With the 10-year benefit for Streetsblog and Streetfilms coming up on November 14 (get your tickets here!), we are counting down the 12 most influential Streetfilms of all time, as determined by the impresario himself, Clarence Eckerson Jr.
Snowy Neckdowns (a.k.a. “Sneckdowns")
Number of plays: 52,349
Publish date: February 5, 2011
Why is it here? This Streetfilm started the #sneckdown craze and inspired planners and transportation geeks to go out and document how we've overbuilt streets for the movement of cars. The sneckdown concept provides a simple, compelling visual that has made the case for real changes in many cities (especially Philadelphia).
Fun fact: At first this film didn't get a ton of attention. By the end of 2013 it had only racked up about 4,000 plays. But in the winter of 2014 I decided it might be fun to cajole people on Twitter to send in photos of snowy traffic calming in their city. When we were deciding on a hashtag to use, Streetsblog founding editor Aaron Naparstek brilliantly suggested #sneckdown. It clicked, the hashtag stuck, and submissions rolled in from all over the world. The media frenzy peaked in 2014 but social media still lights up with #sneckdown photos whenever there's a big winter storm in the United States.
The Streetfilms Countdown so far:
#12: Lakewood, Ohio: The Suburb Where Everyone Can Walk to School
