Human‐centered designs, characteristics of urban streets, and pedestrian perceptions

Abstract

SUMMARYThis paper presents the results of a study conducted to examine the characteristics of human-centered design and pedestrians' perceptions of street design features. The main emphasis was to determine the existence of empirical evidence that human-centered design increases pedestrian satisfaction levels and enhances community walkability. The following approach was applied in the study: (i) the existing research concerning walkable community and pedestrian facility designs was reviewed; (ii) survey data from pedestrian interviews regarding urban streets as well as the detailed geometric features of the interview sites were gathered; (iii) statistical analysis to determine whether pedestrians actually feel more satisfied when they walk in areas with human-centered design was conducted based on actual pedestrian interview scores for various street design features; and (iv) major design features to increase pedestrian satisfaction levels were identified. The study results show that pedestrians perceived planting strips as the most important design element that would increase the satisfaction scores whereas they perceived the presence of driveways and the number of vehicle lanes as design elements that that would diminish the scores. Overall, the valuable findings of this research provide evidence of the various effects of the application of human-centered design and improve our understanding of walkable communities.

The Tale of Two Communities: Residents’ Perceptions of the Built Environment and Neighborhood Social Capital

“…); (d) safety of the walking environment; (e) interesting and aesthetically appealing context or environment around the walking paths; and (f) well-connected network of walking paths, both within and beyond the community. Choi, Kim, Min, Lee, and Kim (2016) call the set of such characteristics "human-centered street design" (Choi et al, 2016, p. 120). Using a measure of pedestrian perceptions, these authors identified the following human-centered design elements as most significant for pedestrian satisfaction: streets with fewer vehicle lanes, presence of crosswalks, a small number of bus stops and driveways to obstruct pedestrian traffic, wider sidewalks, strategically placed planting strips, and commercial areas with easy access to pedestrians and people using public transit (Choi et al, 2016).…”

“…Choi, Kim, Min, Lee, and Kim (2016) call the set of such characteristics "human-centered street design" (Choi et al, 2016, p. 120). Using a measure of pedestrian perceptions, these authors identified the following human-centered design elements as most significant for pedestrian satisfaction: streets with fewer vehicle lanes, presence of crosswalks, a small number of bus stops and driveways to obstruct pedestrian traffic, wider sidewalks, strategically placed planting strips, and commercial areas with easy access to pedestrians and people using public transit (Choi et al, 2016). Other studies, however, have not been so equivocal in their determination of "pedestrian-friendly" characteristics of streets and neighborhoods.…”

Senior Tourists’ Perceptions of Tactile Paving at Bus Stops and in the Surrounding Environment: Lessons Learned from Project ACCES4ALL

“…adequate seating and smooth pavements) may encourage a person's decision to go out and be more social, depending on their sense of safety. Other studies demonstrated that people recognized strip planting within green urban infrastructures, as the most relevant design component that could enhance satisfaction levels and increase willingness to walk, while the existence of driveways and the number of vehicle lanes as a design element, reduces their satisfaction [14]. Therefore, a good and accessible universal design approach in pedestrian infrastructures and modal interfaces is essential to encourage elderly people, and people with disabilities, to be more social and go out more, which may in turn enhance their security and quality of life.…”

Evaluation of a transportation system employing autonomous vehicles

“…This increase of computational technologies into modern smart cities where automated infrastructures interact with the urban citizens [3] makes it feasible to collect passenger trip information in advance using a booking or reservation system provided through a mobile application or station kiosks. In combination with real-time multi-sensor origin-destination (OD) trip estimation techniques [4,5], accurate real-time vehicle scheduling is possible.As average trip distances grow, cities are forced to dedicate more land to roads, driveways, and parking structures, making pedestrian and bicycle travel less attractive and more dangerous [6]. Autonomous vehicles may be a solution to this problem with their claims to improved operational performance.…”