Town Centre Statistics Through the Internet

April 28-2

"So go downtown": simulating pedestrian movement in town centres

Pedestrian movement models have been developed since the 1970s. A review of the literature shows that such models have been developed to explain and predict macro, meso, and micro movement patterns. However, recent developments in modelling techniques, and especially advances in agent-based simulation, open up the possibility of developing integrative and complex models which use existing models as 'building blocks'. In this paper we describe such integrative, modular approach to simulating pedestrian movement behaviour. The STREETS model, developed by using Swarm and GIS, is an agent-based model that focuses on the simulation of the behavioural aspects of pedestrian movement. The modular structure of the simulation is described in detail. This is followed by a discussion of the lessons learned from the development of STREETS, especially the advantages of adopting a modular approach and other aspects of using the agent-based paradigm for modelling

Successful Urban Design Principles for the Redevelopment of the Historic Seafronts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along the North Red Sea , Case Study: Yanbu Al-Bahr’s Historic Seafront

This thesis highlights the role of urban planners in the revitalization of historic seafronts as creative and attractive places for people and a key factor in the regeneration of the urban economy in the historic seafront areas. The Saudi Arabia historic seafront areas along the North Red Sea have been neglected and are suffering because of slow development and changes to industrial uses. This thesis will focus on the urban design principles that make historic seafronts more attractive and successful, and will use a case study approach of several American waterfront cities such as Baltimore, Maryland; San Francisco, California; and Charleston, South Carolina. These American cities and the urban design principles applied for their successful revitalization were selected for analysis because of their similarities with the Yanbu Al-Bahr\u27s historic seafront. The results of this analysis will enable planners to apply the best of these urban waterfront design models to assist in the revitalization of historic seafronts along the North Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Footfall and the territorialisation of urban places measured through the rhythms of social activity

The UK high street is constantly changing and evolving in response to, for example, online sales, out-of-town developments, and economic crises. With over 10 years of hourly footfall counts from sensors across the UK, this study was an opportunity to perform a longitudinal and quantitative investigation to diagnose how these changes are reflected in the changing patterns of pedestrian activity. Footfall provides a recognised performance measure of place vitality. However, through a lack of data availability due to historic manual counting methods, few opportunities to contextualise the temporal patterns longitudinally have existed. This study therefore investigates daily, weekly, and annual footfall patterns, to diagnose the similarities and differences between places as social activity patterns from UK high streets evolve over time. Theoretically, footfall is conceptualised within the framework of Territorology and Assemblage Theory, conceptually underpinning a quantitative approach to represent the collective meso-level (street and town-centre) patterns of footfall (social) activity. To explore the data, the periodic signatures of daily, weekly, and annual footfall are extracted using STL (seasonal trend decomposition using Loess) algorithms and the outputs are then analysed using fuzzy clustering techniques. The analyses successfully identify daily, weekly, and annual periodic patterns and diagnose the varying social activity patterns for different urban place types and how places, both individually and collectively are changing. Footfall is demonstrated to be a performance measure of meso-scale changes in collective social activity. For place management, the fuzzy analysis provides an analytical tool to monitor the annual, weekly, and daily footfall signatures providing an evidence-based diagnostic of how places are changing over time. The place manager is therefore better able to identify place specific interventions that correspond to the usage patterns of visitors and adapt these interventions as behaviours change

The Impact of Real Estate Construction and Holding Companies: A Case Study of Beirut's Solidere and Amman's Abdali

