Projects
Streets for People
With the City of Somerville we developed a network of low-stress “Neighborways”, alternative safer routes for people who walk and bike. These sidestreets run parallel to the city’s busy arterial streets to connect key locations for everyday living.
Acton Rail Trail consulting
Neighborways consulted with the Town of Acton on designing ways to connect Rail Trail bike riders with local businesses nearby. Their initiative will include wayfinding signage, and we proposed bike rest stops near useful services.
SomerNOVA Alley tactical urbanism
Using popup events and tactical urbanism pilots, we have been helping the owners test improvements and traffic flow in this mixed-use alley.
Lowell tactical intersection calming
A MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant enabled us to help the city design and install safety improvements to a busy central intersection, improving safety and slowing speeds. We also did installation support, community outreach and data collection.
Newton traffic calming
Traffic calming and bicycle facilities design for Parker Street was supported by a Solomon Foundation Streets for Recovery grant. The design reduced speed and conflicts at intersections, improving safety for everyone.
Albemarle Road, Newton
Our Complete Streets working group with the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Foundation created a seasonal, low-cost plan for a traffic-calmed, bike-friendly corridor between Newton and Watertown.
Everett on-call consulting
Our work with City of Everett has included identifying streets for a network of traffic-calmed safer streets, and placemaking and community participatory arts for an important pedestrian walkway. We also supported the City in a fast-paced pandemic response program funded by the MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant program, to Reimagine Broadway through a set of quick-build interventions.
Creative Placemaking
One of the country's largest asphalt art projects helped transform this one-way alley into an art-filled pedestrian corridor. Artistic thermoplastic crosswalks, wall murals, and asphalt art tie it all together. We hired over 25 local artists and did community building for this unique project.
Working with the local makerspace community to re-imagine this busy alley as a shared street and art oasis, with greenery, seating and gathering spaces. Our DIY self-watering planters with street trees and native plants are keeping up well after their first winter.
City of Lowell adapted an unused alley using permeable paving, platings and art, to create a pleasant pedestrian way that doubles as a rain garden, protecting local basements and waterways. Liz LaManche as creative director provided artistic theme, murals, wayfinding and educational signage, and hydrophobic rain art.
Working with City of Everett, we helped brighten up an alley near Everett High school with magnolia trees and a mural designed by local teachers, painted by students, local artists and neighbors.
Neighborways worked with the City of Cambridge to plan, design and implement two unique public patios in the heart of Inman Square as part of the City’s Public Space Lab initiative.
Brighton Center Popup Plaza
Incorporating creative, colorful street art and signage, planters and bistro seating, and community programming we transformed a vehicular turning lane into a neighborhood destination, serving residents, visitors, local businesses and performers.
Community Engagement
We assisted an active neighborhood group from community outreach and canvassing, to asphalt art design process meetings and selecting an artist, to organizing a community Paint Day block party with live band. The group lives on and has repainted the art biannually.
Bilingual neighborhood outreach in this primarily Hispanic area included identifying community needs, soliciting design themes and ideas, hiring local artists and finding volunteers, organizing paint day parties, and coordinating with vendors and city departments.
Revere Lemonade Social
Multilingual outreach event in a local park provided lemonade and a chance meet neighbors, discuss safety for people walking and biking, and discuss art themes for street projects. Artistic design was done with input from neighborhood groups, and culminated in a Paint Day block party.
Revere Beachmont neighborhood pilot
Neighborways and the Revere Healthy Communities Initiatives (HCI) conducted outreach engaging neighbors in pilot street projects for a low stress Neighborways network.
Revere Garfield design + paint
Working with active neighborhood groups around a busy school zone, we did canvassing and outreach to design and paint striking and fun asphalt art and revitalize crosswalks.
Lincoln Street design + paint
We worked with neighborhood groups and city officials to create an intersection and school street beautified with public art designed by a resident artist. The public Paint Day was a joyous community-building event.
Public Art
Lincoln Street, Worcester
On a shopping street and area where children walk to school, local artist Kristian Rodriguez designed colorful murals that brought the community together in a paint day and beyond.
“Ride a Skateboard to Work”, Chelsea
This whimsical chicken was chosen by residents for a 30’ wall at the gateway of the Division Street Neighborway, with sight lines to Bellingham Square and City Hall.
“Human Together”, Kendall Plaza
Liz LaManche’s temporary installation in Kendall Plaza near MIT symbolized human connection as a giant colorful network diagram. Funded by Oxfam America.
Artist Liz LaManche responded to the need for children to have a better school bus stop with sidewalk art that invites play. Winner of the New Urban Machanics’ “Play Around the City” grant.
A Public Space Invitational grant helped us work with residents and artists on Franklin Street, arriving at a kite design inspired by Ben Franklin, which the residents painted.
Zumix block party mural
Designed by Liz LaManche as a participatory paint day activity for Zumix’ annual Block Party, this 30’ mural is about joy, youth and music.
Research + Innovation
Arlington Shared Streets pilot
This 2020 Shared Streets pilot was initiated to slow speeds and provide additional space for physical distance. The pilot served as a proof of concept for shared streets, testing materials and public support.
For the city’s main business & transit corridor, the Reimagine Broadway initiative encouraged access to local shops and restaurants, improved mobility for essential workers and promoted physical distancing for the comfort of Everett residents of all ages.
Shared Streets Network, Somerville
Building upon the City’s existing Neighborways network, the Somerville Mobility Division chose 61 streets, totaling 13.2 linear miles, for the initiative. Adding the network to Google Maps prevented much of the thru traffic.
Parker St SRTS Bike Lanes, Newton, MA
New bike lanes on a busy street facilitate getting to and from school safely.
Selected low-volume residential side-streets were opened for pedestrians and cyclists. For traffic calming, temporary speed humps, planters and painted curb extensions served the needs of a quick-build approach.
Acton bike trail consulting
As Subject Matter Experts for the Rapid Recovery Plan, we helped find ways to connect the Rail Trail with local business, using wayfinding and improved facilities.
Branding + Graphic Design
East Somerville Gateway
This whimsical gateway encourages pedestrian access between Assembly Row and East Somerville, in conjunction with a Somerville Arts Council underpass beautification project.
Wayfinding and educational signage, as well as overall art direction, brought together the efforts of many stakeholders to make Decatur Way an attractive pedestrian corridor and rain garden.
Shared Streets renderings + signage
Photorealistic renderings for proposals and flyers, and bespoke signage design helped our pandemic-response shared streets projects succeed.
Acton bike trail consulting
As Subject Matter Experts for the Rapid Recovery Plan, we helped find ways to connect the Rail Trail with local business, using wayfinding and improved facilities.
Properzi Alley renderings
Draft concept renderings were an important part of early steps for stakeholders considering adapting a backstreet for mixed use.
SomerNOVA renderings
Since early design phases, our concepts and renderings have helped guide thinking about this mixed-use alley.