Street Corridors Research Articles

London's local high streets: The problems, potential and complexities of mixed street corridors

This paper examines the ‘problem’ of mixed street corridors through the lens of London's local high streets (main streets). It theorises the nature of these streets, developing an analytical framework through which to investigate them through their four high street functions – physical fabric, exchange, movement and real estate – and the overarching question of management. It then explores the challenges and issues facing such streets in British cities before turning specifically to the London case. Through a complimentary set of empirical investigations, London's local high streets are explored across two scales, in terms of their strategic city-wide contribution, and through their local impact. They are examined both with regard to their situation today and their future potential. The policy context across London is also, explored, before conclusions and recommendations are drawn out of relevance to London and to mixed street corridors across the world. Mixed streets represent a particularly ‘wicked’ problem for cities, yet, as the research shows, they are also some of the most important spaces in the city, of far greater complexity and local significance than is realised, and possessing untapped strategic growth potential.

Herbaceous plants as filters: Immobilization of particulates along urban street corridors

Among air pollutants, particulate matter (PM) is considered to be the most serious threat to human health. Plants provide ecosystem services in urban areas, including reducing levels of PM by providing a surface for deposition and immobilization. While previous studies have mostly addressed woody species, we focus on herbaceous roadside vegetation and assess the role of species traits such as leaf surface roughness or hairiness for the immobilization of PM. We found that PM deposition patterns on plant surfaces reflect site-specific traffic densities and that strong differences in particulate deposition are present among species. The amount of immobilized PM differed according to particle type and size and was related to specific plant species traits. Our study suggests that herbaceous vegetation immobilizes a significant amount of the air pollutants relevant to human health and that increasing biodiversity of roadside vegetation supports air filtration and thus healthier conditions along street corridors.

The Identification of Early Gentrification in Tembalang Area, Semarang, Indonesia

The authors study the effect of development in Tembalang post relocation of the Diponegoro University in 1995, and establish that social, economic and physical changes occurring demonstrate establishment of gentrification in the city. The study also assesses the effect of gentrification. The study uses quantitative and qualitative methods, applied on 130 dwellers as sample unit, and utilizes Discriminant Analysis to classify the gentrification characteristic, both using questionnaire and observation. The authors conclude that development in Tembalang demonstrates gentrification that is identified based on social change, changes in population, tendency of segregation, and area’s revitalization. Socially, gentrification has made Tembalang become more crowded; differences in dweller’s behaviour of home rented-newcomers and homeowner-newcomer and declining level of morality in Tembalang’s youth are also studied. Economically, effects of gentrification is demonstrated in over 65% population as economic condition have improved due to increase of business opportunities, rapid growth in trade and service activities in the main street corridors. The authors also show that gentrification leads to increased congestion and increased criminal activities. Physically, gentrification has decreased available green space although improvement in aesthetics in terms of architecture, cleanliness, and building permanency are observed. Disparity in infrastructure services distribution is also observed on account of gentrification. [Formula: see text]