Transforming urban mobility and public space through slow streets. A stakeholder approach

In June 2020 the Local Council Association (LCA) in Malta launched the ‘Slow Streets’ action plan to promote active travel and use public transport, while at the same time provide information to reduce mobility. This paper explores people’s perceptions and opinions towards this action plan, and the opportunities and challenges perceived and anticipated experiences in the future implementation of it. To do this we use two qualitative datasets: people’s perceptions from 84 semi-structured interviews and an N focus group amongst stakeholders. The semi-structured interviews were conducted between February 2022 and April 2022 by intercepting people in the streets of six localities that showed interest in being part of the action plan. The online focus group was conducted in February 2022. The findings show that 66 % of the resident participants were not aware of the action plan, which is of concern when considering the topic of stakeholder involvement. From the qualitative analysis three main themes emerged: car culture, safety and policy. People agreed that there should be permanent interventions to reduce car use. Both stakeholder groups agreed that urban areas should have safe environments for children to play, and engage in sustainable mobility and healthier lifestyles.peer-reviewe

Exploring the potential for timed cities in Malta : the case of Paola

With ever-increasing interest in the Timed City concept and active mobility-related initiatives that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, several cities in the developed Western world have engaged in projects to move towards sustainable mobility. Malta is a car-dependent small Island State with the highest population density in the European Union. Its transport planning policy, leading to ever-increasing car dependency, is having serious detrimental impacts on environmental, social and economic aspects. The archipelago’s urban environment and demographics provide an ideal context for studying the Timed City concept. This research therefore tests the applicability of the Timed City concept to the Maltese context. A mixed method case study methodology is adopted using GIS and PGIS. Paola, a dense urban locality in Malta of over 9000 inhabitants and spanning 2.5 km2, was chosen. Relevant datasets are mapped out in GIS using ArcGIS Desktop 10.8. Qualitative research to gauge the user perspective using PGIS is ongoing. This paper presents the spatial analysis of the quantitative GIS data and discusses the findings in relation to the current literature. Ultimately, the data indicate undiscovered potential for the Timed City concept to be successfully adapted to such urban contexts, while identifying specific areas requiring improvement and concluding with suggestions for policy intervention and future research.peer-reviewe

Nature-based placemaking in high-density cities : learning outcomes arising from the ReCreate project

Now is the time to accelerate progress towards green and climateneutral cities. This need is already recognised by policies and plans, such as the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the recently proposed EU Nature Restoration Law which is calling for no net loss of urban green space by 2030 and an increase in total area covered by urban space by 2040 and 2050, and by citizens across the globe. Nature is a source of inspiration, education and scientific knowledge, but also a means to climate adaptation and urban quality improvement for more liveable cities. Yet, recent literature has shown how access to nature is, often, not equitably shared within communities and is driven by demographic and socio-economic conditions, such as population density and according to areas of advantage and disadvantage. At the same time, nature-based interventions which aim to improve the quality of urban areas, are in many cases not accompanied by significant engagement and empowerment of communities and are rarely followed upon through comprehensive monitoring and assessment of arising benefits, and their distribution within communities. [Excerpt from the Foreword by Dr. Mario V. Balzan]peer-reviewe