Real Estate Construction and Holding Companies (RECHCOs) have been used by governments in the Arab world as a vehicle for stimulus to promote development. This thesis will examine two particular examples of RECHCOs within city centres: Solidere in Beirut and Abdali in Amman. The RECHCOs in these instances were completely private companies presented as the inevitable choice for the rehabilitation of the centre to create a modern downtown, accompanied by a slew of benefits including job creation, investment, increased tourism potential, and upgraded infrastructure. In return the RECHCOs received political support, public subsidies, tax incentives and exemptions, and the right to expropriate privately owned land, generally reserved for governments. The thesis aims to explore this narrative through the lens of RECHCOs' impact on Arab cities' citizens. It will make the argument that though RECHCOs seem to be appealing and easy tools for contemporary cities they do not live up to their promises of political, economic and social benefits, especially as seen from the perspective of city citizens. The thesis contributes a comprehensive empirical case study to the literature on the modern Arab world, which to date has not explored the impacts of projects such as RECHCOs. The research included stakeholder interviews, a representative sample survey of over 1,500 Amman residents, a comprehensive literature review, a thorough media review, a legislative review, examination of company records, and data gathering from government databases and published statistics. Within three chapters dealing with the social, political and economic impacts of RECHCOs, the case studies presented are discussed across several themes central to urban planning literature both in the context of the Arab city and beyond. The Thesis includes a discussion of the role of the city centre within the city, and the RECHCOs' diminishing effect which undermines the centre as a place of society, gathering, economy and politics. The Thesis looks at heritage and memory in the city in the context of RECHCOs whereby as a consequence of ignoring established traditions in cities RECHCOs have a detrimental impact. RECHCOs undercut political processes, bypass social and traditional heritage, and destroy physical historical structures. RECHCOs are framed within an examination of privatised and contested public space within cities. The new RECHCO downtowns are physically isolated and privately guarded. They are housed with exclusive functions, high-end luxury commercial establishments, and highly priced residential and office space. Previous residents are priced out of the area through gentrification, and the economic windfalls of RECHCOs are diverted towards transnational investors and local elite with limited distributional and trickle-down benefits. The subsequent exclusive – and segregated - space created by the RECHCO gives rise to a sense of antagonism amongst city citizens. RECHCOs thus interrupt the interaction between public space and participation damaging active citizenship within the city. The thesis frames RECHCOs as a tool of urban governance and policies, in the context of weakened local governments and the alienation of citizens. The thesis concludes with a series of lessons learnt

Development of a model for the assessment of sustainable high street performance based on stakeholder needs and expectations.

The decline of high streets due to external factors, such as changing consumer trends, the growth of alternative forms of retail, changing economic conditions etc., is a topic that has received a great deal of political and media attention during the last decade. The performance of high streets is influenced by a multitude of complex and conflicting economic, environmental and social factors. However, despite this, existing performance measures continue to place emphasis on the retailing and economic functions of high streets. As consumer needs and expectations shift towards a preference for social and experiential high street features, the need to change the perception of high street success is increasingly important. This study has identified statistically significant differences between importance scores allocated to high street assessment criteria by a range of high street stakeholder groups. These differences reveal the varying priorities of key stakeholders when it comes to high streets, and the subsequent need to account for the varied needs and expectations of stakeholders when it comes to assessing high street performance. This research contributes new and original knowledge through the development and application of a high street sustainability assessment model that incorporates criteria weightings to reflect the needs and expectations of key high street stakeholders. Utilising Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, the model comprises an all-inclusive set of weighted criteria that reflects a high street's economic, environmental and social functions. The model is applied to a practical example of eight English town centre high streets. The thesis presents the ranking of the high streets in terms of their relative sustainability and provides a step-by-step guide of how key stakeholders can apply the model for their own high street decision making needs. The model can inform national and local high street policy, strategies and decision making, and provides benefits to a range of stakeholders, including national and local government, town centre managers, local businesses and local communities. The model output can inform recommendations and indicate areas of improvement that would be most beneficial to improved high street sustainability

Retrofitting England's suburbs to adapt to climate change

The majority of the English population lives in suburbs and this is where the impacts of climate change will significantly affect people's domestic lives: heat stress, respiratory problems, flooding, drought, deterioration of green spaces and damage from storms. A recognized need exists to adapt suburbs (homes, gardens and public space) physically to mitigate against further climate change and to adapt to inevitable weather patterns. A number of potential adaptation options, addressing different risks, are identified and tested using a range of methods, including modelling, and workshops with residents and professional and institutional stakeholders. The best solutions are those that reduce the climate risk within the context of local adaptive capacity. Solutions are effective, acceptable and feasible given the type of suburb; its location; microclimate; housing type; the climate risk it faces; the socio-economic composition of its residents and their attitudes; resources; and governance conditions. It is essential to consider both the totality of the suburban environment and the combined effects of mitigation and adaptation measures. However, the biggest challenge is implementation which entails a better understanding of the problem by a range of stakeholders, a more supportive policy context, more resources, and clearer responsibilities. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC