Urban Design Report by Jiexin Li

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Acknowledgement My gratitude goes firstly to my tutors Jonathan Kendall and Yuri Gerrits for their great help and encouragement. Great thanks also due to Prof. Collin Fournier, Miss Graciela Moreno and other staff in Bartlett School of Architecture, who organise the MArch Urban Design programme. I would like to also thank my parents for giving me invaluable support. Finally, thank you to fellow Urban Design students, as we have shared a wonderful time in London.

Declaration I, Jiexin LI, confirm that the work presented in this report is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the report. This work has been completed under the guidance of Jonathan Kendall and Yuri Gerrits at Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.

Contents Abstract

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Review of Mobility Issue in the City

2.1 Review of Mobility Issue in the cities

2.2 Research Methodology

Chapter 3 The Individual Speed in the City

3.1 Slow Speed

3.2 Medium Speed

3.3 Fast Speed

Chapter 4 The Complex Speeds,

Interchange and Urban Space

4.1 The Complex Speeds and Interchange in the City

4.2 The Case Study of Canary Wharf

Chapter 5 The Future Vision of Monility and Urban Space

5.1 Future of Los Angeles

5.2 Future of Wilshire Corridor

5.3 Future of Miracle Mile

Chapter 6 Conclusion

Reference

Figures Figure 1 The Spatial Expansion of Rotterdam from 1500 to 1980

Figure 2 Brightest London is reached by London Underground, by Horace Taylor in 1924 8 Figure 3 The Freeway of Los Angeles in the Day and Night

Figure 4 Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam

Figure 6 The Transit Oriented Development Model

Figure 5 The Graden City Plan of Howard, 1898

Figure 8 The Future City in Film Metropolis, 1927

Figure 7 The Radiant City of Le Corbusier in 1933

Figure 9 The Urban Space under the Freeway

Figure 10 The Cycle Track in Copenhagen

Figure 11 The Cyclist in Copenhagen

Figure 12 The Pedestrain Street in Munich

Figure 13 The Pedestrain Strip in Munich

Figure 14 The Marienplatz in Munich

Figure 15 The Potsdam Platz in 1900 and Sony Centre of Today

Figure 16 The New Cycling Hiring Facility in London

Figure 17 The Public Transport System in Curitiba, Brazil

Figure 18 The Section of Cooridor with Different Development Density and Public Transport Solutions in Curitiba, Brazil

Figure 19 The Light Rail System in Erfurt, Germany

Figure 20 The Light Rail Track through La Place Massena Nice, France

Figure 21The Metro Map of London

Figure 22 The Underground in London by Krish Krishnamoorthi

Figure 23 The Freeway in Los Angeles

Figure 25 Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Figure 26 The Commerical Development inside Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Figure 27 The Transport System in Canary Wharf

Figure 29 The Waiting Crowd of Peak Hour in Canary Wharf

Figure 28 The Monofunction Street in Canary Wharf

Figure 30 The Town Square Lacking the Services in Canary Wharf

Figure 31 The Shopping Mall in Canary Wharf

Figure 32 The Transport System in Los Angeles

Figure 33 The New Corridor Strategy for Los Angeles

Figure 34 The Land Use Plan along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 35 The Transport System along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 36 The Open Space and Desnsity Plan along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 37 The Future Vision of Wilshire Boulevard

Figure 38 Site Analysis

Figure 39 Site Analysis

Figure 40 Site Analysis

Figure 41 The Concept of Miracle Mile

Figure 42 The Land Use Plan of Miracle Mile

Figure 43 The Road Section of Miracle Mile

Figure 44 The Master Plan of Miracle Mile

Figure 45 The Section of Fairfax Metro Station

Figure 46 The Skyline and Density in the West of Miracle Mile

Figure 47 The Perspective of Whole Miracle Mile

Figure 48 The Perspective of Shooping Plaza in Fairfax Metro Station

Figure 49 The Perspective of the Entrance of Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Figure 50 The Perspective of Green Strip outside the Hancock Park

Figure 51 The Perspective of Preserved Street with Historic Spot "Darkroom"

Figure 52 The Perspective of the Green Business District in La Brea Metro Station 61

Abstract The urban mobility issue is becoming increasingly urgent in modern cities. The majority of the cities around the world are suffering the deteriorated transport system. However, the conventional approaches of urban planning and transport engineering fail to provide the long term solutions as well as the attractive urban spaces. Recently, a new trend focusing on the passengersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; travelling experience and the quality of urban environment is emerging, which raises a new theme in urbanism and transportation. This report explores the new topic of mobility and urban space. It examines the various speeds, interchange of transportation and relevant urban spaces. With the wide context of economy, engineering, real estate development, urban planning and design, it hopes to offer a new answer the future city.

