Whenever I view the satellite images of cities, specifically when I come across car storages and car impound centers, I’m always puzzled whether cars count more than people. This is because we designed our roads for vehicles not for people.

In the modern cities like Dubai, our streets and roadways when added together make up the largest portion of public open space. These corridors are the threads that stitch the fabric of our communities together. These beautiful roadways should encourage social interactions, healthy lifestyles and quality of life. This is called placemaking and transportation professionals are best placemakers.

From a placemaker’s perspective, streets are public spaces with endless possibilities:
1. Transit stops become plazas for activity.
2. Parking lots become farmers markets.
3. Street frontages become public art and people-focused amenities.

Should every street or roadway be devoted to pedestrians and parks? Surely not. A shift in the balance from cars to people, from
road building to placemaking, would be a healthy change for all of us.