Towards Better Cities: Improving Walkability in Terms of Seven Principles (original) (raw)

The Pedestrianisation and Its Relation with Enhancing Walkability in Urban Spaces

Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 2018

The study aimed to answer the question of how pedestrianisation can influence walkability to increase physical activity vitality and livability of urban spaces. Therefore, after the theoretical understanding of the framework of the research, the study will focus on experimental research on the Salamis rode of Famagusta to assess the problems of walkability in the street to propose a sustainable and human-friendly solution for this area. The main aim of the research is to find what is the interrelation between pedestrianisation in public urban spaces and walkability? Therefore, it concludes that walkability as a part of the pedestrianisation scheme will lead to an increase in the quality of the urban environment by increasing safety and organization in urban infra-instructors.

WALKABILITY AS AN URBAN DESIGN PROBLEM

The planning and design of the walkable environment is receiving more and more attention for its various benefits related to public health, sustainability, economy, or social life. Therefore, there is a growing need for knowledge about the walkability of the built environment. While urban planning, design, and transportation research have also examined walking in urban environments, a recently growing field of research usually referred to as walkability research have been actively investigating the relation between the built environment and walking behavior through correlation analysis. Although one must acknowledge the value of current walkability research to be used as the framework which can make significant contributions to urban design research and practice, it also has a few shortcomings in terms of applicability. There is also a problem that the design factors that are often discussed as promoting walking or creating 'pedestrian-friendly environments' in urban design theories and discourses are often based on little evidence and that these factors have been shown to be insignificant in the quantitative analyses on the amount of walking. This project aims to support urban design knowledge and practice and to contribute to the broader field of "walkability" by refining the methods and measures used to analyze the relation between walking behavior and physical environment. Its goal is to integrate knowledge from the medical field of walkability with urban design research and provide new empirical knowledge about the concrete level in which urban design and architectural practice operates.

Analyzing the indicators walkability of cities, in order to improving urban vitality

Urban design is a technique and knowledge seeking to organize and improve urban qualities and increase the quality of citizenship life. Based on the perspectives and objectives of urban design, the dominant intention in all urbanism activities is to reach high humanistic and social dimensions. In fact, what give meaning to a city are the social aspects raised in recent urban activities, in addition to the physical and visual body of it. Over the past decade the quality of the walking environment has become a significant factor in transportation planning and design in developed countries. It is argued that the pedestrians’ environment has been ignored in favors of automobile. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walkability on property values and investment returns. Research method is descriptive. The method of collected data is field. Also, were used questionnaire tools in order to collecting data. On the other hand, was referred to municipality 9 region due to, studied area was located in this urban region. In continue, was used SWOT technique in order to analyzing questionnaire. At finally, proposed strategies in order to improving urban space qualify

Walkability for Sustainable Urban Mobility for Better Tomorrow: A Vision for Harmonized Resilient Society

SCAEF International Conference , 2019

Majority of global population resides in urban area and urban population is increasing throughout the world. Nepal is one of the country with fastest growth of urban population. Cities are the engine of economy and the urban transport is the oil of engine. But urban life has become very hectic and isolated within the crowd of people. Various cities have adopted various modes of urban transportation modes to fulfill the mobility of urban dweller to meet the need of reaching from one place to the desired destinations. Many cities have adopted the policies of sustainable urban transportation according to their preferences based on economy, environment and social system. European commission has issued a Green Paper on the pursuit of such a policy for European cities. Green paper focuses in five sustainable urban mobility (Stead 2007);free flowing towns and cities, greener towns and cities, smarter urban transport, accessible urban transport and safe and secure urban transport. For mobility of people and freight combination of motorized and nonmotorized transport modes are used. Preference of new world trend is seen for the non-motorized transport for the sustainability of the urban life which encompasses environment, economy and social aspect that felicitates resiliency and harmony in the urban society. This paper highlight the importance of pedestrianization to achieve resilient urban mobility with sustainable and harmonized urban life. This will also bring the attempt and endeavor of cities on pedestrian focused urban transport elsewhere in the world.

