Chapter 3 Contemporary Approaches to Transport Provision and Urban Design

Just as modernist planning used transport to structure cities, contemporary planning and urbanism also pay attention to transport to meet the needs of the city of today. On one hand this is to do with concerns for sustainability which wish to see a‘cascading down'from fast, energy-hungry modes to more environmentally-friendly ones. On the other hand, it is to do with the desire for an integrated approach to transport and urban design, where the transport function of urban streets and spaces should not overshadow their urban functions, and the needs of people should come ahead of vehicles. Indeed, the promotion of more traditional forms of urbanity can go hand in hand with the promotion of sustainable modes, particularly public transport and the pedestrian. This chapter sets out to explore these contemporary approaches, which together lend themselves to a reintegration of transport provision and urban design.

3.1 Pedestrian Provision

In a definitively human sense, walking is the original form of transport. The pedestrian environment has had a long history of evolution within the context of urbanity.

Accordingly, there is much to be gained from considering the way in which urban design has taken place in step with the pedestrian.

Though walking is commonly encouraged nowadays, in the not too distant past approaches to design for the pedestrian have included ignoring it as a travel mode; placing it implicitly or explicitly at th‘e bottom'of the hierarchy; or otherwise marginalizing the pedestrian, physically or metaphorically. More recent approaches have treated the pedestrian more sympathetically, although much of this merely represents aspiration towards‘better pedestrian provision' without necessarily providing explicit means of achieving this. In this section a variety of these approaches is explored with a view to understanding the nature of the pedestrian‘problem', which may later be used when exploring possible urban structural solutions.

3.1.1 Pedestrian Characteristics

In a definitivel y human sense, walking is the original form of transport. The pedestrian environment has had a long history of evolution within the context of urbanity.

Accordingly, there is much to be gained from considering the way in which urban design has taken place in step with the pedestrian. Though walking is commonly encouraged nowadays, in the not too distant past approaches to design for the pedestrian have included ignoring it as a travel mode; placing it implicitly or explicitly at the‘bottom'of the hierarchy; or otherwise marginalizing the pedestrian, physically or metaphorically. More recent approaches have treated the pedestrian more sympathetically, although much of this merely represents aspiration towards‘better pedestrian provision'without necessarily providing explicit means of achieving this. In this section a variety of these approaches is explored with a view to understanding the nature of the pedestria‘n problem', which may later be used when exploring possible urban structural solutions.

3.1.2 Pedestrian Characteristics

Walking is by all accounts a significant mode of transport in terms of proportions of trips, especially in urban areas. Walking is also the most flexible form of transport and despite being the slowest mode can be the quickest means of making short trips.

Investing in and designing for the pedestrian means the ability to cater for the broadest cross-section of society, since walking is free, and almost everyone is able to walk. Making pedestrian routes more direct, secure and attractive also aids those who cannot walk, and those pushing prams, buggies or shopping trolleys. By designing the urban environment for the most vulnerable and sensitive road user, it should also be possible to create a richer, more attractive environment for all. For all these reasons, walking is nowadays regarded as a favored means of transport that is worthy of encouragement as part of a sustainable transport policy.

Moreover, walking is more than simply a mode of transport. It is also an activity, even a pastime, in its own right. Window-shopping, sight-seeing and holding a conversation are all activities which can be done while in the course of walking, and a walk in itself can be a journey purpose. Guidance by the Institution of Highways and Transportation recognizes the role of non-transport uses of street space which are associated with pedestrian activity:“Streets can provide valuable communal space, where people can congregate, sit or take a stroll, and where trading, entertainment and ceremonies can take place, children can play outside and other activities can spill over from adjacent premises”. As such, considerations for the pedestrian transcend the scope of transport planning, and relate to the wider disciplinary realms of urban design and planning.

The pedestrian mode is distinctive in that it unites the interior spaces of buildings with the transport network of the settlement as a whole.

Conversely, residential streets and public spaces act can as extensions of crowded dwellings. Thus the pedestrian space transcends the boundaries between interior and exterior, in both directions: streets become outdoor rooms, interiors become indoor circulation arteries. The pedestrian mode is of particular importance as a historic generator of urban form.

