Streets, Sidewalks and COVID-19: Reimaging New York City’s Public Realm as a Tool for Crisis Management

The 2020 COVID-19 outbreak has caused significant disruption to economic and social systems. New York City, as the United States’ largest city and among the nation’s most densely populated, was an early epicenter of the crisis. Modifications to the design, planning and operations of the city’s public realm have been important components of the city’s overall response to mitigate the effects of the pandemic while also facilitating economic recovery and providing social, educational, and recreational opportunities for city residents. This commentary provides an overview of New York City’s urban design responses to COVID-19, highlighting some of the successes and limitations of the city’s programs. We conclude by arguing that, in order to be effective, short-term crisis response efforts such as these must eventually be turned into government policies that not only address immediate urgent crises but also begin to facilitate durable long-term recovery and address longstanding systemic inequalities and vulnerabilities

KEMUNGKINAN PENERAPAN BERBAGI RUANG BERDASARKAN PERSEPSI PENGGUNA JALAN

Jalan Sigura-gura sebagai salah satu ruas jalan strategis di Kota Malang yang menjadi penghubung menuju kawasan pendidikan, perdagangan dan jasa serta permukiman sehingga menjadi salah satu kawasan padat pergerakan. Penggunaan ruang jalan didominasi oleh pengguna kendaraan bermotor yang mengakibatkan ketidakamanan dan ketidaknyamanan bagi pengguna jalan lain seperti pejalan kaki dan pesepeda. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kemungkinan penerapan berbagi ruang berdasarkan persepsi pengguna jalan. Berbagi ruang disini merupakan rekayasa lalu lintas dengan menghapuskan pembatas dan penanda fisik perbedaan jalur suatu ruang jalan. Penelitian ini menggunakan 6 tahapan yaitu: eksisting, tidy up, declutter, relocate, rethink, dan final. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tingkat pelayanan jalannya adalah C dan tingkat pelayanan simpangnya adalah E. Hal ini berarti bahwa arus kendaraan tidak stabil, kecepatan yang terkadang terhenti dan permintaan (volume) kendaraan yang sudah mendekati kapasitas. Tingkat pelayanan jalur pejalan kakinya adalah D, berarti hampir tidak tersedia ruang untuk bergerak. 80% pejalan kaki memberikan respon positif terhadap desain berbagi ruang

Kalona Elementary School Kalona, Iowa I-WALK Report 2010

In the past three decades, the number of obese and overweight individuals in Iowa and across the nation has skyrocketed. With obesity comes the greater risk of health complications and life expectancy reduction. As a result, the current generation of youth face a new and growing threat to the overall quality of life. In Iowa alone, 37.1% of 3rd grade students identify as either overweight or obese.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iwalk_reports/1038/thumbnail.jp

Behavioural Observation Of Human Stationary And Sustained Activities In Pedestrian Priority Streets Of Johor Bahru

Streets are considered to be major public spaces in the urban fabric. A pedestrian street is a street in which the carriageway space has been prioritised for pedestrian use. In Malaysia, due to enhancements of the streetscape and the promotion of the qualities of urban spaces, "pedestrianisation" has been suggested as a solution to recover space for pedestrian and non-traffic activities. A review of the literature has revealed that when people engage in a variety of activities, the streets become livelier. However, few empirical studies have addressed stationary and sustained activities in pedestrian streets. This research focused on pedestrian activities in Meldrum Walk and Segget Walk in Johor Bahru. Through behavioural observation, data on pedestrians of diverse age groups and genders, along with different types of activities and postures, were analysed. This study recommended that policy makers initiate conscious attempts to create diverse environments to attract a varied group of people to reside near pedestrian streets or attract visitors to frequent these streets. In addition, policy makers need to focus on interest groups, including children, senior citizens and/or disabled people, to make it easier for these groups to participate in activities in pedestrian streets

Näkökulmia katutilassa tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin Helsingin kantakaupungissa

