A brief discussion on the planning and design of pedestrian streets?

A brief discussion on the planning and design of pedestrian streets_Bisen Youxin_Architectural Design_Architecture Chinese Network This article mainly starts from the formation and development of pedestrian streets (districts), and analyzes the social and economic benefits of pedestrian streets (districts) , environmental benefits, transportation, etc., and focuses on the planning and design principles of pedestrian streets (districts) in terms of good transportation systems, good spatial environment images, rich spatial forms, unique landscape composition, etc., so that pedestrian streets can (District) can truly become a “walker’s paradise.”

This article mainly starts from the formation and development of pedestrian streets (districts), analyzes the planning and design advantages of pedestrian streets (districts) in terms of social benefits, economic benefits, environmental benefits, transportation, etc., and focuses on proposing the advantages of pedestrian streets (districts). ), planning and design principles in terms of good transportation system, good spatial environment image, rich spatial forms, unique landscape composition, etc., so that the pedestrian street (district) can truly become a "walker's paradise".

Keywords: Pedestrian Street (District) Design Advantages Design Principles

"June 5th" is the annual call and annual hope. From 1972 to now, mankind has ushered in the 24th Environment Day. Although on this day, people of insight from all over the world will worry and speak out loudly to protect the environment on which we live, the environmental condition of the earth is still deteriorating, and human beings are pushing themselves over the cliff step by step. Have you seen it: Thick smoke rises from factories and mining areas, the streets are full of stench, and the noise on the roadside is harsh; the Antarctic ozone hole is expanding at a rate of one U.S. land area every year. Affected by the ozone hole, ultraviolet radiation from the sun penetrates into the sky, causing human skin cancer. The rate is rising and the air quality is seriously deteriorating. 125 million people around the world are living in danger. 12% of the world's mammals and 11% of the birds are on the verge of extinction. 150 to 200 species of creatures disappear from the earth every 24 hours...

The World Summit on Environment and Development held in June 1992 adopted important documents such as the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, and unanimously committed to the path of sustainable development with member states. , as the long-term and unified development strategy for the future. In order to implement the sustainable development strategy, our country has compiled the "China Agenda 21", which establishes China's sustainable development strategic goals as "establishing a sustainable development economic system, social system and maintaining appropriate sustainable utilization of resources and resources". Environmental Basics”.

Any contemporary person with a sense of human community and moral conscience must seriously consider the increasingly severe urban environmental problems. The overall reform strategy of any society or country generally includes issues of improving spatial quality and living environment. Modern urban planning and design first emerged in the post-war West as a way to solve problems.

Modern urban design places more emphasis on physical art and human perceptual psychology. Its elements include: architectural form and its combination, land use, open space, pedestrian streets (areas), use activities, transportation and parking, and protection. with renovations, logos, and more. Open space (Open Spece) refers to the urban public external space (excluding those courtyards affiliated with buildings), including natural scenery, hard landscape (such as roads, etc.), parks, entertainment spaces, etc. Pedestrian streets are a branch of urban open space. The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and other countries on the European continent were the first to develop "vehicle-free traffic zones". For example, Linbeck Street in Essen, Germany, was closed to traffic in 1922 and a tree-lined pedestrian street was built in 1930. It was the earliest prototype of a modern pedestrian street.

Every city has its own context and traditions. In the course of thousands of years of development and evolution, my country's cities have formed a unique urban structure - an urban grid composed of a central structure and a large number of streets. This structural form brings high population density and high building density to today's cities, which requires us to continue urban renewal. As far as urban transportation is concerned, our country is the largest kingdom of bicycles in the world. There are 7.26 million bicycles in Beijing alone, and their ownership reaches 80% to 90%. As a symbol of modern civilization, the average annual growth rate of automobiles is 10% to 13%. %, this forces us to study the urban pedestrian transportation system to adapt to national conditions and improve the environment we live in.

In fact, pedestrian streets are modern people’s reaction to the increasingly rare phenomenon of vibrant street life.

