Users Of Urban Spaces Research Articles

Talking to the young generation: perception of nature-based solutions’ attractiveness by children from Generation Z

ABSTRACT Current studies on nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban areas often overlook young people, who are essential users of urban spaces. Our study from the Czech Republic fills this gap by investigating how children (Generation Z, 11–15 years) perceive 12 NBS and 3 grey infrastructure measures and their ecosystem services (ES). Results from an image-based questionnaire survey indicate that water features, trees and flower beds are the most attractive for spending leisure time, while most other features were perceived as relatively unattractive by the children surveyed. In addition, the results highlight oxygen production as the most valued service by children, followed by biodiversity support and aesthetic function. This study emphasises the need for inclusive management of NBS and recognises the role of multiple stakeholders, including children, in creating attractive urban spaces. Key policy highlights Exploring the preferences of Generation Z towards different nature-based solutions Some measures and benefits were perceived as more attractive and important Water features, trees, and flower beds were rated as the most attractive measures Oxygen provisioning, biodiversity, and aesthetics were identified as the most important benefits Children and young people are essential users of urban nature and public spaces

Towards discovering human urban activity—tactics of human spatial behavior

ABSTRACT The study of human spatial behavior primarily focuses on recognizing their spatial diversification and indicating their distribution, which is well described in the literature. In addition to exploring the phenomenon and its description, the essence of human geography is also to explain it. In this context, it is valuable to learn about the practices carried out by users of urban spaces and the tactics they adopt that result in specific spatial behaviors. To date, most research has been concerted on identifying the determinants, needs, and perceptions of space by its users and, in recent years, on psychophysical responses to the surrounding environment. This research investigates how people strive to realize their needs in urban public open spaces. The study was conducted among users of the Liberty Square in Poznań, Poland. Two methods were used during the qualitative field research: observation and individual in-depth interviews of a casual nature. The obtained data were subjected to qualitative analysis using CAQDAS software. The results of the study identified three human spatial behavioral tactics (SBTs) oriented toward (1) space, (2) people, and (3) needs. SBTs mark the course of human activity and determine where it occurs, its duration and intensity. A person chooses one dominant tactic, while the others influence their spatial behavior but play a complementary role. A person determines the proportions between tactics each time, which affects a great deal of flexibility in the course of their spatial behavior.

Co-designing safe and sustainable darkness for northern urban places

The technological development, quantitative increase and qualitative design of urban lighting have succeeded in improving the safety and comfort of urban spaces. In this context, dark and dimly lit places appear as undesirable, even dangerous. However, the disadvantages of overlighting are increasingly being identified. On the other hand, darkness has well-being effects and aesthetic values in urban environments. The Safe and Sustainable Darkness project studies the frameworks for dimmer urban lighting: how to find room for lower lighting levels and darker places, respecting the diverse use of spaces and the values and experiences of city residents. In the article, we present participatory process for design and implementation of safe and sustainable urban darkness. The expertise and understanding of two different groups is of interest. Interviews of various professionals in the city organization reveal how illuminated and un-illuminated places are perceived from an administrative perspective. Inhabitants and users of urban space share their insight of the meanings, potential and context of the existing and future dark places. By combining the research material from interviews, crowdsourcing, workshops and evaluated pilot installation, we propose a co-design methodology to create enjoyable dimly lit and un-illuminated urban spaces.

Attention!, your movement makes the city

Within the communicative possibilities of graphics, we focus on the challenge proposed by choreographic notation. This practice combines the technical, the artistic and the semiotic in an attempt to retain the volatility of gesture. To address this choreographic relationship, we study public art pieces that rely on graphic language to reach the users of urban space. These allow us to identify which elements, common in the context of the city, are recovered from a choreographic vision to activate citizens' reflection and attention and to propose new uses for the spaces they pass through. In recent decades, dance and movement have gained a place in public space through institutional mediation. In response to this reality, we seek to understand how graphics is proposed as a mediating language between cultural spaces and the dwellers of the city.

