School Streets: Inside NYC's Movement to Reclaim Urban Spaces

In Part 1 of this S5E36 two-part Schoolutions conversation, urban planner and organizer Sabina Sethi Unni from @openplansnyc breaks down New York City's School Streets program. It's a DOT initiative that closes car traffic in front of schools during school hours to create outdoor space for kids who need it most. Consider the possibilities...what if the street outside your school could become a gym, a science fair, or a Halloween parade all before 3 PM?

We discuss:
- What School Streets actually looks like (hint: it's active learning in action)
- How schools apply and who is eligible
- Why student engagement and classroom behavior improve when kids have space to move
- The #1 barrier for under-resourced schools and how Open Plans removes it
- Why equity in education and culturally responsive teaching are baked into their outreach model
- How parent involvement and family partnerships make or break the program
- What school leadership and principal strategies can do to champion this today
- Why community engagement is non-negotiable in education transformation

📩 Want to bring a School Street to your school? Reach out to Sabina directly: sabina@openplans.org 

Some resources mentioned:

• School Streets program with Open Plans
• Hackney, UK (suburb of London): Open streets research program 
• Paris School Streets program 
• School Streets report

CHAPTERS:
0:00 — Introduction & Sabina's Background
1:45 — Research That Drives the Work (Hackney, UK)
3:00 — How Street Design Became a Lever of Power
5:00 — From Intern to Full-Time: The Equity Research That Started It All
7:15 — How Schools Apply & Who Is Eligible
8:45 — Prioritizing Low-Income Communities of Color
9:45 — The Real Barriers: Staffing, PTAs & Stretched Schools
10:55 — How Open Plans Removes Barriers for Schools
12:30 — What a School Street Actually Looks & Feels Like
13:45 — Flexible Hours: Schools Choose What Works for Them
14:30 — How Involved Is Open Plans After Approval?
15:30 — Leadership Turnover as a Hidden Barrier
16:30 — Lightning Round: Best Quotes, Myths & Big Dreams
18:30 — The Danger of Skipping Community Engagement
19:30 — Key Takeaways & Part 2 Preview

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