Global Designing Cities Initiative

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Global Designing Cities Initiative

GDCI's mission is to inspire a shift towards safe, sustainable, and healthy cities by transforming streets around the world.
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The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) is a team of designers, planners, and urban strategists committed to working in support of city practitioners to get street transformation projects on the ground. Our work is informed by the strategies and international best practices captured in the Global Street Design Guide.

10/15/2026

↗️ Scaling up impact in Cuenca's school streets

Every city has its own journey to building safer, healthier, more accessible, and joyful Streets for Kids!

Since 2022, Cuenca’s 🇪🇨 Safe School Surroundings initiative has transformed 12 school environments—directly benefiting over 9,000 students! 🤩

As demand for more transformations grew, evaluating impact across diverse environments posed a key challenge. To scale up effectively, GDCI and Huasipichanga supported the city team in aligning partners, refining data collection and community engagement through a pilot, and launching Cuenca's first step-by-step guide for future transformations around schools.

“Other cities can learn two key lessons from our experience: strengthen collaboration across organizations, academia, and local government, and ensure community participation in every phase of the project.” — Irene Cárdenas, Strategic Mobility Specialist, Cuenca’s Directorate General for Mobility Management

🎉 Congratulations, Cuenca! Download the Safe School Surroundings Methodological Guide (in Spanish) to learn more and get inspired by their journey: https://bit.ly/4yPsPDo

🔜 Next up: The journey of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇧🇷, to transition the first of its program’s interventions into capital construction.

Photo credits: Huasipichanga / Dirección de Gestión de Movilidad

Municipio Cuenca

08/13/2026

What if we told you your child’s school is on an amazing street… for cars? 🚗💨

That’s probably not how you’d consider the value of your school street.

So why are most cities still evaluating streets only by measuring how they work for drivers?

To build safer, healthier, and more accessible streets for children, we need to measure what matters for people:

🚶‍♀️ Do kids and caregivers have safe and accessible sidewalks and crossings?
🚴‍♂️ Can they arrive easily and safely by bicycle?
🌳 Does the street offer families and students healthy, convenient, and welcoming spaces?

📘 Let’s change the way streets are evaluated

Learn more about how we evaluate Streets for Kids by downloading the 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 at the link in our bio!

Photo credits: Santiago, Chile; El Plan Producciones // Accra, Ghana; Capture Ghana

06/10/2026

No início deste ano, a GDCI se uniu à Urban95 Brasil para fortalecer 10 equipes municipais comprometidas com a construção de entornos escolares mais seguros e acolhedores: Cabo de Santo Agostinho (PE), Caruaru (PE), Estância Velha (RS), Guarujá (SP), Itaquaquecetuba (SP), Jundiaí (SP), Osório (RS), Sobral (CE), Teresina (PI) e Várzea Paulista (SP). ✨

A trilha Entornos Escolares Seguros e Acolhedores da Urban95 parte das ruas do entorno das escolas de Educação Infantil como um ponto estratégico de transformação urbana. Ao repensar esses espaços, as cidades podem enfrentar múltiplos desafios: proteger as crianças de sinistros de trânsito e, ao mesmo tempo, criar espaços mais acessíveis, ativos, resilientes, arborizados e confortáveis para toda a comunidade 🌳🌡️

O programa apoia as equipes locais com ferramentas e estratégias para desenhar transformações que coloquem as necessidades de crianças e seus cuidadores no centro das decisões.

Estamos animadas para ver esses entornos escolares ganhando vida!

Crédito das fotos:
Primeiro card: GDCI | Manuela Cavadas
Último card: GDCI/Manuela Cavadas, GDCI/ Lumos Estudio

| | | | .guaruja | | | | | | |

06/03/2026

📍 Is your city ready to ride?

On World Bicycle Day, we’re excited to announce that the Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure is officially open for applications from cities ready to deliver safe, comfortable, and connected cycling infrastructure for people of all ages and abilities!

We invite cities around the globe who are ready to turn their ambitious cycling plans from a vision to reality 🚲

Tap the link in our bio to view eligibility guidelines & tag your city to apply for safer streets for everyone 💫

01/21/2026

A new calendar year is a chance to reset our goals: How we move, connect, and care for our communities.

Streets designed for people help turn those resolutions into everyday reality, supporting wellbeing, safety, and opportunity for all.
Take a look at how better streets can help guide your goals in the year ahead.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year from GDCI : Change Streets, Change the World

11/25/2025

🎉Thank you for being part of our Streets for Kids Webinar Series!

🚸Over the course of five sessions, we explored ways to make cities safer, healthier, and more enjoyable for children and their caregivers, encompassing topics on design, evaluation, engagement, climate and cycling.

🌎We also want to highlight your role in this journey: more than 2,000 participants from over 110 countries participated in this series. We thank you for being part of this global movement centering kids’ experiences in how we shape our cities, encourage you to spread the word, and continue asking yourself what’s possible in your city!

🧑‍💻If you attended any of the sessions of the Streets for Kids Webinar Series, please take a moment to complete a short survey.
Link in Bio.

11/12/2025

🚲 💛 Streets for Kids webinar series - Promoting cycling for all ages

Cycling plays a huge role in helping kids move independently, explore safely, and feel connected to their communities.

In this session we’ll cover:
🌟 How to make cycling inviting for all ages + abilities
🛣️ Practice tools for inclusive bike infrastructure
🌍 Inspiring examples from cities helping kids experience the freedom and joy of cycling

Tap the link in our bio to register!

10/30/2025

🚸 In Kuala Lumpur, the SK Danau Kota II School Zone project shows how thoughtful design can make streets safer for children and families.

By rightsizing lanes, expanding sidewalks, and creating designated drop-off areas, the city transformed the space outside the school into a calmer, more walkable environment.

✨ Traffic calming measures, vibrant markings, and reclaimed pedestrian areas improved visibility and safety.
📉 Vehicle speeds dropped by 41%.
💬 88% of people surveyed said the street outside the school now feels safer.

Designing for safety is critical, especially in spaces for children!

Download our Designing for Safe Speeds guide for more: https://bit.ly/43KI8zL

10/29/2025

🎉 We have one session left on our Street for Kids Webinar Series, and it has been an incredible journey! So far, +1,900 participants from over +100 countries have attended the live sessions. If you want to learn more about how we can design cycling infrastructure that works for everyone, including children and their families, register below:

🚲 Up next: Session 5: Promoting Cycling for All Ages
📅 Wednesday, November 19
🕚9:00 a.m. NY / 5:00 p.m. Addis Ababa / 7:30 p.m. New Delhi
🌐 Available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese

🔗 Watch the recordings + sign up for the next session: link in bio

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http://globaldesigningcities.org/

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