Scooter Stories: User and Non-User Experiences of a Shared E-Scooter Trial

E-scooters are the fastest-growing form of micro-mobility, riding a wave of popularity in recent years; in may cities, they have sparked something akin to an urban personal mobility revolution. Despite their popularity, e-scooters raise several challenges for policymakers and transport providers, and are a divisive mode on the streets. Reports of conflict and tension around e-scooters' safety are common. In addition, there are questions about what mode trips e-scooters are substituting. However, to date there remain few academic studies into user and non-user experiences. This study focused on a UK e-scooter trial, using a mixed methods approach to collect data from 222 participants. The focus of this paper's analysis is on participants' qualitative "scooter stories", supported by quantitative data that provides broader insight into the scooters' use and demographic patterns. We find that on the positive side, e-scooters are useful, affordable, enjoyable and flexible; they provide a viable alternative to some urban car trips and can be linked to active travel. However, whist scooters are sometimes replacing car trips, they are more often substituting walking or cycling, a challenging finding from a health and sustainability perspective. E-scooters exacerbate conflicts between users of urban space: we explore legality, safety of riders and non-riders, impacts on pavement and road space, intoxicated riding, and more. We present our findings in the context of sustainable urban mobility policy, making recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders seeking to mitigate the impacts of e-scooters, and harness the sustainable mobility benefits of this popular new mode.

Novel Wayfinding: LitLabs and the Activism of Place

If advanced high school English classrooms remain some of the few spaces where young people, especially young people of color, might read the Victorian novel, what opportunities for political work might we expect, innovate, demand from those encounters? Drawing from experiences directing LitLabs, immersive, site-specific, design-based approaches to studying literature with South LA teens, the author argues for expanding the geographies literary works reference to include readers’ embodiment in place so that Victorian studies can strengthen and nurture a sense of place for readers often displaced by engagements with the Western literary canon. The essay traces the conflicted, but rewarding, processes for reading literature with an agenda for placekeeping, as one avenue for producing a self-affirming communal consciousness among readers as users of urban space. The essay turns to David Copperfield, where a typical mode of individualized, absorptive reading is contrasted to LitLabs’ model of “emplaced reading” through its adaptations of a core urban humanities “fused practice” of thick-mapping.

3D Data Visualization and Analysis Tools for AI Ready City: Space Syntax and Social Media Data

Space syntax is now widely accepted as a set of techniques that can be used to efficiently analyze spatial morphological structure at the city or community level. Segment analysis, a type of space syntax that is typically rendered through two-dimensional vector lines, can show the effectiveness of pedestrian and vehicular accesses to parts of a city. However, analysis of a city’s condition is far too diverse and complex for the use of space syntax alone. Other types of information, such as data from social media, can be integrated to determine and locate problems in the city, or to search for areas with potential for development. These types of data help in analyzing the quality of experience for those using the urban spaces, and they can be obtained by compiling the judgements of actual city dwellers, or by using advanced technologies to create a more realistic virtual reality and letting system users be the judges. The purpose of this research is to develop a 3D model and a virtual reality system capable of displaying the results of 3D urban morphological analysis, using space syntax segment analysis and social media data from urban space users to support the collaboration and communication among architects, designers, urban planners, city policy makers, or other city stakeholders. The virtual 3D model was created by using photogrammetry from aerial photographs, as well as a low polygon model built with referenced data from the photogrammetry model for faster rendering. The area of Thammasat University, Rangsit Center, was used as the prototype area for the AI Ready City.

IMAGEABILITY AND LEGIBILITY: COGNITIVE ANALYSIS AND VISIBILITY ASSESSMENT IN GALLE HERITAGE CITY

The concepts of imageability and legibility are important aspects of urban design. Many scholars use the terms “imageability” and “legibility” interchangeably, usually examining one concept and applying the implications to the other. This research explores the relationship between these two concepts by answering the research questions: 1. how do people perceive the saliency of landmarks (imageability) and 2. how does the spatial configuration facilitate the visibility level of landmarks (legibility)? The Galle Heritage City in Sri Lanka is considered as the case study. The first part of the empirical study is to assess the level of imageability of urban space users by completing 100 cognitive maps and producing a composite cognitive map that indicates the structural landmarks’ salience or the level of imageability. The second part is the level of legibility of the landmarks by employing the visibility assessment process and the third part compares the two results with a concurrence matrix. The findings highlight that there is a positive relationship between people’s perception (imageability) and level of visibility (legibility). Further, imageability mostly depends on semantic properties than legibility, but legibility predominantly depends on structural properties and visual properties are almost equally important to both concepts.

