Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
winter. The success of this zone has led the city to pedestrianize many other streets
in the old core, many of which link to the Str￸get, although Gehl maintained that
this type of policy is usually best done gradually, allowing people to get used to the
new streets and for new functions to emerge in them. Gehl and his associates have
been consultants for many cities throughout the world and adoption of these ideas
in many cities have helped municipalities turn many dysfunctional, polluted, car-
dominated central city spaces into vibrant, people places.
Of course, pedestrianization alone is never the only solution to improving live-
ability and reducing traffic congestion in various types of renewal schemes, or even
in the downtown area in general. A common trend is to remove or reduce the one-
way streets that were designed to speed up traffic flows and return to a two way
traffic system which is likely to be slower. The concept of a 'living or shared' street
has also become popular in many renewal schemes, especially in the Netherlands
where the Dutch term 'woonerf' (literally a resident yard) is often used for the con-
cept. The involves the reorganization of a key shopping street to make them more
pedestrian-friendly by widening the pavements, adding benches for people to rest,
as well as kiosks and street cafes, and planting trees for shade, variety and colour.
Other features consist of some of the policies discussed in Sect. 6.4, such as remov-
ing parking spaces, reducing the speed of traffic by speed bumps or speed limits,
narrowing and curving the traffic lanes, adding separate bike lanes and lots of cross-
ing places for pedestrians. There has also been a revival of making city squares or
other people-places more attractive, by adding striking public art, fountains, unique
tiling stone or brick work—incidentally, the type of street furnishings and renova-
tion so typical of Renaissance city squares—an approach which has been particu-
larly successful in many Spanish towns and cities. These changes are also designed
to provide uniqueness to many renovated squares or streets, which subsequently
attract far more people. Many municipalities also allow local restaurants or bars to
spill-over into adjacent city squares or open spaces, creating lively, people-places,
especially at night, although areas with heavy rainfall, such as La Coru￱a in Galicia,
have added glass roofs or sidings to protect their customers. The licensing of street
musicians, or various artistic acts, to perform in these squares also makes these
places more vibrant, attracting more people and adding pleasure. Increasing interest
in the heritage of cities has also led to the renovation of old historic buildings, often
changing them into new uses, such as the way many old warehouses on the edge of
downtowns have been turned into offices, bars, restaurants and even theatres. This
heritage approach provides more linkages to the past, creating more uniqueness.
These renovations have also helped the growth of greater night-time activities,
creating a new vitality that has invigorated many central city areas, especially on
the edge of the main shopping and office areas. In the bigger downtown areas at-
tempts have also been made to encourage the creation of specialist areas to focus on
certain activities, creating arts or theatre areas, or night-time entertainment zones,
even areas with a concentration of other businesses, such as designers. Yet many
shopping areas in the central city can still be empty at night outside the bar and
restaurant areas. So many towns have attempted to bring back more residences into
the old central city by encouraging higher densities or more high rise developments,
whether apartments or condominiums, in and around the central areas, which is
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