Pedestrian Cities

One of the most important aspects of New Urbanism is to design spaces for the comfort and enjoyment of the pedestrian.  In many regions throughout the world, pedestrian cities are increasing in popularity.  "The incredible beauty, enjoyment, and convenience a network of connected pedestrian streets and squares provides to the residents on a daily basis is unsurpassed. Being able to walk to a mix of shops, restaurants, newsstands, coffeehouses and open-air markets within car-free neighborhoods and work centers delivers the highest quality of life, and adds great variety and vitality to an area" (New Urbanism website).  Jane Jacobs refers to this as, "an intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that give each other constant mutual support, both economically and socially."  There is an increasing demand to convert entire city districts into pedestrian areas, directly connected to a train line.

Because it has a very large pedestrian street network, completely free of cars, Venice, Italy (figure ground image seen to the left) is considered to be one of the greatest pedestrian cities in the world.  This very dense city is pleasant and relaxing because it does not have any vehicles operating on its streets.


Copenhagen is another of the world's great pedestrian cities.  In the 40 years following its main street, Stroget,  being converted into a pedestrian thoroughfare, the city has constantly sought to improve the quality of its street life.  Planners and designers have taken steps to convert the city from being a car oriented place to a people oriented place.  The following 10 step program, proven to create four times more public life, has been adopted by the city to create a more pedestrian friendly environment:


1. CONVERT STREETS INTO PEDESTRIAN THOROUGHFARES 

The city turned its traditional main street, Stroget, into a pedestrian thoroughfare in 1962. In succeeding decades they gradually added more pedestrian-only streets, linking them to pedestrian-priority streets, where walkers and cyclists have right-of-way but cars are allowed at low speeds.

2. REDUCE TRAFFIC AND PARKING GRADUALLY

To keep traffic volume stable, the city reduced the number of cars in the city center by eliminating parking spaces at a rate of 2-3 percent per year. Between 1986 and 1996 the city eliminated about 600 spaces.

3. TURN PARKING LOTS INTO PUBLIC SQUARES

The act of creating pedestrian streets freed up parking lots, enabling the city to transform them into public squares.

4. KEEP SCALE DENSE AND LOW
Low-rise, densely spaced buildings allow breezes to pass over them, making the city center milder and less windy than the rest of Copenhagen.

5. HONOR THE HUMAN SCALE

The city’s modest scale and street grid make walking a pleasant experience; its historic buildings, with their stoops, awnings, and doorways, provide people with impromptu places to stand and sit.

6. POPULATE THE CORE

More than 6,800 residents now live in the city center. They’ve eliminated their dependence on cars, and at night their lighted windows give visiting pedestrians a feeling of safety.

7. ENCOURAGE STUDENT LIVING

Students who commute to school on bicycles don’t add to traffic congestion; on the contrary, their active presence, day and night, animates the city.

8. ADAPT THE CITYSCAPE TO CHANGING SEASONS
Outdoor cafes, public squares, and street performers attract thousands in the summer; skating rinks, heated benches, and gaslit heaters on street corners make winters in the city center enjoyable.

9. PROMOTE CYCLING AS A MAJOR MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

The city established new bike lanes and extended existing ones. They placed bike crossings – using space freed up by the elimination of parking – near intersections. Currently 34 percent of Copenhageners who work in the city bicycle to their jobs. 

10. MAKE BICYCLES AVAILABLE

The city introduced the City Bike system in 1995, which allows anyone to borrow a bike from stands around the city for a small coin deposit. When finished, they simply leave them at any one of the 110 bike stands located around the city center and their money is refunded.




This information, as well as more, regarding New Urbanism was gathered from the New Urbanism website, located at http://www.newurbanism.org/pedestrian.html