A new initiative has been launched in Los Angeles to allow for community groups to use urban design kits to help create pedestrian plazas, mini parks and bike parking, in a bid to re-appropriate 7,500 miles (12,070km) of street within the city.

In most states, community design and planning is often hampered by intense bureaucracy, or a lack of financial support from local authorities.

However, the People St Programme is seeking to put the power back into the hands of the people, by providing them with a downloadable kit to aid the planning and design processes.

The city’s department of transportation has created the kit to allow groups access to pre-approved design configurations, which have already been tested in six pilot projects for each type of space, as well as a streamlined process to gain a permit to build.

With the use of the kit, community groups only need to apply through the programme, pay for construction materials and installation, while also agreeing to maintain the project without the assistance of their local authority.

The initiative's creators believe that the programme will provide groups with the opportunity to create pedestrian-friendly areas that retain a personal, human element, without the need to go through labourious bureaucratic processes.

Pedestrian plazas have proved successes in the US in the past, with the recent introduction of the formation in New York’s Times Square leading then mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, to announce that air pollution had decreased by 40 per cent following the creation of the plaza.