Designing an incubator of public spaces platform: Applying cybernetic principles to the co-creation of spaces

The paper is based on the experience of creating and piloting a functioning ‘Incubator’ crowdsourcing platform for designing public spaces in an estate regeneration project in South London. The paper uses a cybernetics framework to analyse and present the way the platform itself was created and how issues of effectiveness, efficiency and equity were dealt with. It explores the generic qualities of interface and reviews applications of variety reduction in established crowdsourcing CS) models. It briefly presents the legal and socio-spatial parameters (like property rights) associated with the creation of the Incubators platform as well as the generic rules applicable to human-spatial relationships, based on studies exploring human-spatial interactions. Practical constraints including costs, catchments, life-span and meaningful feedback are looked into, followed by a discussion on social and political limitations associated with this form of public participation. The paper explains how those constraints where taken into account when establishing the operational parameters of the software platform and the experiences gained from the operation of the platform. Challenges and complications, such as the exclusion of actors, are identified together with the responses encountered in practice. While the Incubators platform succeeded in attracting younger planning participation demographics, older demographics were marginalised by the platform’s graphical user interface and social networking features. These findings highlight why, in spite of what it promises, ‘crowdsourced urbanism’ is prone to similar traits with those of analogue participation. In that sense, creating a CS platform which could convey the grass-roots ideas of actors and users of urban spaces in an efficient way that could be applied to a broad range of planning systems, appears to be a challenge.

Sustainable Mobility and the Smart City: A Vision of the City of the Future: The Case Study of Cracow (Poland)

The vision of the smart city is inextricably linked with the concepts of intelligent transport, sustainable mobility and managerial decision making. Cities of the future not only entail the use of new technology, but also increasingly the interpenetration of technological and social aspects, with the simultaneous involvement of urban space users in the creation of such technologies. This provides an opportunity to introduce desired changes and create a more balanced space with a higher quality of life and improved energy efficiency. The article discusses the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable mobility with a particular emphasis on issues related to the smart city. The authors reviewed the various smart city solutions that have been implemented in the field of urban transport in Cracow, whose authorities have taken steps over the last few years to make the city smarter and more modern. The aim of the research was to assess the contribution made by smart city solutions to improving the attractiveness and reliability of public transport in Poland’s second-largest city. The undoubted added value of this analysis is the application of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method to evaluate the implemented solutions. It should be pointed out that such an analysis constitutes a new approach in this area. Until now, these models have been used to assess consumer behavior. The results showed that some of the implemented intelligent solutions increase the attractiveness of public transport in Cracow, but this does not square with users’ assessment of reliability. According to users, ecological solutions have no impact on the attractiveness of public transport. Nor do conveniences such as bus lanes, giving priority to public transport vehicles at intersections, and adjusting traffic light regulation to traffic volume, have a positive impact on perceptions of public transport as a reliable means of getting around the city. The results may be of particular importance for the city’s authorities and other stakeholders engaged in strategic activities and the building of a city of the future.

Pedestrian Paths as an Indicator of Legibility Aspects of Omani Traditional Settlements

The interest for studying the Omani built heritage is not recent. However, the published research about the subject since the early 1970s, is limited in number and sporadic in topics and territories investigated. Moreover, there was no or little interest in examining this built heritage from the point of view of its urban design typologies. This paper is examining the urban form of these settlements and linking it with legibility aspects. Legibility and its influence on users of urban spaces have been significant for many theorists in urban studies. In their point of view, behaviour patterns of pedestrians are strongly influenced by legibility perception of the spatial patterns in urban spaces. The current research aims at studying the legibility aspects of traditional Omani residential settlements in an objective evaluation represented by numerical approach. Through a descriptive and analytical method, the results will link the influence of urban forms with legibility and behaviour patterns of pedestrians, which are deeply affected by the perception of body and mind. The paper explored paths’ forms influence on legibility perception of pedestrian in some of traditional settlements in Oman that have a strong urban identification. Five case studies representing traditional Omani settlements were chosen and analysed with an innovative quantitative approach capable of discovering, evaluating deficiencies, and suggesting solutions to develop local concepts for paths in any of urban settlements. The findings disclose that the contest to adopt international approaches to solve local urban spaces has created pointless, despicable, and unused spaces, while adopting local patterns, features and solutions will enhance the legible image of local urban settlements.

Stakeholders’ Analysis of Environmental Sustainability in Urban Logistics: A Case Study of Tricity, Poland

Environmental sustainability, defined as the responsibility to protect the global ecosystem in a holistic way, has become an integral factor of city strategies. Designing and implementing environment-friendly solutions to make the standard of living in cities better is indispensable for present and future generations. This article’s main objective is to identify the most environmentally friendly urban logistics measures from the perspective of urban transport system stakeholders. A multi-method approach was implemented to achieve the article’s main findings. Firstly, the literature review provided the basics for designing the research framework. Then, a three-layer methodological approach was used: The first layer included designing and carrying out the case study approach; the second layer comprised a Delphi study involving interviews with urban logistics stakeholders; and the third layer included analyzing the voices of Delphi interviewees to assess which urban logistics measures are the most important for them. The study provides an initial insight into the opinions of stakeholders for a general audience, but at the same time, also presents specific, detailed views of Tricity urban space users and decision-makers. Significant differences in opinions were observed and confirmed in the interviewed group. This study can contribute to the scientific discussion about the stakeholders’ analysis of urban logistics goals.

