oaklavia’
(editor's note - If people enjoy the Streetfilms' on the Ciclovia's happening across the country and the world, you can find a gallery with all of them here.- DN)
July 7, 2010
Streetfilms: Making a Better Market Steet in San Francisco
For decades, planners and transportation specialists have debated how
San Francisco's most important street could be re-visioned to make it
work better for transit, pedestrians, cyclists, shoppers, and those
living on or near it. Now, as the Better Market Street Project moves
forward with trial traffic diversions, the Art in Storefronts project, music and programming in public spaces, greening along sidewalks, and pedestrian safety improvements,
San Francisco's political class is intent on revitalizing the street
for the long haul. Though the concrete vision for what Market Street
will eventually look like is some ways off, there is more effort now
than in many years to improve the public realm and ensure the street
lives up to its great potential.
December 18, 2009
Streetfilms: Scraper Bikes, Bike 4 Life and Bike Culture in the Bay
Born in the streets of Oakland, scraper bikes first gained attention as a trend in bicycle customization that spread with viral speed, thanks to YouTube. Since the Scraper Bike video
debuted two years ago, they've become much more: a practical means of
greening urban space, a social movement, and a rallying point for young
people organizing against violence in their communities.
August 3, 2009