Of course, it is usually in the central areas that are often visited, such as shopping center or tourist area. In any case, the process of adaptation may have ensured that only the more successful form of the past has prevailed, so there is no inherent“right”in the traditional design itself. What we need is a way to transform or transform traditional urban areas to meet today's needs. This requires a broad understanding of both people and cities.

3.1.3 Pedestrian Culture

As a public space, the Street has been the traditional setting for pedestrian use. Today, the role of the street as an‘exchange Space'as well as being a transportation channel is promoted by those charged with the management and design of public thoroughfares. There is a wide variety of social and cultural aspects which inform the role of the street as a public space. Particular aspects include streets as a social place for people to meet face to face; the economic use of streets, and the importance of‘the appearance of business being done'; the political and ceremonial roles of streets; the street as a‘communications artefact'; the street as a‘cultural artefact'.

Thus, the use of streets by pedestrians is primarily culturally based. This is quite a remarkable statement, at least for transport planners. These factors combine to make design for the pedestrian a promising yet challenging prospect.

3.1.4 Factors Influencing the Design of Walkway

The pedestrian is sensitive firstly in the sense of having a greater sensory awareness and appreciation of the environment（to an extent tied in with the pedestrian's resulting vulnerability）. Secondly, the pedestrian is sensitive in the sense of demand for walking being more susceptible to influence by a wider variety of factors than to other modes in other words, one may easily be deterred from walking for relatively small adverse changes in the environment.

In the past, pedestrians might be given their own dedicated routes, segregated from vehicular traffic, but these were not necessarily attractive or well-used places. Concerns for personal security（as opposed to road safety）may now favor integrated rather than segregated solutions. On the other hand, simply re-integrating the pedestrian with vehicular traffic, on its own, would not necessarily ensure a successful outcome. It seems that a fuller range of environmental considerations needs to be taken into account.

The layout of the pedestrian network can itself promote pedestrian use and hence support the urban vitality sought by planners. This includes creating a sufficiently dense web of paths, or, put another way, sufficiently short block size.

Clearly, network topology can influence pedestrian-friendliness, since, other things being equal, a more connective mesh or grid will minimize distance compared with a ‘tree'or cul-de-sac system. However, in the end, the absolute composition of site layout, including distance, and three-dimensional considerations（gradient, exposure, visual interest）, will be important to the pedestrian, more than for other modes.

We have seen that urbanity has had a long process of adaptation to pedestrian needs. Traditional urban areas seem to provide an attractive and comfortable environment for the pedestrian, which would lend some support to the neo-traditional cause, which would aim to replicate those qualities in contemporary design.

We also have seen how the pedestrian is the most‘sensitive'user of the urban environment. Design for the pedestrian should therefore address the whole human, and not simply locomotive properties. It is therefore not sufficient to engineer footways, but it is necessary to design pedestrian space. In terms of urban structure, then, it is not just a matter of configuration of the pedestrian‘network', but the overall composition of the pedestrian environment.

Yet, despite the complex human needs of the pedestrian, some of the more important basic qualities of networks which relate to pedestrians are simple and directly related to the effort of human movement: convenience and directness, which relate to the permeability of networks and connectivity of routes. However, while it is straightforward to proclaim that pedestrian networks should be‘permeable'and‘convenient', there needs to be explicit demonstration of what this means, in terms of network structure.

Given the prevailing vogue for sustainable mobility, it might seem that a simple and direct way of righting past wrongs is simply to‘invert'the conventional hierarchy. For example, it is possible to place the pedestrian nominally at the top of the hierarchy, followed perhaps by cyclists and public transport, with general traffic such as cars at the bottom.

However, as we shall later see, a hierarchy is more complex than this: it is not merely a linear listing of priority. Moreover, there needs to be effective supporting of the hierarchy to accord real priority: if the urban structure and layout of routes on the ground does not support the nominal hierarchy, it will be ineffectual.