Walkability – the New Urbanism principle for urban regeneration

Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability

Walking should be one of the primary modes of transportation in sustainable cities, being more environmentally friendly, sociable, and health conscious. The principles of New Urbanism (NU) promote walkability, creating urban patterns that support the needs of pedestrians. With that in mind, this study aims to define the relationship between walkability and NU in the context of urban regeneration, establishing the urban attributes that influence walkability in the revival of post-industrial areas. The research comes from a statistical analysis of the flow of people in Księży Młyn (Poland) and a field study from Carré de Soie (France) where urban attributes potentially determining walkability were evaluated. The study confirms that pedestrian traffic and urban form can be optimised through a holistic approach. It sets out the relationship between walkability and various phenomena, including i) social-how users behave in public spaces (the role of pedestrians and cars), and to whom the space is dedicated; ii) economic-how the attractiveness of the service and commercial offer are improving, and how real estate prices are changing; and iii) environmental-how the visual attractiveness of the place and the convenience of the space for pedestrians has improved (shop frontage and accessibility).

Walkability

Making the World’s Growing Cities into a pedestrian friendly space is one of the most important needs of the present era. Improved walkability helps in making the city environmentally and socially sustainable. Sustainability is the integral part of a typical Indian city. This paper discusses the shortcomings in the pedestrian experience of a typical city. How can the pedestrian experience be improved? How can the walkability quotient of a city be increased? Poor infrastructure forces people to abandon walking and cycling. The main objective of this paper is to find-out ways of inducing physical qualities that influence pedestrian movements in an urban area. If streets and junctions act as public spaces rather than just traffic routes, they become more convenient

Walkability Means What, To Whom?:Difficulties and Challenges in Defining Walkability

2010

There has been considerable growth in public health research investigating the influence of the built environment on physical activity. Simultaneously, transport and planning professionals have been promoting a change from inactive to active transpor t modes to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. A core concept in both areas of researc h is ‘walkability’. Walkable areas are varied and professional opinion on the level of walkability of an area can be contradictory. This study used a researcher-developed questionnaire to assess the en vironmental factors that influence walking behaviour. Professionals working within the area s of planning, architecture, politics, advocacy, public health and engineering were invited to compl ete the online questionnaire. All professions agreed that the presence of local quality functiona l w lking routes, the availability of numerous destinations within walking distance and the percep tion of safety were all key factors that influence th walk...

Walkable city and universal design in theory and practice in Poland

Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, 2020

Understanding the city as a whole, its functioning, and needs of its inhabitants is currently becoming an important issue. Solutions introduced in cities based on the principles of the concept of walkable city and universal design are becoming more and more popular around the globe. Both topics have been so far discussed separately, although due to the requirements of social life and introduction of new legal regulations, they should be analysed together. The objective of the paper is to examine the impact of the design concepts of walkable city and universal design on the practical aspects of life of people with disabilities in selected cities, with particular consideration of obstacles existing in public spaces. The main contribution of this study is twofold. In the methodological aspect, a synthetic index was developed based on the ‘Ten Steps of Walkability’. In practical terms, it was analysed from both the spatial aspect using UD principles (field inventory) and social perspective (semi-structured interviews with experts and a questionnaire survey). As a result, a mental map was developed, presenting ob-stacles and barriers in public spaces and in buildings relevant for people with and without disabilities (hearing, movement, and visual impairments). The results can be used for universal design worldwide to improve the accessibility of walkable spaces for people with special needs.

Implications of Walkability towards Promoting Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 50, 2012, Pages 204–213

Climate change is a widely accepted fact. Urbanization and industrialization is the main cause of the climate change phenomena all around the world. One of the main problems of urbanization is the increase in growing dependence on automobiles. The main modes of transportation even in the neighbourhood area are the private cars because it is the norm of urbanites to use the motorized vehicles rather than to walk. This shows that the planning and design of the neighbourhood itself can influence the walkability of the housing area. This paper highlights the implication of walkability towards promoting sustainable urban neighbourhood.

Enhancing the Level of Walkability in Streets: The Case of Salamis Street, Famagusta, Cyprus

NADIA, 2021

Public open spaces have the extraordinary ability to increase the livability and quality of life in urban settlements. During the last 30 years, many scholars tried to clarify the main effective indicators on quality of public open spaces. The level of walkability is defined as one of them. Unfortunately, from the last fifty years, policies of urban development throughout the world, increased car-dependency and the level of walkability is reduced. This investigation through using various methods is trying to clarify the most effective indicators for enhancing the level of walkability inside public open spaces. After that, the condition of walkability and its effective indicators inside the Salamis Street as a case study is assessed. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques are used. The results provide a set of strategies for improving the level of walkability within public open spaces, particularly in streets. The recommendations of this study has focused on physical infrastructures related to walking.