Increasing Urban Walkability through Citizens’ Participation Processes

Abstract

The work is focused on the integration of space syntax analysis (SSA) in a process of participatory planning focused on a neighbourhood scale where the challenge of promoting pedestrian-friendly regeneration process is a bottom-up priority. The promotion of active mobility is one of the main themes of the urban regeneration project CAST operating on the western part of the city of Potenza (capital of the Basilicata region, Italy). Both the state of the art of the case study area and the potential effects of the intervention proposed on the basis of the participatory process have been assessed by SSA as a walkability assessment method. By measuring a street network’s syntactic parameters, it was possible to further enrich the cognitive framework relating to the current situation and to simultaneously evaluate the effects (in terms of potential movement and social usage) deriving from design interventions. The paper presents a methodology to evaluate the urban pedestrian environment and to provide an insight for walking-related intervention and improvements in neighbourhood-scale planning, according to a participatory approach. The research, based on specific local characteristics, represents a transferable approach to supporting and informing policy-makers and designers engaged in inclusive and participative urban regeneration projects.

Spatial intelligence: integration of land use to connectivity in the context of eastern urbanism

“…The findings indicated patterns that inform the correlations between the experimental results and the predictions from space syntax. Scorza et al (2021) suggested integrating SSA in participatory planning on a neighbourhood scale, where pedestrian-friendly regeneration is a bottom-up priority. Soares et al (2020) studied spatial aspects of creativity on university campuses and revealed that invention depends on land use mix, physical features, positive experiences and a sense of place.…”

“…The findings indicated patterns that inform the correlations between the experimental results and the predictions from space syntax. Scorza et al. (2021) suggested integrating SSA in participatory planning on a neighbourhood scale, where pedestrian-friendly regeneration is a bottom-up priority.…”

Walkable City and Military Enclaves: Analysis and Decision-Making Approach to Support the Proximity Connection in Urban Regeneration

“…The 15-min city and the Superblocks aim at a more human-centered mobility that will help cities to recover from the pandemic while reducing dangerous pollution. Other authors focused on different ways of measuring walkability, both considering urban centers and peripheries, as well as including the citizens' participation in the planning process [19,65,66].…”

“…The COVID-19 epidemic highlighted, in fact, important critical issues in both inner houses and urban spaces, which can be overcome partly through the urban regeneration of disused buildings. In this sense, a process of urban regeneration aimed at the transformation of such spaces contributes to changing the condition of buildings disused from anti-commons to semi-commons [3,18] and can help promote the city of proximity [19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. As a matter of fact, military enclaves have characteristics typical of the so-called 'anti-commons', a concept introduced in the 1980s to explain the under-use of a resource caused by the right of ownership, in contrast to the well-known concept 'common'.…”

Which Fabric/Scale Is Better for Transit-Oriented Urban Design: Case Studies in a Developing Country

“…The selected stations can be compared with identical examples from both developing and developed nations. A micro-morphology study combining graph theory, space syntax, and social network indices [79,[86][87][88][89], along with behavioural research of pedestrians utilising such stations, would assist in finding the discrepancy between physical characteristics and mobility patterns [85]. Reviewing the content of local and national governmental documents and regulations with regard to the incorporation of the principles of TOD [70], and segmentation of the population according to the adequacy of TOD for various socioeconomic groups [90] are additional windows for further investigation.…”