To establish the width of the sidewalks and the road, urban planning treaties use the concept of "elementary strip", which is defined as "the minimum unitary width essential for movement, without difficulties"), of a uniform line of users moving in the same direction."[6]​.

Most urban planning treaties, mobility standards and ordinances establish the width of a typical elementary strip for pedestrians at 0.75 m. This measurement is reached by considering a generic adult person, man or woman, walking normally on a flat place, possibly carrying a bag or package. Taking as a basis the strict width of an adult man, which is 55 cm, additional margins of 10 cm are added on each side, in order to allow a certain freedom of movement without which mobility would be very precarious.[7]​.

To establish the width of the sidewalk, people with reduced mobility must be taken into account: such as the elderly), those who use wheelchairs, those who push strollers, both single strollers and strollers "Twins (biology)"), children who walk hand in hand with adults or adults forced to move with crutches "Muleta (cane)"), or simply those who carry a suitcase or a shopping cart"), etc. codes "Codification (Law)") and mobility ordinances establish the minimum elementary strip at 0.90 m that serve as a basis for defining the width of the corridors "Corridor (room)") of homes or residences as well as ramps useful for overcoming small differences in level, etc.

This dimension of 0.9 m is based on the needs of people with reduced mobility, whose paradigm can be a person who moves autonomously in a manually self-propelled wheelchair, whose strict width is that of the chair itself, 65 cm, to which are added two additional margins of 12.5 cm, without which self-propulsion with the arms would be unfeasible"). The remaining situations of reduced mobility, with rare exceptions, have width requirements lower than the 90 cm (65 + 2 x 12.5 = 90 cm)[7]​.

It is obvious that this width of 90 cm cannot be accepted as the minimum width of the sidewalk since this (the sidewalk) is not an elementary strip where users move in the same direction, since they move in both directions and must be able to cross each other comfortably or, at the very least, without one of them having to go down to the road to make way for the other. This is why, in general, the dimension of 1.50 m is adopted as the minimum width of the sidewalk. This width is obtained by adding to the strict width of the wheelchair (65 cm), the profile width of an adult man (35 - 40 cm) and two margins on the edges of 15 cm plus one in the middle of 20 cm (65 + 40 + (2 x 15) + 20 = 150 cm). This width also allows two people in wheelchairs to cross.

These elementary criteria, recorded in the norms, ordinances and mobility codes, are frequently ignored in our cities by the very authorities that must ensure their compliance. "The fascination "Fascination (feeling)") for mobility based on the use of private cars, typical of 20th-century urban planning, constitutes the dominant ideology while the alternative of sustainable urban planning only makes its way with great difficulty. "Car urbanism" has turned the narrow streets of historic neighborhoods into parking lots and has made it difficult to extreme pedestrian mobility, that is, walking to work "Work (sociology)"), school or other occupations or simply the recreational walk of families and friends, which constitutes the cultural activity par excellence of the city.

The attention paid to the typical section of the street made up of sidewalks and roadway may seem excessive, but the section of a street exclusively for pedestrians, with level pavement, usually of better quality than the pavement of the sidewalks, is received by residents as a true blessing from heaven in congested cities. The City Council that administers and manages these streets does not have to make vehicles compatible with pedestrians, except at certain times. And whoever designs these pedestrian streets can devote himself more freely to purely aesthetic considerations of the street and its surroundings.

A road, like a street, is often paved and used for travel. However, a street is characterized by the degree and quality of street life it facilitates, while a highway primarily serves as a passage for road vehicles or (less frequently) pedestrians. Street musicians, beggars, cafe patrons, people watching, strollers, and a variety of other characters are regular users of a street; the same people would not normally meet on a road.

In rural and suburban settings") where street life is rare, the terms "street" and "road" are frequently considered interchangeable. Still, even here, what is called a "street" is usually a smaller thoroughfare, such as a road within a housing development") that leads directly into individual driveways. In the latter half of the century, these streets often abandoned the tradition of a rigid, rectangular grid and were instead designed to discourage traffic. This and other traffic calming methods") provided peace of mind for families and play space for children.

