The most-loved Streetfilms

If you are looking for sweet content to celebrate cities all around the world, or craving a virtual vacation during the winter doldrums, Streetfilms has you covered!  I have been exploring and educating through Streetfilms for nearly 20 years. And now I will be bringing curated, selected content here every month to spread the love of better bike lanes, people-centered places, better curb management, and hundreds of visionary world advocates and leaders.

Paris. Zurich. Tokyo. Amsterdam. Bogota, Montreal. Utrecht. All just some of the great places Streetfilms has chronicled with fantastic design or smart policies which are succeeding in making the lives better for their residents and managing transportation.

In this eclectic collection  of Streetfilms, you'll find twenty of the best among over 1,000+ videos. Some may surprise you! Some may inspire you! Just watching them alone is like a class in urbanism and transportation policy. And you can feel free to use them to screen, send to elected officials, post on social media, insert in media coverage or even host on your own website using the Vimeo links. Below are a few to pique your interest if you haven’t clicked yet.

Barcelona's Superblocks: Change the Grid, Change your Neighborhood

This was voted by Streetfilms followers as Streetfilm of the Decade (2010-2020)! On Barcelona's superblock grids, local access for motor vehicles is still permitted, but through traffic is not. The streets are designed to make drivers feel like they are visitors, with narrow rights-of-way for cars. Almost all car traffic is local residents or people with personal business on the block.

Without dangerous car traffic overrunning the streets generating noise and pollution, superblocks are full of life. Children can play and explore. Seniors and people with limited mobility can relax and socialize. People -- including young kids -- can feel safe and confident riding bikes. Listen to residents and the people that made it happen in this very upbeat production.

Utrecht: Planning for People & Bikes, Not for Cars

Coincidentally this very popular Streetfilm (which has been watched over 1 million times) finished a very close second in the poll mentioned above. Utrecht, Netherlands is a city with unbelievable momentum for altering how its city center integrates with people. They've been slowly decentering cars for decades in favor of bicycling and transit. But in the last few years they it have turned up the dial.

For one, they are converting removing multiple roadways and converting them to bikeways, featuring green spaces; and they have restored the city's canal which was removed in the 1970's for a highway. They are encouraging more bike use with new routes and using all sorts of Dutch cycle paths where cars are guests and travel by bike is prioritized. And they have built the symbolic Dafne Schippersbrug bridge, a technological feat of creative imagination that features a multi-use path that ends on top of a school.

When I was there, everything felt reachable by bike or transit. That's why 98% of residents own at least one bike and the city center boasts a 60% bike mode share. Transit abounds, whether it's buses, trains or trams (a new one is opening as we speak). 

Exploring the Streets of Stockholm

Stockholm, Sweden is a charming and walkable city with a welcoming downtown core buzzing with people. There's a natural easygoing rhythm to the city and most days just feels magical - you can walk for miles and miles and never feel in danger from automobiles. After dark, the pedestrian streets were filled with both residents and tourists just strolling, even after retail and most restaurants had closed.

I was fortunate to meet up with a real mix of advocates, residents, and transportation experts to discuss what's going on in the city. Most transpo devotees are familiar with Sweden's incredible success in starting Vision Zero, a goal to eventually curb road deaths and serious injuries to zero.  Many cities worldwide, especially in the United States, have now adopted various forms of it.

Miracle on 34th Avenue: NYC's Best Open Street is in Queens

And finally, let’s stick closer to home for the last suggestion (remember there are 20 great ones waiting at this link!). The Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst areas of Queens were among the hardest hit in the United States by the Covid-19 epidemic. 

This 2020 film looks at the months-long journey in Jackson Heights to get an open street permanent on its beautiful tree-lined 34th Avenue. Featuring two-way streets separated by a median, it was the perfect place in the neighborhood to allow more social distancing, allow people to get some exercise and have better mental health due to the virus's long shadow on our city.

Now that the open street runs for 1.3 miles every day from 7am to 8pm, you will see children, families, exercisers, seniors and people using it toto shop, exercise, and socialize. 

As of 2023, there have been many updates to the corridor -  including this recent journey with NYC DOT staff to explore why many of the treatments that have been installed over the years on various blocks to control vehicles and create more park space for residents.

Happy watching! Looking forward to bringing you more Streetfilms highlights & insights each month on the blog. See you in March.

Clarence has been documenting advocacy transportation for over ten years and has produced more than 1,000 videos for Streetfilms.  He is frequently referred to as “the hardest working man in transportation show biz” for his dedication to making difficult, wonky concepts more accessible and entertaining to the general public. 

With no formal video training or education in urban planning, Clarence attributes much of his accumulated knowledge to never holding a driver’s license.  He shoots 99% of his footage by bike, foot, train, or bus, which gives his filmmaking a unique, see-it-as-it-happens feel. Clarence also loves his commute. In 2022, Clarence was given a World Bicycle Day award by the United Nations, recognizing his 1,000+ free films that enlighten the public, journalists and elected officials throughout the world.