Global Street Atlas is a growing database that documents and showcases the diversity of streetscapes around the globe, providing real-world examples of how this public urban asset is allocated and used across different cities and contexts.
Our mission is to map and decipher, at a granular level, the existing patterns of public urban land use allocation around the world. By documenting how different urban environments use their street space today, we can empower cities and urban professionals to make better-informed decisions for the streets of tomorrow.
Better management of our streetscape starts with a better understanding of how it is currently allocated.
Streets have an active role in influencing mobility, public life, and economic activity in our cities. Understanding how this space is allocated is crucial for making informed decisions about how to modify, improve, and adapt it. Street space allocation varies dramatically depending on urban needs, policies, and historical contexts. Being able to actually see, quantify, and analyze this data can help us answer important questions about the future of our cities.
As world urbanization accelerates, climate concerns grow, and cities strive to adapt public spaces to evolving needs, Global Street Atlas equips urban professionals with the empirical evidence needed to guide their decision-making process by providing easier and improved access to acquired knowledge and lessons learned from real-world global examples.
A simple, straight-forward approach:
Today, there are excellent resources and design manuals out there offering a wealth of knowledge on what an ideal street should contain and look like. But while these guides provide aspirational models, real-world streets are shaped by practical constraints, budget limitations, cultural contexts, and shifting priorities.
This is why Global Street Atlas takes a different approach. It is not a guide to best practices—it is a reference platform that presents streets as they exist, allowing users to analyze, compare, and drawinsights from real-world executed designs. It serves as a gallery that acknowledges that while there are better ways to design streets, the world is full of compromises.
Global Street Atlas provides an objective, judgment-free resource to help urban professionals understand the full diversity of streets as they are. In the end, there is nothing like studying how others have responded to a similar problem to the one you may be facing.
Global Street Atlas is a passion project led by Nuria Forques. Since 2022, she has personally measured and documented streets during her travels, creating the foundation of the collection you see today. However, to achieve our broader mission of mapping the world’s public land allocation at a granular level, we need collaborators!
If you would like to contribute to our efforts and collaborate - by measuring streets, providing feedback, spreading the word, or supporting the project -please contact us! We will be happy to hear from you. Together, by mapping how cities use their streets, we can help shape a better urban future.
