The Best Complete Streets Policies 2025

The Complete Streets movement is growing—and so are the tools needed to keep the momentum going. We recently announced our plans to evolve the Complete Streets policy framework to ensure Complete Streets policies don’t just check boxes, but drive real, measurable change on the ground. As part of this effort, we are also bringing new clarity and rigor to what does, and what doesn’t, qualify as a Complete Street.

No matter how people move through or process the world around them, they should be able to do so with few or no barriers. This is the meaning of accessibility. The Complete Streets approach prioritizes infrastructure that serves all users, and a strong Complete Streets policy specifies that vulnerable community members, including people with disabilities, are equitably considered throughout planning, design, and implementation.

Over the past decade, more communities have introduced policies that integrate both Complete Streets and Green Streets. These approaches offer a range of environmental benefits while reinforcing the goals of the Complete Streets movement. Streetscapes can be designed not only for safety and mobility, but also to enhance sustainability and climate resilience. Green Streets not only reduce the area of paved surfaces, but actively mitigate many of the harmful environmental and public health impacts of roads, while improving people’s health and wellbeing.