Global warming critical. Gas prices stratospheric. Sprawl at untenable levels. Our environmental crisis looms large, and our streets are fully complicit.

We have an idea of what the problems are. Already we see a nationwide surge in bicycle commuting, as well as huge interest in hybrid cars and other advancements in clean(er) fuel vehicles. But big questions demand big answers. Given the opportunity to rethink pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we cannot help but think further: how to create our ideal green street, celebrating walking and bicycling while having cars and buses with no environmental footprint. How to get there from here?

Our 21st Century Street entry for 4th Ave / 9th St in Brooklyn emphasizes the safety and health of pedestrians and bicyclists while envisioning a bigger picture – an agenda to reduce and ultimately remove combustion-fuel automobiles from our streets. Welcome to the Clean Zone.

3 STREETS
1. TYPICAL 20TH CENTURY STREET – Gas guzzling, exhaust-spewing cars, buses, and tracks run rampant.
2. 21ST CENTURY STREET (THE “CLEAN ZONE”) – Pedestrians and bicyclists are prioritized, clean electric vehicles have their own lane (a new take on the HOV-lane). Dirty lanes are filtered by a planted green screen.
3. GREEN STREET – The clean zone gets bigger, lane by lane, and ultimately we envision a green street, prioritizing pedestrians and bikes, and removing combustion-fueled vehicles altogether.

GREEN SCREENS / CLEAN ZONES
Planted green screens function as both visual and particulate filter between the Clean Zone, where pedestrians, bicyclists, and electric vehicles operate, and the dirty lanes with standard combustion-fuel cars and trucks. This new standard starts on 4th Ave in Brooklyn and connects to existing bicycle paths.

PHOTOCATALYTIC CONCRETE
Self-cleaning photocatalytic concrete on both sidewalks and clean lanes further reduce particulate and pollution.

BIO-SWALES / PNEUMATIC GARBAGE SYSTEM
Bio-swales on both sides of the street filter runoff from street and sidewalk before releasing the water into filtered water pipes, reducing loads on municipal storm water systems and eliminating toxic runoff.

SHARED BICYCLE SERVICE
A shared bicycle service accentuates 4th Ave / 9th St as a true multimodal transportation hub. New signage and information booths illuminate paths: sidewalk – bicycles – bus – subway.

SOLAR SUNSHADES
Photovoltaic panel shade structures generate electricity and protect pedestrians from both rain and sun.

VIDEO ART
A public art video installation animates the façade of the old F train subway bridge, offering real-time glimpses of activity on the platform.

A STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE
A plan for the future imagines a gradual increase of clean lanes as more and more electric cars and other clean energy vehicles take to the road. Ultimately, there will only be a clean zone.