StreetFilms&#8217; Elizabeth Press traveled to Istanbul, Turkey recently, and put together this vid of horrendous traffic conditions and initiatives to take back the streets. Featured in the film is Kevser Üstündag, professor of architecture and World Carfree Network advisor, who discusses transit and car-free Sundays. At 1:40, check out Istiklal Caddesi, an avenue that was…

In Istanbul, a Burgeoning Livable Streets Movement

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<p id="e0e0" class="pw-post-body-paragraph xo xp rx xq b xr xs xt xu xv xw xx xy gp xz ya yb kk yc yd ye km yf yg yh yi li di" data-selectable-paragraph="">Elif Ensari is a research scholar at NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, where she works with the Transportation and Land Use group. Her research focuses on the costs of building passenger rail, ridership estimation, Transit-Oriented Development, and the walking and cycling infrastructure of New York City. She contributes to the <a class="cm qq" href="https://transitcosts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">Transit Costs Project</a>, which investigates why rail projects in some countries are delivered more affordably than others, with case studies spanning Istanbul, Boston, New York, Italy, and Sweden, with new cases currently underway.</p>
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Elif Ensari

Vision Zero Cities

Vision Zero Cities: How Istanbul Builds Subways Cheap — And What U.S. Cities Can Learn

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<p>Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He&#8217;s also the writer and producer of &#8220;Murder at the Food Coop,&#8221; which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/category/special-features/cycle-of-rage">archived here</a>.</p>


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<p>Kevin Duggan joined Streetsblog in October, 2022, after covering transportation for amNY. Duggan has been reporting on New York since 2018, starting at Vince DiMiceli’s Brooklyn Paper, where he covered southern Brooklyn neighborhoods and, later, Brownstone Brooklyn. He is on Bluesky at <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/kevinduggan.bsky.social">@kevinduggan.bsky.social</a> and his email address is <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/about/staff-board/kevin@streetsblog.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kevin@streetsblog.org</a>.</p>


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<p>Before becoming Albany Bureau Chief in late 2025, Austin C. Jefferson was a state politics reporter for <i>City &amp; State NY</i>, covering state government, elections and major legislative debates. His reporting has also appeared in the Daily Freeman, Chronogram Magazine and The Legislative Gazette. Having grown up in the Hudson Valley, he&#8217;s always happy to argue about where Upstate New York truly begins.</p>


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<p>Dave Colon is a reporter from Long Beach, a barrier island off of the coast of Long Island that you can bike to from the city. It’s a real nice ride.  He’s previously been the editor of Brokelyn, a reporter at Gothamist, a freelance reporter and delivered freshly baked bread by bike.</p>


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<p>Charles Komanoff is a national expert on congestion pricing and traffic modeling, and is the former head of Transportation Alternatives. He is a longtime Streetsblog contributor. Reach him at <a href="mailto:komanoff@gmail.com">komanoff@gmail.com</a>.</p>


Charles Komanoff

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<p>Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York&#8217;s dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.</p>


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