
Open Streets in African Cities
The concept of Open Streets, or car-free streets, has been spreading across African cities since the early 2010s. As Bogotá’s Ciclovía—an initiative that inspired this movement—celebrates its 50th anniversary, there is an opportunity to rekindle the spirit of the movement across the African continent.
With support from the Goethe-Institut South Africa, we are mapping existing initiatives as we establish a platform to promote similar efforts. This platform will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences while celebrating the work being done across African cities to create streets for people.
With support from the Goethe-Institut South Africa, we are mapping existing initiatives as we establish a platform to promote similar efforts. This platform will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences while celebrating the work being done across African cities to create streets for people.
The Open Streets Africa Platform
Launched on 15 December 2024 at the 50 year celebration of Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, the Open Streets Africa Platform promotes Open
Streets knowledge and activities in South Africa
and across the continent!

15 cities across Africa have already tried Open Streets, many just within the last few years.

Messages from around the world for ‘Ciclovía 50’.
On the 50th anniversary of Bogotá’s Ciclovía in December 2024, people from around the world sent messages of congratulations and good wishes.
Photos by: Addis Ababa Traffic Management Authority (TMA), Carlos Pardo, Chris Anderson, City of Johannesburg, Local South, Marcel Duvenage, Nafkot Gebeyehu, Rich Conyngham, Richard Hamba, Rory Williams.
Resources
Open Streets can take many different forms, but there are resources that can help!
Open Streets Toolkit
This toolkit was created to support communities with starting or running their own Open Streets. It includes info on where to begin, how to engage, and much more!
