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People-first city planning gives walking, cycling, public transit, accessibility and public life priority in street design, while preserving necessary vehicle access. In a 2021 essay, architecture firm NBBJ proposed five ways cities can move toward that balance: learn from other places, make driving less convenient and streets safer, design rights-of-way for multiple users, convert some roadway to public space, and broaden the group responsible for creating and maintaining these places. The ideas are not a measured evaluation or a universal blueprint; they are proposals that need to be adapted to local streets, needs and constraints.
NBBJ’s essay, published by Building Design + Construction in January 2021, frames the central choice as one of priorities: should a street primarily move cars, or should it first support the people who live, work, travel and spend time there? A people-first approach does not mean that every car trip can disappear. It means making other ways of getting around safer and more convenient, and shaping vehicle movement so it fits within a street designed for a broader set of needs.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThat distinction matters. A city can support drivers and still decide that a street should provide more than vehicle throughput. The design challenge is to distribute limited public space among people walking, cycling, taking transit, using micromobility, driving, and spending time in public places. NBBJ’s examples range from street geometry to district-scale projects, so the useful question is not “Which example should every city copy?” but “Which choices fit this place, and who will make them work over time?”
What does it mean to plan a city for people before cars?
It means treating streets and public rights-of-way as shared civic space, not simply as routes for motor vehicles. Safety, accessibility and the ability to reach daily destinations without driving become core design considerations alongside vehicle access.
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In practice, this shifts attention from a single measure of success—how quickly cars move—to a set of human and community needs. Can people walk safely? Is cycling protected? Can transit operate in a street designed to accommodate it? Can people with disabilities use the public realm? Is there room for trees, daylight, ventilation and social activity? NBBJ argues that rights-of-way can make space for these uses as well as vehicle movement.
This is a change in priorities, not a claim that cars have no role. NBBJ explicitly acknowledges that a complete shift away from cars is unrealistic. The practical aim is to make alternatives easier to choose and to encourage slower, safer driving where people share the street. That framing avoids a false choice between unrestricted driving and eliminating all vehicle access.
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How can cities make walking, biking and transit more convenient?
They can combine interventions at several scales: adjust street geometry and routing, allocate space for different modes, manage curbs and vehicle access, and connect individual blocks into corridors and neighborhoods. No single change does all of that, and each intervention should be judged against the needs of the place where it will be used.
1. Learn from other places without copying them wholesale
NBBJ points to Paris’s 15-minute-city approach and Barcelona’s superblocks as examples to consider, along with Tencent’s proposed Net City project in Shenzhen. The value of such examples is to broaden the set of ideas a city considers—not to treat another city’s concept as a ready-made design standard.
Before adapting an example, decision-makers need to ask what problem it addresses and at what scale. A neighborhood approach, a set of blocks and a proposed district framework are not interchangeable. Local street layouts, accessibility needs, regulatory constraints, modes of travel and implementation partners all affect whether an idea can be adapted. NBBJ described Net City at the time as a pedestrian-centered framework with connected nodes and multiple modes, and said it was working with Tencent on the project. That is a description in the 2021 essay, not an update on its current status.
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2. Make streets safer by changing how driving works
NBBJ recommends using street geometry, routing and slower vehicle movement to make streets safer while making driving less convenient. The point is not simply to add a sign or announce a preference for walking. The layout and movement of traffic should reflect the presence of people using the street in other ways.
That creates a real tradeoff: space or routing choices that support safer movement for one group can affect how vehicles travel. A city therefore needs to define the intended balance clearly. Which routes need to remain accessible to drivers? Where should vehicles move more slowly? What alternatives should be available to people who would otherwise drive? These questions help distinguish a considered safety and access strategy from an isolated restriction.
3. Design the right-of-way for more than cars
A right-of-way can accommodate pedestrian space, protected cycling, bus lanes, micromobility, green buffers and vehicle access. NBBJ also argues that wider rights-of-way can support daylight, ventilation, trees, temporary uses and social activity. The basic design problem is to decide how limited street space can serve the users and public purposes that matter in a particular location.
These uses should be considered together rather than as an afterthought added once vehicle space has been allocated. A protected cycle route, for example, is a different design provision from simply expecting people to share space with moving vehicles. A bus lane and pedestrian space serve distinct purposes. Green buffers can contribute to the public realm, but they also occupy space that must be coordinated with access and movement. The appropriate mix depends on local priorities and constraints; the essay does not supply one standard set of dimensions or a single layout for every street.
4. Turn some roadway into public and pedestrian space
NBBJ points to car-free corridors and examples at different scales: Seattle’s Denny Substation at a site scale and Dallas’s Arts District at a district scale. The broader lesson is that roadway can sometimes be rethought as space for pedestrians and public uses, whether the intervention is concentrated at one site or extends across a larger area.