Key Words Mobility, Urban Space, Transportation, Urban Design, Miracle Mile Los Angeles

Chapter 1 Introduction

Mobility is a crucial topic in urban development. Still a growing proportion of the worldwide population is living in cities with a deteriorating transport system (Thomson, 1977). Many researches have pointed out that the problem with mobility is certain to become worse due to the new socio-economic change. In order to solve or relieve the problem, many transport programmes and policies have been introduced. However, neither the traditional strategy of discouraging car use or promoting public transport have brought the desired effect (Meurs and Verheijen, 2003). One major reason for this is that the transport problems are deeply associated with urban, economic, social and spatial development. Increasing mobility is more than just constructing more roads or providing alternative transport modes, it involves creating a new system which involves social, economic, planning and design fields inside the city. From an urban design perspective, it should form a new urban culture which provides more user-friendly spaces. Looking back at history, we cannot overemphasise the relationship between urban transport and city spatial development. A case in point is Rotterdam: “during the first centuries, transport was mainly on foot, and the range of movement seldom exceeded the distance people were able to walk in a day; in the sixteen century the radius of action of the population expanded rapidly; in the 19th Century, the industrialisation, the construction of railways and the increased scale of the shipping trade put a whole new range of destinations within reach of Rotterdam’s citizens; an even larger expansion of mobility took place during the twentieth century, due to the introduction of motorized traffic, aeroplanes and the acceleration of all sorts of means of transport; today’s individual range of movement has exploded, so that hardly any unknown places remain” (Meurs and Verheijen, 2003). Further comparing the different cities, many of them have a strong urban culture of transportation. London, a city in which most people use public transport have developed a unique underground system and a culture like “London underground – a way for all”. The Figure 1 The Spatial Expansion of Rotterdam from 1500 to 1980

Source: In Transit, Meurs and Verheijen, 2003

Figure 2 Brightest London is reached by London Underground, by Horace Taylor in 1924

Source: www.picsdigger.com

Figure 3 The Freeway of Los Angeles in the Day and Night

Source: Los Angeles, Street-Porter, 2005

spatial impacts of the huge metro system are not only the fourteen lines and numerous interchange stations, but also the location of the stations, comprehensive station area development and the preservation of traditional street patterns. Los Angeles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a city on wheels or even an autopia owns a giant freeway system, infinite parking lots and petrol stations. This kind of phenomenon has formed a fully motorized urban culture, i.e. driving is highly promoted while other transport modes are discouraged. More importantly, the automobile has resulted in an urban sprawl which has contributed to the low density land use pattern as well as stratified citizens by their transport modes. Zooming in to urban design perspective, mobility and urban space is more complex than generally believed. One interesting example of mobility and urban space is the new bridge proposal on river Maas in Rotterdam. Possible options could be an eco-bridge which will provide a green strip along the river bank for pedestrians a cycle bridge which will bring environment-friendly faster link between banks of the river, a tram bridge which will further reinforce the link between the river, a car bridge which will shift the traffic flow in urban and regional scale and finally a city bridge design for cars, trams, cyclists and pedestrians which will add the link to the mobility network on both banks at different scale.

Figure 4 Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam

Source: In Transit, Meurs and Verheijen, 2003

However the option of city bridge does not add up all the above-mentioned advantages because some opportunities will be lost when one mode clashes with another (Meurs and Verheijen, 2003). Nowadays, urban mobility issue not only involves the movement of goods and people but also involves many topics far beyond engineering field such as the economic potential of transport projects, travelling experience of passengers and social equity. This report will concentrate on the examination of the spatial dimension of urban mobility. I believe it is imperative to investigate the following questions: What is the relationship between urban space and various transport options? what is the new urban culture from the new transport modes? The structure of the report is organised as follows: The mobility study of the last century is reviewed and an introduction to research methodology is introduced in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 examines the different speeds of transport modes and their spatial impact on the city. Chapter 4 focuses on the mixture or interchange of different urban speeds. The case of Canary Wharf which helps in better understanding the relationship between mobility and urban space in real life is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 5 adopts Los Angeles and Miracle Mile example to illustrate the overall planning strategy and detailed urban design regarding the mobility issue. Finally, a new culture of mobility and more suggestions for urban design will be summarised in Chapter 6.

