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JournalISSN: 1357-4809

Journal of Urban Design 

Taylor & Francis
About: Journal of Urban Design is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Urban design & Public space. It has an ISSN identifier of 1357-4809. Over the lifetime, 950 publications have been published receiving 22991 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study attempts to comprehensively and objectively measure subjective qualities of the urban street environment using ratings from an expert panel to arm researchers with operational definitions they can use to measure the street environment and test for significant associations with walking behaviour.
Abstract: This study attempts to comprehensively and objectively measure subjective qualities of the urban street environment. Using ratings from an expert panel, it was possible to measure five urban design qualities in terms of physical characteristics of streets and their edges: imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency and complexity. The operational definitions do not always comport with the qualitative definitions, and provide new insights into the nature of these urban design qualities. The immediate purpose of this study is to arm researchers with operational definitions they can use to measure the street environment and test for significant associations with walking behaviour. A validation study is currently underway in New York City. Depending on the outcome of this and other follow-up research, the ultimate purpose would be to inform urban design practice.

890 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that a number of engrained attitudes to city planning (and indeed city life) persist which together might undermine attempts to stimulate more active and culturally confident cities.
Abstract: Following decades of both planned and market-driven decentralization of cities and city-regions, urban policy makers are now extolling the virtues of the compact city. The model which is held up as a good example is that of the traditional European city which is relatively dense and fine-grained. The model that is no longer considered sustainable (economically and socially as well as environmentally) is the sprawl, strip or edge city, more often than not planned around the automobile. One question is the extent to which this European model of the good city transfers to the UK context. The author would argue that a number of engrained attitudes to city planning (and indeed city life) persist which together might undermine attempts to stimulate more active and culturally confident cities. Nevertheless, if we are to have more active and better cities, we need to know how best to manage, develop and design them. This paper argues that the city is a phenomenon of structured complexity. Good cities tend to be a balance of a reasonably ordered and legible city form, and places of many and varied comings and goings, meetings and transactions. What might appear to some as disorder is very often simply the everyday rhythm of city life. In the absence of such activity, cities can lose their urbanity and eventually become suburban in character. The large part of this paper contains an exposition of the principles of good city form, activity, street life and urban culture. That is to say, urbanity itself. By reference to a number of cities, the intention is to show that it is perfectly possible to plan for and design the active city.

774 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an intensive questionnaire survey was carried out in two urban squares in Sheffield and the results showed that natural sounds as a group were generally preferred to urban sounds; the preferences of soundscape elements influenced people's choice of using an urban square; and in terms of sound preference, the differences amongst age groups were rather significant.
Abstract: The general aim of this paper is to demonstrate the significance of intentional soundscape design in urban squares by investigating people's general perceptions of urban soundscape and sound preferences, and the effects of demographic factors. An intensive questionnaire survey was carried out in two urban squares in Sheffield. Sound identification and classification were both considered. The results show that natural sounds as a group were generally preferred to urban sounds; the preferences of soundscape elements influenced people's choice of using an urban square; and in terms of sound preference, the differences amongst age groups were rather significant, whereas between males and females only slight differences were found. Finally, some suggestions on soundscape design in urban squares are given.

285 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on a survey of pedestrian trips to transit that examined the trip lengths and route choices made by people walking to five rail transit stations in California and Oregon, finding that pedestrians were willing to walk an average of half a mile to the rail station and that minimizing the distance walked was the most important factor influencing their choice of route.
Abstract: This paper reports on a survey of pedestrian trips to transit that examined the trip lengths and route choices made by people walking to five rail transit stations in California and Oregon. In highly motorized countries such as the US, policy-makers are beginning to recognize that shifting some travel from auto trips to walking trips can help the country achieve important policy objectives such as combating obesity and reducing the air pollution and oil dependency that result from auto use. However, researchers know very little about pedestrian behaviour and the role of the built and aesthetic environment in influencing pedestrian trips to transit. As communities wrestle with the interconnected issues of obesity, sprawl, and quality of life, planners need to understand how far Americans will walk to transit and the environmental factors that influence them. This survey of 328 pedestrians walking to rail stations, primarily on weekday mornings, found that they were willing to walk an average of half a mile to the rail station and that minimizing the distance walked was the most important factor influencing their choice of route. The people surveyed also frequently mentioned safety factors as important in route choice. Aesthetic elements of the built environment, on the other hand, were rarely mentioned as important route choice factors. The paper concludes by using these survey findings to recommend strategies that planners, designers, and policy-makers can use to design successful transit and pedestrian-oriented developments.

283 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article created a public space index to assess the quality of public spaces by empirically evaluating its inclusiveness, meaningfulness, safety, comfort, and pleasurability, and four public spaces in downtown Tampa, Florida are examined using the index and several applications for public space planners, designers and managers are suggested.
Abstract: Public space plays an important role in sustaining the public realm. There is a renewed interest in public space with a growing belief that while modern societies no longer depend on the town square or the piazza for basic needs, good public space is required for the social and psychological health of modern communities. New public spaces are emerging around the world and old public space typologies are being retrofitted to contemporary needs. Good public space is responsive, democratic and meaningful. However, few comprehensive instruments exist to measure the quality of public space. Based on an extensive review of literature and empirical work, this paper creates a public space index to assess the quality of public space by empirically evaluating its inclusiveness, meaningfulness, safety, comfort and pleasurability. Four public spaces in downtown Tampa, Florida, are examined using the index and several applications for public space planners, designers and managers are suggested.

283 citations

Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Journal in previous years
YearPapers
202321
202264
202166
202055
201964
201851