Best Practices Catalogue

Time period

Caminhos da Escola em Fortalza. Streets for Kids in Fortaleza

  • School streets or school surroundings
  • Brazil Fortaleza

Summary

The Caminhos da Escola – Streets for Kids intervention in Fortaleza, developed in partnership between the Municipal Government and Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), is part of a broader local programme aimed at reducing child injuries and fatalities in road crashes.
To identify priority areas, local teams analysed data on traffic incidents, student density, and public space conditions, selecting critical sites around schools in vulnerable neighbourhoods, including the streets of Rua Antônio Pereira and Avenida Chico Mendes.
The intervention through tactical urbanism reconfigured these corridors by reducing space for vehicles and introducing safe, shared environments with expanded pedestrian, seating, and play areas. This transformation reclaimed significant space for everyday use and improved conditions for children and caregivers.
The project led to increased perceived safety and public life, demonstrating how data driven, place based redesign can prioritise children and support more inclusive urban environments.

Key aspects

  • Data driven site selection and safety focus

    Identifies high risk school environments using data on crashes, student concentrations, and spatial conditions.
  • Street redesign for child centred active mobility

    Reconfigures streets to prioritize youth, introducing safer crossings, shared spaces, and areas for play and social use.
  • Reclaiming streets as community spaces

    Transforms vehicle dominated corridors into inclusive environments for everyday interaction.
  • Measurable impact on behavior and perception

    Improves perceived safety and increases active use by children and caregivers
Project participants (logos to be added) Global Design Cities initiative (GDCI) local schools Municipal Office of Regional Management Fortaleza Traffic Authority Secretary of Education Science, Technology, and Innovation Foundation of Fortaleza Bernard van Leers foundation fondation Botnar FIA foundation