Urban Space as a Factor of Production: Accounting for the Success of Small Factories in Postwar Tokyo

AbstractThis paper demonstrates that small manufacturing firms in postwar Tokyo were exceptionally successful. Not only were they more productive than their national peers, they were also remarkably competitive vis-à-vis large factories in Tokyo. The existing explanations for this double outperformance do not take full account of the urban setting in which this process took place. Small factories compensated for higher labor costs by being more efficient users of urban space. They thrived thanks to Tokyo’s particular urban form, which included a preference for mixed use and often blurred the boundaries between living and workplace. Small factories also benefited from being embedded in the relatively egalitarian structure of postwar Tokyo, as the city avoided spatial stratification despite megacity growth. Although Tokyo’s small factories remain important, their competitive edge has eroded from the 1970s onward.

City Resilience to Population Ageing In the Context of Spatial (In)Accessibility. The Case of Poznań and Łódź

The ageing of the society is a serious factor affecting the prospects of urban development. Unfavourable demographic changes disturb the functioning of the urban system, thus forcing adaptive activities leading to a new state of balance in the organism of a city. The ageing of urban society requires a new look at the organisation of space in the city. The importance of planning age‑friendly cities is rising fast. Due to the low mobility of the elderly, it is important to plan their direct living environment, ensuring access to facilities or areas that meet the basic needs of this particular group of urban space users. As part of the answer to the question: to what extent the cities of Poznań and Łódź are resilient to the ageing process in spatial terms, an analysis was performed of the accessibility of green areas, sports and recreation facilities, service and commercial, cultural, healthcare facilities and public transport stops for the elderly population. This resulted in the delimitation of problem areas characterised by functional and spatial deficits and the development of the two cities’ resilience indexes to demographic changes, namely, ageing in spatial terms.

معايير التفضيل الجمالى لدى الأطفال في تصميم مناطق اللعب الداعمة لإحتياجات الطفل کمستخدم Principles of preferred aesthetics s for children in the design of playing areas that support the child's needs as a user

يشکل الأطفال نسبه کبيره من مستخدمي الفراغات الحضرية المفتوحة، ويشکل مکان اللعب الخاص بهم جزء مهم جدا لنفسيتهم وإخراج طاقاتهم الى جانب ما يوفره لهم من تنمية لمهاراتهم الحرکيه والعقليه وبالتالى نموهم بطريقة طبيعيه وسليمه. لذلک يتطلب تصميم ساحات اللعب تحديد النشاطات المطلوبه ودراسة طبيعة الطفل بإختلاف فئاته العمريه لتکون هذه الفراغات مؤهله لتلبية إحتياجاتهم الوظيفيه والجماليه وتقدم إسهامات إيجابيه في تنميتهم باختلاف فئاتهم العمريه کوسيله جذب للطفل لساحات اللعب الحر في الفراغات المفتوحه وبالتالي جذب لمستخدمي الفراغات ککل. تکمن الإشکاليه البحثيه في أن ساحات اللعب المخصصه للأطفال والتي تمثل مکون رئيسي من مکونات الفراغ المفتوح الذي يشمله سواء کان حديقه أو نادي أو مکان ترفيهي أصبحت مقتصره على مجموعه من الألعاب التقليديه موزعه ومرتبطه بعلاقات بصرية وحرکية لتحقيق الوظيفه المطلوبه دون إدراک وفهم للصورة الجماليه والحسيه والتشکيليه وفقا لطبيعة الأطفال کمستخدمين والمرتبطه بمستجدات العصر وبالتالي يعد هذا قصور تصميمي مما يستدعي إفراز نتاج جديد لشکل هذه الفراغات معتمدة على معايير التفضيل الجمالي لدى للأطفال. لذا تهدف الورقة البحثية في تقييم معايير التشکيل الجمالي لساحات اللعب والتي يمکن أن تجذب الأطفال مره أخرى للعب الحر، وماهية الإحتياجات الجمالية والتشکيلية لهذه الفراغات لأنها مسؤولة عن الإنطباع الأول للطفل في الفراغ وبالتالي تعد عامل جذب قوي ومهم في إثراء الفراغ للوصول الى طرح مدخل جديد للتعامل مع هذة الفراغات بشکل متطور يتوافق مع إحتياجات المستخدم ومتطلبات العصر. Children represent a high percentage of urban open space users. Their playing areas are an important part to contribute of child personality building. It helps them to get out the child’s energy, give them physiological and cognitive developments thus they will grow healthily. Therefore, the design of these spaces requires studying the nature of the different categories of child ages to investigate functional and aesthetics child needs. The successful design could make positive contributions to their development aspects and turn playing areas into attractive elements to the child and urban space users as a whole. The research problem is that the playing area as a major component of open spaces consist of traditional elements distributed and linked with visual and movement relations to achieve the desired functions without understanding the preferred aesthetics, sensory, and form aspects for the child, so it is considered as a design problem.this paper aims to determine the principles of preferred aesthetics as an important attraction factor in the space also it is responsible for the child's first impression in space which can attract children to play outdoor. Therefore, it aims to produce a new approach to design child playing areas that depend on the aesthetics child needs.

