Madrid, Apr 13 (EFE).- Asphalt Art Initiative, a Bloomberg Philanthropies project led by the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, arrives for the first time in Europe after its implementation in cities in the United States with a public aid contest to improve the road safety through art.
The call includes the award of 25,000 dollars (23,078 euros) for a maximum of 20 projects to be implemented in European cities and whose objective is to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces and involve local communities .
The initiative has already reached 42 cities in the United States and has been launched in three pilot projects in Europe, in the cities of London, Amsterdam and Glasgow.
In addition to the grants, the selected cities will receive technical advice from Bloomberg Associates and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Agency for Mobility, Environment and Territory (AMAT) of the city of Milan.
The project is inspired by the work done to improve pedestrian safety and revitalize New York City streets during the former mayor’s terms between 2002 and 2013.
Among the pilot projects implemented in Europe is that of the city of Amsterdam, which presented a project in which the Museum of Street Art (SAMA) and the Spanish artist Kenor participated.
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The intervention carried out has been inaugurated this month and has managed to revitalize an urban space of a highly frequented open-air market through painted asphalt, flower pots and benches in an area of more than eight thousand square meters.
In Glasgow, to coincide with the 2021 COP26 Summit, the city installed “Water Works”, a large-scale floor mural next to the entrance of a busy commuter rail station to improve circulation for pedestrians and cyclists.
The foundation has carried out a study on how road safety has improved in 22 of the projects carried out in the United States, all of which have contributed to reducing traffic accidents -especially those affecting pedestrians and cyclists- and encourage “safer behavior ” of the drivers.
The study shows very positive data: a drastic reduction in vehicle collisions with pedestrians (50 percent), a 37% decrease in collisions with injuries, or a 27% increase in the number of drivers giving way to pedestrians with right of way, among other indicators.
“More than 40 cities have demonstrated the power of the ‘Asphalt Art Initiative’, using creativity to rally citizens around the idea of having brighter and safer public spaces,” says Michael Bloomberg, in a note from his organization .
European cities with a population of 100,000 inhabitants or more can apply for the call. The deadline for submitting applications is July 11, 2022.
Winning cities will be announced in the fall of 2022, with selected projects installed during 2023. The application and city selection guidelines are available at AsphaltArt.bloomberg.org.
(c) EFE Agency