San Juan, Puerto Rico
Enhancing pedestrian access to the heart of a neighborhood
The Project
In 2021, San Juan celebrated 500 years since its founding with a citywide series of cultural events. One of these events was an asphalt art project at the main entrance to Rio Piedras, a historic municipality and the educational heart of Puerto Rico where the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico is located. With the series of painted curb extensions at the area’s main roundabout, as well as newly installed bollards and accessible ramps cut into the sidewalks, the project created a more walkable and welcoming entrypoint to the commercial district of Rio Piedras, the local police precinct, and the local hospital. The imagery in the mural, painted by students from the local School of Arts, depicts defining elements of San Juan including a river, an historic oak tree, and architectural details found in the area.
Working on this project, not only have we gained a lot of insight into how to utilize art for the sake of safety in these types of intersections, but it also helped the team of artists understand their impact beyond arts creation; that their work can have an effect on the safety of the people engaging with it.
Israel Alicea Luciano, Deputy Mayor, City of San Juan
Use the slider to see the transformation
For inspiration and tips for the creation of art on roadways and public places, download the Bloomberg Associates Asphalt Art Guide which features successful plaza and roadway art activations around the world, as well as key steps for developing such projects.