To establish the width of the sidewalks and the road, urban planning treaties use the concept of "elementary strip", which is defined as "the minimum unitary width essential for movement, without difficulties"), of a uniform line of users moving in the same direction."[6]​.

Most urban planning treaties, mobility standards and ordinances establish the width of a typical elementary strip for pedestrians at 0.75 m. This measurement is reached by considering a generic adult person, man or woman, walking normally on a flat place, possibly carrying a bag or package. Taking as a basis the strict width of an adult man, which is 55 cm, additional margins of 10 cm are added on each side, in order to allow a certain freedom of movement without which mobility would be very precarious.[7]​.

To establish the width of the sidewalk, people with reduced mobility must be taken into account: such as the elderly), those who use wheelchairs, those who push strollers, both single strollers and strollers "Twins (biology)"), children who walk hand in hand with adults or adults forced to move with crutches "Muleta (cane)"), or simply those who carry a suitcase or a shopping cart"), etc. codes "Codification (Law)") and mobility ordinances establish the minimum elementary strip at 0.90 m that serve as a basis for defining the width of the corridors "Corridor (room)") of homes or residences as well as ramps useful for overcoming small differences in level, etc.

This dimension of 0.9 m is based on the needs of people with reduced mobility, whose paradigm can be a person who moves autonomously in a manually self-propelled wheelchair, whose strict width is that of the chair itself, 65 cm, to which are added two additional margins of 12.5 cm, without which self-propulsion with the arms would be unfeasible"). The remaining situations of reduced mobility, with rare exceptions, have width requirements lower than the 90 cm (65 + 2 x 12.5 = 90 cm)[7]​.

It is obvious that this width of 90 cm cannot be accepted as the minimum width of the sidewalk since this (the sidewalk) is not an elementary strip where users move in the same direction, since they move in both directions and must be able to cross each other comfortably or, at the very least, without one of them having to go down to the road to make way for the other. This is why, in general, the dimension of 1.50 m is adopted as the minimum width of the sidewalk. This width is obtained by adding to the strict width of the wheelchair (65 cm), the profile width of an adult man (35 - 40 cm) and two margins on the edges of 15 cm plus one in the middle of 20 cm (65 + 40 + (2 x 15) + 20 = 150 cm). This width also allows two people in wheelchairs to cross.

These elementary criteria, recorded in the norms, ordinances and mobility codes, are frequently ignored in our cities by the very authorities that must ensure their compliance. "The fascination "Fascination (feeling)") for mobility based on the use of private cars, typical of 20th-century urban planning, constitutes the dominant ideology while the alternative of sustainable urban planning only makes its way with great difficulty. "Car urbanism" has turned the narrow streets of historic neighborhoods into parking lots and has made it difficult to extreme pedestrian mobility, that is, walking to work "Work (sociology)"), school or other occupations or simply the recreational walk of families and friends, which constitutes the cultural activity par excellence of the city.

The attention paid to the typical section of the street made up of sidewalks and roadway may seem excessive, but the section of a street exclusively for pedestrians, with level pavement, usually of better quality than the pavement of the sidewalks, is received by residents as a true blessing from heaven in congested cities. The City Council that administers and manages these streets does not have to make vehicles compatible with pedestrians, except at certain times. And whoever designs these pedestrian streets can devote himself more freely to purely aesthetic considerations of the street and its surroundings.

A road, like a street, is often paved and used for travel. However, a street is characterized by the degree and quality of street life it facilitates, while a highway primarily serves as a passage for road vehicles or (less frequently) pedestrians. Street musicians, beggars, cafe patrons, people watching, strollers, and a variety of other characters are regular users of a street; the same people would not normally meet on a road.

In rural and suburban settings") where street life is rare, the terms "street" and "road" are frequently considered interchangeable. Still, even here, what is called a "street" is usually a smaller thoroughfare, such as a road within a housing development") that leads directly into individual driveways. In the latter half of the century, these streets often abandoned the tradition of a rigid, rectangular grid and were instead designed to discourage traffic. This and other traffic calming methods") provided peace of mind for families and play space for children.