Directions of the transport system development on the example of selected cities

Abstract Managing the transport of goods, which is one of the areas of urban logistics, should be an aspect of policy pursued by city authorities towards various urban space users. A condition for an effective implementation of solutions supporting the management of urban freight transport is an in-depth analysis of the current situation and condition of a given city system and proper identification of problems occurring in a given urban structure. It is worth noting that in general problems related to the transport of cargo, occurring in different cities have a similar nature, however, the specific character of the cities themselves makes it necessary to apply a detailed assessment, allowing the development of recommendations regarding solutions suitable for implementation within a given city.

Urban Communication: The Uses of Public Space in Riga Historical City Centre

Abstract Expansion of cities and their impact areas extend also the semantic boundaries of urban ecentres, while public open space in the city centres maintain attractivity, especially within the medieval cores. The diverse functional processes that satisfy the needs of all users of urban space in general, on the one hand carry the function of circulation or communication, and on the other – relaxation or recreation. Elements of spatial organization and environment planning essential for the realization of each function differ, and depending on which of the functional processes prevails in the particular place, open space acquires either priority of communication or of recreation. The paper focuses on the interests and needs of main groups of users of the historical city centre – Riga Old Town, states availability of adequate space, as well as sets the criteria of high-quality public open space.

Teaching Architecture – Contemporary Challenges and Threats in the Complexity of Built Environment

The complexity of the modern built environment is a problem not only of architectural and urban issues. This issue extends to many other disciplines as well as covering a wide range of social engagements. The idea of writing this paper is generally initiated by the debate which took place in Gdańsk on 22.01.2016, and was prepared in order to meet representatives of the four circles of interest within the architectural sphere: universities, professional architectural organisations and associations, architectural practice (professionals running their own studios, managing projects and leading construction) and local social organisations active in city of Gdańsk. This paper is a comparison of the results of this discussion in relation to the policy and methodology of architecture teaching on the University level. Teaching architecture and urban planning according to the present discussion needs to be improved and advanced to meet the increasing complexity of both disciplines. Contemporary dynamic development of cities creates the necessity of engaging multiple stakeholders, participants and users of architecture and urban space. This is crucial to make them conscious of sharing responsibility for increasing the quality of living in the built environment. This discussion about architectural education is open and has the nature of an ongoing process adapting to a changing environment and is in fact a constant challenge which brings questions rather than simple answers. Transformation of architecture and urban planning, and consequently its education are increasingly entering into the related fields, especially into the professional practice and social environment. The question of how to teach architecture and urban planning and educate users of urban space should take place in the context of a wide discussion. This interdisciplinary debate seems to be a crucial and challenging step towards improving the future education of architecture and urban planning leading to a better life in the city.

From ‘me towns’ to ‘we towns’: activist citizenship in UK town centres

Britain’s town centres have witnessed economic, social and physical upheaval over more than half a century, linked to sweeping changes in retailing and consumption. Yet they are also places where activists are seeking to fashion alternative futures and test social and economic models that challenge neoliberal norms. Reflecting on recent developments in the UK, this paper explores the potential of citizen-led economic activism in British town and city centres. Focusing on three case studies of urban activism, it contrasts policies and practices that frame the users of urban space as consumers with the marginal acts that seek to assert wider rights to the city. The article shows how ideas of ‘resilience’ have become a stake of struggle in debates over the future of urban centres and urban citizenship, deployed both to defend neoliberal economic configurations and to signal radical transitions towards more participatory and economically autonomous forms of society.

Contemporary problems in the development of Łódź in the opinions of urban space users

Contemporary problems in the development of Łódź in the opinions of urban space users