Kaupunkitila määrittää kokemustamme kaupungista. Kaupunkitila muodostuu monista eriluonteisista tiloista, kuten kaduista, aukioista, puistoista tai sisäpihoista. Sitä on sekä yksityistä että julkista. Julkinen kaupunkitila on kaikkien kaupunkilaisten yhteistä omaisuutta ja sen tulisikin palvella kaikkien kaupunkilaisten toiveita ja tavoitteita parhaan mukaan. Merkittävin kaupunkitila, joka vaikuttaa kaupungin luonteen muodostumiseen tiiviisti rakennetussa kaupungissa, on katutila. Katutila rajautuu katua reunustavien rakennusten väliin ja on näin ollen niukka resurssi, jolloin se joudutaan jakamaan eri toimijoiden kesken. Oikeudesta tämän rajatun tilan käyttöön kamppailevat niin jalankulku, pyöräily, moottoriajoneuvoliikenne kuin kaupunkikasvillisuuskin. Helsinkiin ollaan lähivuosina rakentamassa valtavasti uutta katutilaa. Tätä suunniteltaessa on tärkeää ymmärtää, mistä nykyiset priorisoinnit katutilan jakautumisessa juontavat juurensa ja mihin nykyiset ohjeistukset sekä trendit johtavat. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan muutoksia maanpäällisessä katutilassa tapahtuneissa käyttötarkoituksissa sekä katutilan jäsentelyä ja laatua Helsingin kantakaupungissa kirjallisuuskatsauksen sekä historiallisen kuva- ja suunnitteluaineiston sekä nykyisten ohjeistusten analysoinnin avulla. Tarkastelu keskittyy Helsingin kaupunkikehityksen historiaan, liikennejärjestelmän kehitykseen, katutilaa koskeviin ohjeistuksiin sekä yksittäisiin esimerkkikohteisiin ympäristöhistoriallisten selvitysten sekä kuvamateriaalien kautta. Kun liikkumistottumuksissa on tapahtunut muutoksia, on tämä vaikuttanut myös katutilaan. Kaupungin varhaisimmassa historiassa katutilaa on ollut runsaasti, kun rakennusten etäisyyksiin toisistaan ovat vaikuttaneet pääasiassa erilaiset suunnittelijoiden näkemykset miellyttävästä tilasta sekä valontarve. Nämä periaatteet ohjaavat edelleen katutilan suunnittelua, mutta hallitsevaksi tekijäksi viimeistään 1900-luvun aikana on noussut liikenteen viemä tilantarve. 1900-luvun puolivälissä autoliikenne alkoi kasvaa valtavasti ja valtasi lähes kaiken katutilan. Viime vuosikymmeninä tämä kehitys on kuitenkin kääntynyt, kun liikenteen aiheuttamiin haittoihin on alettu kiinnittää enemmän huomiota. Ilmastokriisin edetessä kestävien liikkumismuotojen osuus katutilan liikenteestä tulee kasvamaan entisestään. Hyvän katutilan ominaisuuksia tukee kävelyä ja pyöräilyä korostava suunnittelu. Tämä luo paitsi ekologisesti, myös sosiaalisesti kestävämpää, terveellisempää ja turvallisempaa kaupunkia. Ajoneuvoliikenteen sujuvuus vaatii suuremman tilan, kuin esimerkiksi tilatehokkaammat raideliikenne tai pyöräily. Voidaan kuitenkin kysyä, onko ajoneuvoliikenteen sujuvuus katutilan jakautumisen kannalta kestävä peruste, kun tavoitteena on kasvattaa kestävien liikkumismuotojen osuutta liikenteestä aiheutuvien päästöjen vähentämiseksi. Katutilaa ei tule nähdä ensisijaisesti liikenneväylänä, vaan kaikkien yhteisenä oleskelutilana. Siksi katutilan suunnittelun lähtökohtana tulee ensisijaisesti olla sen viihtyisyyden kasvattaminen

Low-rise high density urban housing in Korea

Thesis (M. Arch)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1987.Includes bibliographical references (p. 45).The idea of low-rise high-density urban housing is based on two fundamental objectives: 1) To provide higher density by intensifying land use as urban growth escalates at an unprecedented rate. 2) To reconsider the essential qualities of house - a house with a garden, light and air. Modern high-rise apartments provide greater density and improved living conditions in terms of proper sanitation, electricity, and open space. But it lacks individuality and promotes a high degree of anonymity leading to limited social contact between neighbors. It dissociates the house from the ground and creates ambiguous open space between buildings. Single-family detached houses provides individuality and open space but detachment is not only meaningless but highly inefficient in terms of land use The courtyard house provides an alternative solution by combining advantages of individual house and high density housing. Its introverted nature allow dense clustering while maintaining a private open space. The design takes this traditionally horizontal aggregation of dwellings one step further to increase its potential density. It proposes a vertical courtyard house while maintaining access to light and air, visual and acoustical privacy, efficiency of construction, and a revitalization of street life and open space.by Gene S. Park.M.Arc