Chapter 2 Review of Mobility Issue in the City

2.1 Review of Mobility Issue in the cities Since Industrial Revolution, the traditional urban form could not accommodate the new function of the cities, especially the transportation. With the increase in movement of people and goods, the traditional street was unable to meet the demands anymore. Since then cities around the world have been tortured by the mobility problem. Many planners, transport engineers and designers have provided various approaches to solve this problem. There are three major physical approaches to improve or relieve the deteriorated mobility issue. The first approach is through “a scientific guidance” from urban planning through functional zoning; secondly a new technology has promoted many new infrastructures for transportation, which usually increases the capacity of current transport system and lastly a new small scale intervention from urban design which focuses on the experience of users and expects to predict or gradually change the behaviour of people is becoming increasingly popular. Besides the three approaches mentioned above, other major socioeconomic solutions include the limitation of private car usage, heavy tax (e.g. road pricing and petrol tax) and the improvement of public transport service are beyond the scope of this report and will not be discussed. All these three different approaches have different applicable areas as well as advantages and disadvantages. They will be analysed as follows:

Urban Planning The early urban planning theory mainly focuses on strict zoning to avoid unnecessary traffic flow. The main reason for this school of thought is that in 19th Century the chaotic mixing of residential and industry area caused many problems such as transportation and sanitation. An important proposal in this regard was made by Sir Ebenezer Howard in 1898. It involved a circular zoning which is organised from city centre to residential and industry use. In addition, it had six main radial and ring roads to organise the traffic. Another important example is “Industrial City” by Tony Garnier in 1904. It showed a clear picture of functional zoning by considering geographic, sunshine and ventilation conditions. It arranged the industry zone on the estuary of the river separating it from residential district and providing railways to connect different parts of the city. In 1933, the thought of functional city was written in the Athens Charter by CIAM (Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne) which summarised the urban land use into four classes as dwelling, work, recreation and transport. This ideology had an enormous impact in the post World War II urban development, notable examples being the reconstruction of Warsaw in Poland, new city plan of Chandigarh in India and Brasilia in Brazil.

Figure 5 The Graden City Plan of Howard, 1898 Source: www.morissociety.org Source: www.flickr.com

Figure 6 The Transit Oriented Development Model

Though functional zoning helped relieve the urban mobility issue, it caused unexpected results later. Since 1960s, this approach has been criticized by various scholars. In The Death and Life of American Cities, Jane Jacobs observed that many Central Business Districts in America have turned empty and unsafe places outside office hours and the vitality of city has died out. Similarly, Christopher Alexander points out that it has destroyed the organic urban form. More importantly, other researches have found that it has caused uneven traffic flow between peak hours and non-peak hours. Consequently, this approach was revised in the Charter of Machu Picch in 1977, which called for appropriate mixed land use and encouraged the development of public transport rather than private cars. This approach has been further developed later like in 1990s, a new model of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been proposed. It emphasises the combination of transport system with urban commercial and residential development. Generally it requires high density around major transport link and gradually decreases the density from the stations. Overall, zoning through urban planning can help organise the transportation or adjust the commuting pattern. However, simple land use classifications cannot reveal the real complexity of mobility and how people and goods move in the city. In addition, the guidance is always too general and unable to provide a â&#x20AC;&#x153;one-size-fit-allâ&#x20AC;? solution. With major differences between the cities, it depends more on the experience of planners and it is not always successfully applied in practice.

Infrastructure Solution Technology has enabled many innovative solutions for transport infrastructure which usually increases the capacity of the street. The first radical proposal in history in this regard is from Arturo Soriay Mata at the end of 19th Century. It simplifies the complex city forms into a linear strip with a spine of major road and rail. It expects that the city will only grow in the length of the strip rather than the width, which forms the transport-oriented corridor. Other interesting proposals of future transportation have been proposed by architects and urban planners including futurism groups (e.g. multi-story transport system) and Le Corbusier (e.g. Radiant City Plan in 1933). In fact this trend had a great influence on cities as well. When cities met with the transport problem, they usually start widening the congested roads or even build a freeway or motorway. This approach was thought to be effective to provide higher capacity of current road system although it is quite expensive owing to nearby land acquisition and construction cost. However it has been proved that the speed of road improvement could not catch up with an increase in traffic flow. Most of the road-widening projects proved to be a short term solution as the car ownership increased and changes in existing routes to this route led to an increased traffic flow. Meanwhile the huge structure of freeway or the over-wide streets often bring inhumane atmosphere towards the citizens, which reduces the vitality of the street. The construction of metro has become the new trend of 13

