The summer rain usually comes straight at me like a personal vendetta.

Hair soaked.

Mascara? Long gone.

Not that I bother with it anymore.

Since moving to Amsterdam from Stockholm, I’ve mostly surrendered to the elements, especially on a bike. There is a sense of freedom to this scene, I must admit.

This city has taught me that getting rained on is part of the deal.

So is dodging tourists, balancing groceries on my bike, and cycling one-handed while calming a child with a rice cracker.

But it’s also taught me something bigger: the street is not just a road.

It’s a stage for everyday life.

And if you ask me, that stage in our daily life is in desperate need of a redesign, especially in cities where cars still own the spotlight and people are barely cast as extras.

A while back, I wrote about how we can build community from the ground up through thoughtful urban planning.

How cities can be designed for more than just efficiency.

For belonging.

Today, I want to zoom in even closer. Literally down to the street level.

Because here’s the thing: if we can’t get our streets right, we can’t get our cities right.

Let’s talk about it.

Streets Should Connect, Not Divide

Somewhere along the way, we started treating streets like pipelines for cars rather than platforms for life.

We carved through medieval neighbourhoods with highways (see this example from Stockholm now being put to the test), widened roads in the name of flow, and squeezed pavements so tightly that walking became a negotiation.

And when we did that, we made a quiet decision: to prioritise speed over social connection.

But what if we did the opposite?

What if streets weren’t just ways to get somewhere, but places to be?

The Human City Is Already Happening

Let’s look at what happens when we flip the script.

In Paris, under mayor Anne Hidalgo, they didn’t just tweak a few traffic lights and add some potted plants.

They went big:

-       300+car-free school streets created since 2020

-       170,000trees planted across the city

-       40% of asphalt in public space now being reclaimed for nature and people

-       A target to convert 50% of every street into pedestrian- and bike-friendly space by2030

One of my favourite examples is Rue du Docteur Paquelin, once a narrow, car-choked street.

Now?

A pedestrian oasis. Lush greenery, community benches, parents strolling with toddlers, people lingering, not just passing through.

Paris is closing in on the “15-Minute City” concept, the idea that everything you need should be within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Schools, shops, doctors, parks.

Real-life proximity = real-life connection.

The results?

-       A 40%reduction in car traffic in some districts

-       Nearly 70%of Parisians now live within 200m of a green space

-       Air pollution has dropped by 30% in central areas over five years

This isn’t just romantic urbanism. It’s measurable public health and well-being.

Let’s Talk Superblocks (and Why They Work)

Barcelona didn’t wait around for car culture to change its mind.

They created superblocks, a cluster of nine city blocks where through-traffic is restricted and public space is handed back to the people.

The impact?

-       Reduced traffic noise by 5 decibels

-       33% more public space reclaimed for play, greenery, and social activity

-       A projected13% drop in premature deaths if implemented citywide (source: BarcelonaInstitute for Global Health)

Yes, that’s lives saved by better street design.

Meanwhile, in Amsterdam…

Here in Amsterdam, we don’t just bike, we live by bike.

I carry my child to school in a Bakfiets.

We cycle to markets, parks, the dentist.

I’ve had some of my best conversations while pedalling alongside friends.

-       Over 60%of trips in the city centre are by bicycle

-       Car ownership is dropping – only 1 in 4 households in central Amsterdam even has one

-      Traffic fatalities are among the lowest in Europe

And the vibe? Human. Relaxed. Alive.

It’s not perfect (no city is), but it’s a working proof of concept that cities don’t have to revolve around the car.

So Why Are So Many Cities Still Stuck?

That’s the question, isn’t it?

Why are we still building four-lane roads in residential areas?

Why are we designing crossings that prioritise traffic flow over child safety?

Why are we treating parking spots like sacred relics?

The answer is often fear of change. But let’s be honest, the status quo isn’t working.

I recently read an article that reminded me of something we don’t talk about enough: building more roads doesn’t actually solve traffic.

In fact, it usually makes it worse.

But why is that?

It’s called induced demand.

The more space you create for cars, the more cars will show up to fill it.

Yes, there are statistics and science to back this up.

Crazy behaviour, but true.

Just recently, I read a study that drove this point home: adding more lanes rarely fixes congestion. Instead, it fuels it.

In the U.S., the largest cities expanded road capacity by over 49,000 kilometres between 1993 and 2017, a 42% increase, while congestion delays rose by 144% during the same time.

Let that sink in.

Nearly 50,000 kilometres of new lanes, and traffic still got worse.

This isn’t an outlier.

A major meta-analysis found that a 10% increase in road length typically leads to a 10% increase in vehicle traffic within just a few years. And a standout study from the University of California confirmed that for every 1%increase in road space, there’s a 0.9% rise in traffic volume.

The takeaway?

We widen roads hoping to reduce congestion, and all we get is more cars,more emissions, and less space for people.

Imagine what we could do with that space.

Let’s Wrap This Up

Streets shape how we live, how we move, and how we connect.

They’re not just infrastructure, they’re social infrastructure.

We’ve seen the data.

We’ve seen the examples.

We know that when we design streets for people, life shows up.

So let’s stop tiptoeing around the problem.

Cars are guests.

People are the reason cities exist.

It’s time to build streets that don’t just take us somewhere, but bring us together.

Lots of love,

Stina

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