Study of Pedestrian Zone According to Superblock Criteria in the Casco Antiguo of Panama

Abstract

The Casco Viejo of Panama is an area with great potential to develop a pedestrian zone, as it is an attractive area for travelers to visit. For this development to be carried out safely, it is recommended that the site is analyzed based on superblock criteria to ensure pedestrians can move through the streets in a free and accessible way regardless of their physical condition. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the current state of the road infrastructure, as we did in this research. The methodology consisted of field visits where information was gathered on the distribution of space so that ideal routes for pedestrian tourists could be ensured. We surveyed the state of the sidewalks, their physical condition, minimum widths, heights, their accessibility, and the presence of obstacles that block movement from one point to another. We also assessed the characteristics of the roads, safe crossings and signs, the current management of parking in illegal areas, and the system of public transport routes. The results describe the current problems, which are, firstly, the issue of poor pedestrian and cyclist mobility due to the lack of space available on public roads as a result of poorly parked cars and the placement of bollards. Secondly, free movement is impossible for the disabled due to the absence of ramps and railings, which prevents the integration of this group in the area.

Superblock Design and Evaluation by a Microscopic Door-to-Door Simulation Approach

“…Various versions of these schemes have been found in numerous European cities, such as "share-spaces", or "car-free development" in the United Kingdom [23,24], "woonerf" in the Netherlands [25], "car-free or car-reduced housing areas" in the Freiburg-Vauban, "Kiez blocks" in Germany [26,27] and Vienna [28], and "micro-districts" in Russia [29]. This concept has also been explored in various urban contexts, such as in China (Asia) [30], Abu Dhabi (Middle East) [31], Panama [32], and the United States of America [33]. However, the superblocks being deployed in Barcelona, Spain, are the largest in size, covering the entire city core (100 km 2 ), with 503 superblocks planned and nine implemented or in progress [10,34,35].…”

Mapping User Experiences around Transit Stops Using Computer Vision Technology: Action Priorities from Cairo

“…Several studies have reviewed the impact of urban configuration with its multiple elements on user experiences in metro station areas [19][20][21]. Existing research evaluates pedestrian movement in stations from the viewpoint of efficiency and comfort through a proposed model using simulations applied to the urban context [22][23][24]. Previous studies depended on virtual reality (VR) to explore urban morphology's impact on participants' perceived density along pedestrian paths [25,26].…”