Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between crowding and streets as public open spaces in high-density urban environments from the perspectives of perceived density and human needs, two antecedents to crowdedness. City streets are the places through which various forms of crowding are perceived and experienced. Hence, they can play a role in easing this sense of crowding if corresponding strategies are put in place. The paper argues that practices, such as traffic calming and self-building, can transform the streets to serve as public open space, which increases spaciousness and eases crowding. It also puts forward tactical urbanism as a strategy for city governance to create the right conditions encouraging flourishing civil society initiatives in a dense primary environment that is invigorating and at the same time has a level of crowding perceived as both comfortable and liveable.
Highlights
Due to the global population increase and unprecedented rates of urbanisation, a growing number of people are experiencing or going to experience overcrowded urban environments, which in the context of this paper can be described as having more people in a space than is considered safe, comfortable, or allowable, according to specific cultural contexts or other standards
The paper first draws on the literature to show the relationship between density, open space, and crowding. It explains the role of city streets as public open space in creating spaciousness via such practices as traffic calming and quality self-building
We apply a variation of autophotography as photographs taken by the research team, which are used to present details and aspects of the streets more convincingly expressed with pictures [21]
Summary
Due to the global population increase and unprecedented rates of urbanisation, a growing number of people are experiencing or going to experience overcrowded urban environments, which in the context of this paper can be described as having more people in a space than is considered safe, comfortable, or allowable, according to specific cultural contexts or other standards. Sustainability transitions see cities as environments where the ecological, social, and economic agenda can be integrated [7] Under such circumstances, it is predictable that people would keep flocking from far and wide to already dense cities for the so-called urban advantage—better healthcare, better education, and better standards of living. Featuring heavy traffic and often increasingly taller buildings, this type of sprawl looms across the globe from the dense, low-to-medium rise sprawl in Los Angeles, to skyscraper suburbia in Beijing, and gives the impression of rising densities This is contrary to the very fact that in the last thirty years, urban densities around the world have consistently been declining across all countries and income levels [10]. The performance of the street can be a barometer of the city, be it tidy or messy, spacious or crammed, attractive or ugly
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
