Street Design and Street Use: Comparing Traffic Calmed and Home Zone Streets

Abstract

This research compares the street activity in two very comparable streets over exactly the same period using time lapse cameras. The aim of the research has been to assess which approaches to street design might encourage the street life and activity most envisioned in the UK's national residential street guidance Manual for Streets. The two streets are directly comparable apart from their design qualities. One has been traffic calmed and the other has had home zone features applied to one section. This work found that residents stayed in the home zoned section of the street for relatively long periods, engaging in optional activities and also socializing. This is in contrast to the traffic calmed street which has emerged through a public involvement process, and where the resulting street did not show any significant change in the way that the street was being used.