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Scale changes the questions a project has to answer. A site-level conversion has a different footprint and set of partners from a district-wide approach. A corridor affects movement across multiple streets; a district approach raises questions of connections and stewardship across a broader area. NBBJ also cites Oslo’s removal of more than 700 parking spots downtown, but the essay’s figure is not independently validated in the text available here and should be treated as a claim attributed to NBBJ rather than a verified outcome.
5. Share responsibility for delivery and upkeep
People-first streets require more than a design concept. NBBJ argues that public agencies, private firms, local government and the wider design community should collaborate on funding, creating and maintaining walkable places. The need for ongoing maintenance is important: the public space a project creates still has to be cared for after construction.
Collaboration should clarify who makes decisions, who contributes resources, who is responsible for implementation and who maintains the result. Without that shared understanding, a promising concept can remain disconnected from delivery or long-term stewardship. The essay does not prescribe a particular funding model, so cities and partners must work within their own public processes and local constraints.
How should a city choose among people-first street designs?
Compare proposals against the same practical questions, rather than judging them by how closely they resemble a famous example. NBBJ’s discussion covers enough dimensions to build a useful planning framework, though it is not a tested scoring system.
- Scale: Is the proposal for a single site, a block, a corridor, a neighborhood or a district? Make sure the design and the intended outcome match the scale.
- Safety: How does the proposal address vehicle movement and the safety of people walking, cycling or using other modes?
- Accessibility: Does it account for ADA accessibility and the needs of people who rely on different forms of travel? NBBJ specifically identifies accessibility as part of the shift to people-first streets.
- Modes served: Which users have designated space or improved access—pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, micromobility users and drivers?
- Public space and greenery: Does the design allow for trees, green buffers, temporary uses or social activity, as well as movement?
- Constraints: What local regulations or physical limitations shape what can be built? A concept from another context may not transfer directly.
- Partners and stewardship: Which public and private actors need to work together, and who will maintain the space after it is created?
Using the same questions across alternatives makes tradeoffs visible. For example, a city comparing a corridor proposal with a site-level public-space project can identify differences in scale, the modes each is intended to serve, and the responsibilities each requires. It should not assume that a project with a larger footprint is automatically better, or that a celebrated example will meet local needs.
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What benefits does this approach aim for—and what does the evidence establish?
NBBJ presents cleaner air, less noise, active transportation and more equitable transportation access as goals of reprioritizing public space. Those are the intended benefits in the essay, not quantified results demonstrated for each named example.
The distinction is especially important when comparing proposals. The 2021 essay makes broad contextual claims, including that the U.S. urban population share rose from 46% at the introduction of Henry Ford’s automobile to upwards of 80%, and that global fossil-fuel carbon emissions increased tenfold. It does not provide the underlying sources or methodology in the text available here. Those figures should be attributed to NBBJ, not presented as independently verified statistics. Likewise, the essay’s cited examples do not establish measured changes in air quality, noise, safety or access.
For a city making a decision, the essay is best used as a framework for asking what public space should do and what a proposal needs to address. It can help structure a discussion of modes, safety, access, greenery and long-term responsibility. It should not be mistaken for a project evaluation or for proof that a particular intervention will deliver a particular result.
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A people-first objective has to be translated into decisions about the physical right-of-way and the coordination needed to deliver it. The first step is to understand the scale and purpose of the intervention: a street-level change, a pedestrian corridor, a site conversion or a district framework can require different design choices and different partners.
Next, make the intended users and uses explicit. If a proposal is meant to support walking, cycling, buses, micromobility and vehicle access, each should be considered as part of the overall arrangement rather than left implicit. Accessibility belongs in that same conversation from the outset. So do the public-space functions NBBJ highlights, including trees, temporary uses and social activity.
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Finally, include maintenance and implementation responsibility in the project discussion, not just the initial design. NBBJ’s call for public-private collaboration recognizes that creating a walkable place and keeping it usable are connected tasks. Since street and curb space is limited, proposals also need to be transparent about the tradeoffs they make. That is more useful than presenting people-first planning as a no-cost change that can serve every purpose at once.
For readers seeking a more detailed practical guide, Princeton University Press describes Jeff Speck’s Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places as a resource for cities, citizens, planners and leaders, with steps involving zoning, transit investment and road repurposing.
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Does people-first planning mean banning cars from city streets?
No. NBBJ says that a complete shift away from cars is unrealistic. The approach is to make alternatives easier to choose and design vehicle movement around safer, more inclusive public streets.
Are Paris, Barcelona and Shenzhen proven models for every city?
The 2021 essay cites them as examples to consider, not as a universal formula. Their different contexts and scales mean local accessibility needs, regulations, street conditions and implementation partners matter when adapting any idea.
Did the examples in the essay prove that people-first streets reduce pollution or noise?
The essay presents cleaner air and less noise as goals, but the available account does not quantify those outcomes for its examples. Its claims and figures should not be treated as independent project evaluations.
Why does maintenance matter in people-first street projects?
Because the public space created by a project needs continuing care after construction. NBBJ’s recommendation to involve public agencies, private firms, local government and the design community includes maintaining walkable places, not only creating them.
