Effects of a Chicago Complete Streets Project on Travel Behavior and Perceptions

American street design took an autocentric approach in much of the 20th century, designed for mobility above all other metrics. This meant prioritizing "fast, cheap travel" over other aspects of the streetscape, which often meant designing streets to maximize automobile speeds over all else (Burden and Litman 2011). Over the course of the last couple of decades, however, the conversation surrounding street design has shifted dramatically. The focus has moved from mobility alone to accessibility of multiple modes of transportation, with special attention on how the paradigm of mobility affects users' "ability to reach desired goods, services, and activities safely" (Burden and Litman 2011). Out of this desire for streets that could be safely used by multiple modes of transportation, including bikers and pedestrians, the Complete Streets movement has taken hold as a standard for American cities in building and retrofitting streets around the country (McCann 2013). Barbara McCann and others founded Complete Streets on the idea that streets should be designed with considerations of safety for multiple types of users by prioritizing those without motorized vehicles over those in cars (McCann 2013).