Reincarnation - an image derived from religion, seems to reflect an aspect of social development. "Returning the streets to pedestrians" and "returning the space of human dignity to citizens" have become calls worldwide. Lewis Mumford, a famous American humanistic urban planning theorist, believed that "our cities exist not for the convenience of automobile traffic, but for the safety and civilization of people." He opposed the construction of roads into the city center. The city is a lively city with a neighborhood center that is convenient for people to walk. People can meet face to face in roadside cafes and tree-lined streets; he recommended community planning in New Jersey that separates cars from pedestrian streets. Originating in the 1930s and implemented on a large scale during the revitalization of the 1960s, the renewal of urban central areas has become the direct cause of "pedestrianization". The goal of "pedestrianization" is not only limited to revitalizing the economy of urban central areas, but also restoring people's mobility in the city. status and improve the social value of the city. Mumford believes: “The best economic model for a city is to care for and cultivate people” and “the reconstruction of society must start with the ‘regeneration of people’”. The completion of many pedestrian streets (districts) has also proved that it gives the city new vitality, a new image, and greatly improves the environment.

Pedestrian streets are not only part of the beautification plan, but also an important means of prospering urban commercial activities and organic vitality. The Shanghai City God Temple Pedestrian Commercial Street has proved the existence of this effect, and the success of pedestrian street construction is also related to the living conditions of a specific area in the city, and even the entire city. Munich, West Germany, is a good example.

Munich is an ancient city with a long history. After the war, the economy took off rapidly and the population increased dramatically, which put the ancient city into trouble for a time. In 1963, the city established a planning and design goal to “promote urban life in the city center.” In 1965, a team led by Professor Zinsen made the famous "Zinsen Identification" based on a comprehensive investigation and analysis of the city's traffic, and recommended that the east-west Newhausen Street, Kaufinger Street and the north-south Vann The street was converted into a pedestrian street, the so-called "Tsimori Cross". In 1968, the parliament passed the plan and put it into practice. In 1972, the whole city celebrated its completion in a festive atmosphere. Afterwards, the response to use was excellent. There are four successful experiences: First, The site is well-selected. It is directly connected to the city's gateway railway station, making it smooth and convenient; secondly, it comprehensively solves the traffic problems in the old city; thirdly, it is multi-functional; fourthly, the spatial layout is rich in changes, the design is exquisite, and the history is well utilized and organized. The architectural cultural heritage left behind.

Pedestrian blocks are set up in the plan to increase shops and develop the original single streets into network-like pedestrian blocks that communicate with each other and integrate culture, shopping, entertainment, rest, and historical protection in functions. One body. Because of its human-scale exterior space, it can both create a lively commercial atmosphere and reduce reliance on cars in downtown areas. For example, the cross street in Putian City was transformed into a pedestrian commercial street, which not only promoted commercial activities, but also protected the streetscape characteristics around Guqiao. In short, there are four planning settings for pedestrian streets:

1. Advantages of planning and design:

(1) Social benefits - it provides places for walking, resting, and social gatherings , enhances interpersonal communication and regional identity, and is conducive to cultivating citizens' consciousness of maintaining and caring for the city's appearance;

(2) Economic benefits - greatly promotes the prosperity of the urban community economy;

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(3) Environmental benefits - reduce air and visual pollution, traffic noise, and make the built environment more humane;

(4) Transportation - pedestrian blocks can reduce people and cars Mixed traffic and cars put pressure on the environment, reduce traffic accidents, improve urban traffic congestion, and lay a good foundation for the sustainable development of cities.

From an urban design perspective, pedestrian elements contribute to the interaction of basic urban elements, strongly connect the existing spatial environment and behavioral patterns, and effectively coordinate with the future changes in the physical form of the city. connect.

