Skip to main content

Right urban design can cut traffic accidents – report

Building and retrofitting urban environments and reducing vehicle speeds are the key to creating safer streets and cutting traffic fatalities, a new report says. Cities Safer by Design, by the World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, offers practical guidance for urban planners and policymakers, and includes more than 30 specific urban design recommendations.
August 28, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

Building and retrofitting urban environments and reducing vehicle speeds are the key to creating safer streets and cutting traffic fatalities, a new report says.

Cities Safer by Design, by the 4722 World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, offers practical guidance for urban planners and policymakers, and includes more than 30 specific urban design recommendations.

The report focuses on improving infrastructure for pedestrians, cycling and mass transport, and outlines two ways to improve traffic safety in cities.
First, by building and retrofitting urban environments to reduce the need for individual vehicle trips; and second, by reducing vehicle speeds in areas where cars, pedestrians and cyclists mix.

'It’s often children, the elderly and the poor who are most at risk for traffic accidents,’ said Ben Welle, senior associate at WRI and one of the report’s co-authors.

‘As cities around the world rapidly expand, there’s an urgent need to design communities that are compact and connected, with calm traffic and streets that promote walking, cycling and access to transit,’ he added.

The report includes examples from specific cities and provides examples from Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, New York, Paris and more.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The stage is set for an unforgettable experience
    April 16, 2024
    Welcome to Intertraffic Amsterdam 2024 - a showcase of innovation, collaboration, and inspiration. From groundbreaking technologies to visionary ideas, this event sets the stage for a future where mobility is not just smart, safe, and sustainable — but transformative. It’s showtime, and the stage is set for an unforgettable experience.
  • Saving the world, one parking space at a time
    December 7, 2020
    Donald Shoup, professor of urban planning at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), tells Adam Hill about why parking is too cheap – and how Monopoly could seriously raise its game
  • The benefits of Lidar
    March 21, 2022

    While Lidar is gaining ground in the ITS industry, it has not yet reached the level of mass adoption where it shows up frequently in requests for proposals (RFPs) from cities and DoTs.

  • South Africa's traffic management and enforcement gears up
    February 1, 2012
    Paul Vorster, CEO of ITS South Africa, takes a look at the national enforcement situation in the year when the country gears up to host the FIFA Soccer World Cup. There are four main drivers pushing the growth of ITS-related law enforcement within South Africa. These are: transport operations associated with hosting the FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010; traffic management linked to increasing congestion; the development of new public transport systems such as BRT; and vehicle and driver-related crime.