In an article on Bloomberg Businessweek, NYC DOT Janette Sadik-Khan argues that cities need to change to be successful in this day and age. “If you were a company and you didn’t change the way you did business for 50 years, you probably wouldn’t be around,” Sadik-Khan points out.

Moreover, cities and their political leaders need to look at “our streets as valuable public places, and we need to make it easier and safer for people to walk around and bike.” Sadik-Khan elaborates:

Design can tell you to take your business elsewhere, or it can tell you this is a vital, active retail space. When we pedestrianized 42nd to 47th Street, we saw an 11 percent increase in foot traffic. Now Times Square is one of the top 10 retail locations on the planet, which wasn’t the case before we made that intervention. Good streets are good business.

Sadik-Khan rightfully believes that it is important for cities to have a vision if they wish to be successful and competitive in today’s world, and “there has to be political leadership that allows the table setting to be done a little differently.”

Please read the full article for more information.