Contemporary pedestrian shapes. From the displaced plane to the complex space

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The pedestrian space has evolved along with the needs of the city in which it is implemented, considering the different social, political and cultural phenomena that have influenced urban life. OBJECTIVE: This article develops a classification and characterization of the different forms of the contemporary pedestrian space, in order to infer criteria that allow us to propose a more complex pedestrian structure, the pedestrian network. METHOD: Using a descriptive and qualitative approach, an analysis of various case studies is carried out, to determine common or distinctive characteristics that allow us to understand their structure. RESULTS: The analysis of these cases has allowed to classify them into: multilevel pedestrian spaces –those that have moved the circulation plane to levels other than level 0–, pedestrian areas –that function as autonomous environments for the pedestrian– and pedestrian axes – which are the basic forms of organization of the pedestrian space. These forms contain the fundamental characteristics of the contemporary pedestrian space and the essence of their introduction in the construction of the city. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The evolution of contemporary pedestrian space leads to recognition of the need for a more complex urban structure, extended throughout the urban area, that contemplates and integrates the characteristics of pedestrian spaces: the urban pedestrian network, conceived not in function of isolated elements but of interconnected and continuous elements, which serve the entire city.