The Urbanist – “Rethinking Streets as Third Spaces in the Car-Dependent US”

Monocle Podcast | Host: Andrew Tuck | Date: July 24, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Urbanist explores how American cities—especially those marked by car-dependency and sprawling layouts—are reimagining their streets as vibrant “third spaces” beyond just conduits for vehicles. Through in-depth conversations with the urban design firms Merit Chase (Indianapolis and Pittsburgh) and Sight Lab Urban Studio (San Francisco), the episode dives into strategies for transforming streets and plazas into lively, human-centered environments, emphasizing walkability, social connection, and resilience in the face of changing work and climate patterns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Streets in Car-Dependent Cities: The Case of Indianapolis

Guest: Chris Merritt & Nina Chase, Co-founders, Merit Chase
Timestamps: 02:41 – 14:15

• Urban Context

  • Indianapolis is a large, flat, gridded city, originally planned as a “mile square” and now sprawling over 400 sq. miles with a strong car culture and frequent large-scale events.
    • “We're known as the crossroads of America. ... I think there's been a recognition, especially post Covid ... that in order to bring folks back downtown ... we need to focus on pedestrians.” – Chris Merritt [05:39]

• Monument Circle Transformation

  • Monument Circle, the symbolic heart of Indianapolis, is being reimagined from a busy vehicular roundabout into a sociable, pedestrian-friendly park.
  • Actions include yearly closures and “pop-up” parks (the Spark on the Circle initiative), offering more space for walking, gathering, and everyday city life.
    • “We’ve been working ... to create a vision for that public realm change. ... [Monument Circle is] now a project that we’ve been working on ... doing some pop up work to test some ideas around where we could ... get people excited about making it more of a park space and less of a space just for cars.” – Nina Chase [03:56]

• Broadening the Ambition

  • Efforts in Indianapolis (Georgia Street, Meridian Street) aim to permanently expand parks, remove vehicular lanes, and prioritize everyday pedestrian comfort while supporting iconic large events.
  • Downtown revitalization is also tied to attracting residents, not just event-goers.

• Public Reception & Change Management

  • The car-centric culture is slowly shifting, with more public support for walkable, vibrant downtowns.
  • Leadership and broad public engagement are essential.
    • “That investment in public spaces that connect us ... it’s part of our identity, I think, is what makes cities loved by their residents.” – Chris Merritt [12:02]

8. Lessons for Other Cities
   • Importance of alignment among civic leaders and stakeholders under a unified vision
   • Need for persistent outreach and ambitious, long-term strategy
   • “It takes a little bit of ... visionary leadership ... which can take a lot of time, trust building, relationship building, then a lot of hard work to get there.” – Chris Merritt [13:25]

2. Third Spaces & Social Infrastructure: Lessons from San Francisco

Guest: Laura Crescimano, Co-founder, Sight Lab Urban Studio
Timestamps: 15:21 – 27:52

• Defining Third Spaces

  • Third spaces are communal environments beyond home (first space) and work (second space): parks, libraries, cafes, and increasingly streets and plazas.
    • “Third spaces build off the idea ... You have first and second spaces where we live and where we work ... and third spaces are those where we connect.” – Laura Crescimano [16:45]

• Designing Streets for Connection

  • Streets, long treated as mere infrastructure for vehicles, are being reclaimed as neighborhood “glue” and platforms for social life.
  • Example: “Landing at Leidesdorf” (San Francisco)—historic alley converted for pedestrian events and outdoor life through tactical measures (paint, seating) and flexible programming.
    • “We see an opportunity for reclaiming streets ... not just to be for mobility, but to be for that social life.” – Laura Crescimano [17:26]

• Community-Driven Placemaking: The Freeway Greenway

  • In San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood, underutilized land near highways was redeveloped using local history (gardening/greenhouses), collaboration with community groups, and stewardship.
  • Transformation was about empowering locals, not just design:
    • “It was actually about how much we could do to clear the path for the community to take up the space and take care of the space and make it what they want it to be.” – Laura Crescimano [21:17]

• Resilient Waterfronts as Third Spaces

  • The Embarcadero/Ferry Building area (once a freeway, now a bustling third space) is a model for turning infrastructure into public spaces, facing ongoing challenges of climate resiliency (earthquake, sea level rise).
  • Rather than just “protecting the edge” with barriers, planners are creating linked networks of social and civic space along the waterfront.
    • “There’s an engineering problem to solve, but there’s also an experience and an identity and a kind of livelihood of the city question: what do we want it to be?” [23:00]

• Integrating Climate Design & Placemaking

  • Urban design must accommodate changing climate realities alongside fostering daily experience and civic life.
    • “Climate is not an abstract science. It is a real felt thing ... So I don’t know a way to design without that being a part of the conversation.” – Laura Crescimano [25:34]

• Future of Third Spaces

  • Third spaces will continue to evolve from prescribed meeting places to adaptable, genuinely public domains—streets, plazas, and waterfronts that host both daily life and civic action (protest, celebration, chance encounters).
    • “For me, ... these spaces ... are our civic spaces ... where we see each other and ... connect across differences, even just in passing.” – Laura Crescimano [26:55]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We’re known as the crossroads of America. ... In order to bring folks back downtown ... we need to focus on pedestrians and the human experience downtown.”
  — Chris Merritt, [05:39]

• “Third spaces ... [are] all of these places that really are what foster connection at a social level beyond our private realm.”
  — Laura Crescimano, [16:45]

• “There’s an engineering problem to solve, but there’s also an experience and an identity and a kind of livelihood of the city question: what do we want it to be?”
  — Laura Crescimano, [23:00]

• “For me, ... these spaces ... are our civic spaces ... so that they support ... the day to day life ... but also ... the spaces where we protest, where we see each other and ... connect across differences.”
  — Laura Crescimano, [26:55]

• “That investment in public spaces that connect us to each other, our community, it’s part of our identity, I think, is what makes cities loved by their residents.”
  — Chris Merritt, [12:02]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:41] – Indianapolis: Urban form and cultural challenges
• [03:56] – Monument Circle: Project goals and unique opportunities
• [05:39] – Shifting public perceptions on cars vs. pedestrians
• [07:13] – Pop-up parks, strategy for downtown walkability
• [09:48] – Trends in "middle America": Replicating projects in Pittsburgh, beyond
• [12:02] – Chris Merritt: Advice for cities on consensus, vision, and civic engagement
• [14:04] – Nina Chase: The future vision for Indianapolis as a walkable city
• [15:21] – Laura Crescimano: Origins of Sight Lab and urban design as social practice
• [16:45] – Defining "third spaces"
• [17:26] – Turning streets into platforms for connection
• [19:51] – Portola neighborhood: Transforming marginal spaces with the community
• [23:00] – San Francisco waterfront: From freeway to resilient civic space
• [25:34] – Intertwining climate design and public life
• [26:55] – The next evolution in third spaces and public life

Concluding Thoughts

This episode offers a candid and practical look at how US cities—across regions and scales—are working to shed a half-century focus on car-centric design. Through temporary “pop-up” parks, iconic public spaces, and community-driven urban design, leaders and practitioners are reclaiming the street for people, weaving climate awareness into placemaking, and nurturing new forms of civic and social connection. The Broad Street Circle in Indianapolis and San Francisco’s waterfront serve as powerful case studies, illustrating both the challenges and promise of this paradigm shift.