Register for the 5th International Placemaking Week in Detroit June 24-27, 2026!
Close Menu
Menu
The Placemaking Round-Up
A biweekly newsletter with public space news, resources, and opportunities.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The Biweekly Bazaar
A curated dispatch on all things public markets plus the latest announcements from the Market Cities Program.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Back to Projects Back to Grants
Times Square
The iconic transformation of Broadway at Times Square has inspired people to look differently at how street space is used.
Grantee
Program
Location
New York City
,
New York
,
USA
Completed
-
2007
Client(S)
Partner
Times Square Alliance
Services
Place Evaluation & User Analysis
Community Engagement & Visioning
Place Plans & Design
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
About
At the height of Project for Public Spaces’ Streets Renaissance Campaign, the Times Square Alliance hired Project for Public Spaces to help reimagine “the crossroads of the world.” The team began by gaining a better understanding of the district through systematic observation techniques like time-lapse video analysis, activity mapping, and surveys. The team found that the traffic median, sidewalks, and adjacent buildings came nowhere near meeting pedestrian demands on the space. In response to these findings, the team delivered recommendations to reconfigure the road, add new architectural treatments and amenities to improve the pedestrian experience, and develop retail strategies to diversify the district’s attraction and public space programming.
No one could not have predicted what would happen next. After Wiley-Schwartz came on board at New York’s Department of Transportation, he helped lead “Green Light for Midtown,” which helped improve multimodal transportation and pedestrian safety on Broadway, including at Times Square. The temporary pedestrian areas and inexpensive lawn chairs implemented during this program inspired a permanent pedestrianized Times Square by design firm Snøhetta, which realized Project for Public Spaces’ key recommendations.
Services
Place Evaluation & User Analysis
Community Engagement & Visioning
Place Plans & Design
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper
Project Case Studies
No items found.
Related Articles
February 26, 2009
Broadway Dreams to be Realized
August 20, 2015
Times Square Debate Lays Bare the Importance of Proactive Public Space Management
March 20, 2011
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper: A Low-Cost, High-Impact Approach
Contact Us
Want to unlock the potential of public space in your community? Get in touch!
inquiries@pps.org or 212.620.5660
Stay Connected
Our two biweekly newsletters offer public space news, opportunities, and more.
© 1975 - 2025 Project for Public Spaces
Made By All. Used By All.