2. Urban Pedestrian Street (District) Planning and Design Principles

Jane Gehei divides urban life into three categories in the book "Urban Life Between Buildings": ① Necessary Life - basic, compulsive daily life, such as shopping, commuting; ② Selected activities - activities that people are happy to do when outdoor conditions permit, such as walking, sightseeing, outdoor rest and exercise; ③ Social activities - public Social activities in *** places, such as chatting, saying hello, etc.

The latter two types of activities are pursued by high-quality urban life, and they are particularly affected by environmental quality.

(1) Good transportation system

Transportation issues are the key to the success of pedestrian streets. Factors such as the location of the pedestrian street, the city's traffic conditions, the difficulty of parking (especially bicycle parking in my country), the width of the road surface, investment channels, and residents' intentions should be considered in the design. Some data show that the bicycle travel rate in cities in my country reaches 60% to 70%. Therefore, special consideration must be given to the setting up of parking lots in planning, including open spaces in front of some buildings facing the city and some underground groups as parking lots to solve the problem of bicycle parking space. A tense conflict. In addition, parking lots for bicycles and buses should also be considered. Under this kind of planning, special lanes for cars and minibuses can be considered in the long term to make buses and bicycles more closely connected. Add an urban branch road next to the pedestrian street to guide the flow of non-browsing and non-shopping people through. It serves as an auxiliary road for purchasing goods, and also serves as an evacuation road and fire escape for the pedestrian street. That is: diversion of people and vehicles, using car lanes (only bus lines, special vehicles, necessary freight, etc. are considered) as connecting roads, connected with the urban road network, with bicycle and pedestrian paths as the core, forming an independent network, plus necessary The environmental design can form a new urban commercial pedestrian street with high environmental quality and integrating shopping, entertainment, culture and catering.

(2) Complete spatial environment image

The famous American urban design theorist Kevin Lynch proposed five elements that constitute urban image in his book "Urban Image" : roads, boundaries, areas, nodes, and signs. In fact, it is the spatial schema through which people understand and grasp the order of the urban environment. Lynch puts the road at the top of the list of elements. From the perspective of urban design, the image of the street is a comprehensive reflection of the building and block space environment. A distinctive street space environment can naturally reflect the characteristics of the street. A high-quality and distinctive street space environment is more suitable for reflecting the characteristics of the street than the building. The image of the street The characteristics depend on the characteristics of the space environment.

①Roads

As roads in urban commercial environments, their functions are embodied as channels (traffic of people and vehicles, evacuation channels), links (connecting shops, forming streets), and stages (People show their lives and carry out various activities in the road space). In the plan, the height-to-width ratio of the road and the buildings on both sides is mainly H/D=1, with some buildings of H/D=2 interspersed. This kind of spatial scale relationship neither loses intimacy nor appears too narrow. From a visual analysis, it is the best perspective to appreciate the building facade, and it is easy to create a space with a unique lively atmosphere for the proprietor.

②Area

As the central area of ??the city, due to the "agglomeration effect" of urban commercial activities itself, the layout of public buildings is relatively concentrated. Due to the influence of people's physiological and psychological factors, the length of pedestrian streets It is advisable to take 600-800 meters. (i.e., the distance between the city’s main roads), coupled with the selectivity and continuity of shopping, and the agglomeration and complementarity of sales, ultimately form a centralized networked regional system.

③Center

The center is a distinctive spatial form in a certain area. Combined with the characteristics of the pedestrian street, one or two squares are planned to serve as the center and climax of the pedestrian street, bringing it with it. Come to features and events.

④Signs

Entrance. For pedestrian commercial streets, the importance of the entrance should be fully considered in planning. Set up archways and other places connecting the city's main roads as the entrance to the pedestrian street, where a large number of people flow in and out. Motor vehicles are not allowed to enter. Flexible roadblocks or steps are set up at the entrance, and management signs are set up. Since it plays the role of organizing and guiding space, the street forms a second internal space without a roof. It not only frames the scene, but is also an important landscape in the street space. It is the beginning of the entire street space sequence. It can not only meet the psychological needs of citizens, give people a clear sign, but also highlight the style of the historical and cultural city.

