How a city eliminated pedestrian deaths

Clogged with traffic, crippled by poor infrastructure – the capital is notoriously hard to navigate on foot. Enter Peatónito, the activist fighting for safer streets.

Cities tend to be dangerous and difficult places to live for older residents. A private public partnership in New York is catering to seniors through small changes in the city such as para-transit options and seniors-only hours at public establishments.

Sweden's "Vision Zero" program has used a comprehensive approach to infrastructure and regulation to drastically reduce traffic-related deaths, making Swedish roads the safest in the world.

Conventional merchants are afraid to lose parking spaces to bike parking or bike lanes. New York and Portland are finding cyclists increase local economies, and spend more money too.

Paris is a city plagued by traffic jams and air pollution. In 2007, the local government created a public bicycle sharing program called Velib that has drastically reduced the number of cars on the roadways and parking lots. During five years, over a hundred million people have used the program and it has a quarter of a million subscribers.

In Pennsylvania, many cities face challenges in implementing Complete Street policies to improve street and transportation safety in urban cores. The cities and organizations that have done this successfully offer ideas to others about how they can use creative financing and piloting to overcome barriers and enforce the policy.

In the Netherlands, city councils are piloting remarkable new technology to make roads safer and friendlier for cyclists and pedestrians through the use of apps that improve the efficiency and sensitivity of traffic lights to the elderly, disabled, and young children. Improved traffic flow is a key part of the way forward into a greener, safer urban future.

There is a misconception that making cities safer for women requires more security cameras. Now, the method of improving public transport systems and lighting up public streets is being implemented and its allowing women to feel safer and enjoy greater mobility.

Lead-footed drivers are a problem everywhere, and cities around the world have struggled with ways to get vehicles to slow down, especially in dense areas where the risks to pedestrians are acute. One clever solution is popping up on numerous roads around the world: 3D decals on the pavement that look like floating blocks, speed bumps, or small children. The decals create an optical illusion that is proving to help slow down speedy drivers, and for a fraction of the cost of speed bumps or traffic cops.

Bogotá has become a danger for pedestrians. Cars have the right of the way and it is up to pedestrians to stay alert and safe. Now, citizens are using paint on sidewalks and roads to draw attention to dangers such as potholes or areas where pedestrians have been killed.