+ Space: Appropriation of Urban Infrastructure

This thesis explores and proposes urban design schemes for three underutilized and partially abandoned industrial and transportation properties that are presently voids and that are divisive to the urban fabric of Copenhagen’s central city. The sites of the voids are located along the rail line that currently and historically serve Copenhagen’s Central Train Station. These are Banegardspladsen and the two Boulevard Line’s voids. The goal of this thesis is to propose an urban design scheme that follows a feasibility study that states the opportunities and limitations set by Copenhagen’s municipality, the community, as well as the property owners. The scheme proposes the interlinking of the physical aspect of a living city with it’s culture, not only to serve the locals but to welcome visitor by providing Copenhagen with a desired central gathering space as well as a place for arrival to the city. The urban intervention becomes a celebration of History, an exhibition of the transportation culture of the city and provides a series of public spaces that encourage spontaneous events threaded by a string of pedestrian and bike paths

Sustainable | Sustaining City Streets

Streets are an integral part of every city on Earth. They channel the people, vehicles, and materials that help make urban life what it is. They are conduits for the oft-taken-for-granted infrastructures that carry fresh water, energy, and information, and that remove excess stormwater and waste. The very air that we breathe—fresh or foul—flows through our street canyons. That streets are the arteries of the city is, indeed, an apt metaphor. But city streets also function as a front yard, linear ecosystem, market, performance stage, and civic forum, among other duties. In their various forms, streets are places of interaction and exchange, from the everyday to the extraordinary. As the editors affirm, the more we scrutinize, share, and activate sustainable approaches to streets, the greater the likelihood that our streets will help sustain life in cities and, by extension, the planet. While diverse in subject, the papers in this volume are unified in seeing the city street as the complex, impactful, and pliable urban phenomenon that it is. Topics range from greenstreets to transit networks to pedestrian safety and walkability. Anyone seeking interdisciplinary perspectives on what makes for good city streets and street networks should find this book of interest

Where there is water, there is life: how a river regeneration can activate urban life in Sofia, Bulgaria

The main topic of this thesis is the role of urban rivers in Sofia and their impact on the city, citizens and quality of life. It deals with infrastructure and traffic, public spaces in Sofia and their absence, natural resources negligence and their regeneration – all in the name of citizens’ wellbeing and a livable city. Case studies of waterways varying in size are brought together and compared, extracting common design aspects and similarities, which allow for a typology and strategies to be created. The project situation is along a stretch of the Vladayska river in the capital of Bulgaria. Special attention is given to one key area and is then followed by applying the same strategies on both sides creating a continuous public zone and urban riverscape

In search of softness

For millions of years humans have been walking to move from one space to another. And even though the landscape has changed significantly throughout history, walking remains an essential mode of transport in all environments across the world. Yet af¬ter years of technological development and innovation, other forms of transportation such as cycling, rolling a wheelchair, pushing a stroller or riding an electric scooter have broadened the possibilities for moving throughout the streets and sidewalks of cities. Today, many urban environments around the world are reshaping their street networks to make space for soft mobility and move away from the past notion of prioritising motor-traffic. In doing so, planners and designers must ask what is walkable and how both the physical environment and the services within it affect walkability. This public life study develops site specific design strategies for strengthening walka¬bility and soft mobility in between Spånga station and Rinkebydalen in Stockholm, Sweden. It does so through point in time public life observations where both human and non-human actors are observed to understand the relational qualities of a space. Moreover, the findings are analysed against an existing set of key dimensions for crea¬ting walkability. The result highlights problems and possibilities with walkability on site today and illustrates how walkability could be improved for several forms of soft mobi¬lity purposes. Additionally, the study highlights more general strategies for strengthe¬ning walkability which could be applied in a broader discussion on walkability and soft mobility. The study concludes that what is walkable highly depends on the purpose of walking or moving in another form of soft mobility. Furthermore, human senses such as sight, smell, sound and touch all affect soft mobility patterns together with non-human actors such as natural and built objects and micro-climate. Understanding how one actor affects another is essential for designing walkable spaces