(3) Rich spatial forms

Cities are the long-term accumulation of human culture, and express their cultural characteristics in certain physical spatial forms. Modern cities pursue a livable spatial environment and a positive space with clear definition and appropriate proportions. It can effectively render different environmental atmospheres and spatial characteristics. It is an intrinsic component, and its expressiveness and appeal are rich and profound. For example, the Nicorette Pedestrian Street in Minneapolis, USA, succeeded in constructing the first pedestrian street in the United States with its unique spatial features.

In the pedestrian street, the designer used the concentrated pedestrian activity area as the guiding ideology, and made the street into a winding serpentine road. Together with the uniformly designed street furniture, the designer created a street space with a strong sense of dynamics and rhythm, which became an American pedestrian street. masterpieces that are being imitated by many.

The boundaries between the inside and outside of the pedestrian block building can be virtual, penetrable and indefinite, and have a feeling of inward attraction, which also reflects the "virtual" artistic conception in my country's traditional spatial characteristics, and It is not like the traditional Italian streets cited by Ashihara Yoshinobu as the “map” and “bottom” space theory.

The layout of pedestrian blocks can be rich and varied: ①Linear layout along the street - stores are arranged linearly along both sides of the street, row upon row, with concave and convex storefronts, and the street space presents a certain irregular shape. Such as Beijing Liulichang and Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, ② linear and surface combination layout - most of them have obvious pedestrian commercial streets, which are connected with certain commercial plots on the road sections to form a combined layout, such as Hefei City God Temple Pedestrian Commercial Street; ③ surface shape Block layout - commercial blocks are concentrated on one side of the city's main roads, forming a network shape, such as Shanghai City God Temple, Nanjing Confucius Temple, etc. According to my country's functional and environmental requirements, pedestrian streets can be divided into various forms: enclosed, semi-enclosed, transfer and trail widening.

With the development of history, the spatial form of pedestrian commercial streets has undergone great changes, and it is developing comprehensively into multi-functional and multi-element public buildings. However, while modernizing the pedestrian street in compliance with social trends, it should also retain its traditional space and style. Arcades, cross-street buildings, courtyard-style shop layouts, indoor pedestrian streets, etc. that are suitable for local cultural characteristics can be planned and designed to construct a highly comprehensive pedestrian shopping system, giving the urban space historical continuity and improving its value. and deep meaning.

(4) Unique landscape composition

Pedestrian streets have unique composition factors, which also meet the needs of modern urban life and constitute an integral part of the urban environment. The pedestrian street is composed of building facades on both sides and the ground, so its elements include: floor tiles, iconic landscapes (such as sculptures, fountains), building facades, display counters, signboards and advertisements, and recreational facilities (set up when there is enough space); The design of street sketches, street lighting, mailboxes, rest seats, green plant configurations and special activity spaces such as street performances is by no means less complicated than facility buildings, but the most important thing is the overall continuity and humanization of the urban environment. , type selection and details.

3. Conclusion

Walking is the most basic way for human beings to move space. The initial service targets of urban streets are mainly people walking on foot. Street space has been a "walker's paradise" since ancient times, and Shengtian's etiquette, competitions, carnivals, and market transactions all exist on the premise of walking. The ancient Chinese "Tokyo Menghualu" and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" describe street life, watching lanterns in the capital, buying money on the street, robbing people at the execution ground, and performing arts in tea sheds, etc., which all form a picture of street life. The fundamental purpose of setting up pedestrian streets (districts) in cities is to leave space for citizens and improve their living environment. According to data, citizens in medium-sized cities travel an average of 2.245 times/person*day, and the travel time is 24 minutes/time. The proportion of bicycle travel is 65.05%, and the proportion of walking travel is 32.95%. Urban planning and design must provide convenient transportation systems and rest for citizens to travel. system. Today, history has taken a zigzag path, and streets have returned to the people. Pedestrian streets (districts) - as a dynamic street open space - have become one of the most basic elements in modern urban design. .

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