Figure 7 The Radiant City of Le Corbusier in 1933 Source: www.wired.com

Figure 8 The Future City in Film Metropolis, 1927 Source: www.digforfire.net

Figure 9 The Urban Space under the Freeway Source: www.photoeverythig.co.uk

infrastructure solution with least negative impact towards the city and provides the high capacity and reliability. Past experience has proved that this approach can solve the transport problem in short term. However it fails to address the mobility issue in the long term and most importantly this approach neglects the urban dimension of transport projects. In practice, transport engineers tend to focus more on the system rather than the people, and the traffic models which are primarily based on the economic consideration usually fail to address the culture aspect of mobility (Meurs and Verheijen, 2003). In future, the new infrastructure will continue to play an important role in urban transport development. However, it needs to combine with other disciplines to ensure that the new projects will better integrate the urban fabric and the needs of citizens.

Small Scale Intervention Lately, the approach of small scale intervention has become more popular especially under current economic climate where huge investments are not available. A typical example in many European cities is the renaissance of cycling, especially in Copenhagen, Denmark. Initially it only encouraged citizens to use bike instead of driving, gradually, the city has built a series of the specially designed cycle lanes which add up to a total of 14 km in 2004 (www.vejpark.kk.dk/CityofCyclists, 2004). Now, it has become the unique culture of this city. Another important trend is the pedestrianisation in the city centre or car-free zone in the residential area. It aims to combine the traditional city scale and street activities such as shopping with an improvement of public transportation system. This approach is probably a reflection of zoning and infrastructure option. It jumps out of traditional planning and engineering solutions by seeking an alternative from urban design, real estate development and other disciplines. It also explores the individual travelling needs in the city. It shifts the theme from forcing people to choose a particular mode of urban transport system to why people choose different modes as well as

Figure 10 The Cycle Track in Copenhagen

Figure 11 The Cyclist in Copenhagen

Source: www.bikeleague org

encouraging them to use certain modes. Generally, this approach is more flexible than the other two approaches discussed earlier because it emphasises on the unique identity and culture of an individual city. It is proved that the revival of cycling and walking may succeed only in certain European cities where the traditional urban form and scale have been preserved well. On the contrary success stories are very few in North America where the automobile culture is dominant. Although seeming to be an ideal solution, there is an important point to be noticed. This approach cannot solve the transport problem instantly or directly and needs the combination with the other two transport solutions. However, it provides a long term alternative which could integrate well with the future transport strategy of the city.

Summary Three approaches with different logics has been explained. From an economic perspective, the urban planning approach focuses on the demand side of transport, which aims to enable the traffic flow to move more â&#x20AC;&#x153;efficientlyâ&#x20AC;?. By contrast, the infrastructure solution addresses the supply side of mobility which aims to provide more capacity to the present transportation system. The small scale design approach emphasises the individual behaviour during the journey and attempts to influence people by design. In practice the first two options are very crucial as they will determine the overall transport situation. Small scale approach is usually based on the first two approaches and could Source: www.fig.net

Figure 12 The Pedestrain Street in Munich

be a catalyst, which provides for more attractive urban spaces or pleasant travelling experience.

2.2 Research Methodology After review of literature regarding mobility issue and urban space, two important points has been raised. Firstly, the traditional approaches of planning and engineers could only solve or relieve urban transport problem from technique perspective, but usually fail to provide meaningful urban spaces or pleasant travelling experience. Secondly, mobility has strong relationship with urban space in terms of urban design and culture, but understanding the relationship is difficult owing to various unique situations of an individual city. Considering the nature of mobility and urban space issues, it is desirable to analyse the different speeds with its corresponding places in the city and understand the result from a mix or clash of various speeds and the interchange process. In order to understand the complexity, case study of Canary Wharf in London has been identified to analyse the transport and urban space. Finally, the urban design project in Miracle Mile, Los Angeles will be used to illustrate the integration of mobility with urban spaces in the future city.

Chapter 3 The Individual Speed in the City

This chapter addresses the various speeds in the modern city and explores its spatial implementation towards the urban design field. Considering the complex nature of different transport modes, this part only focuses on the latest trend of each speed. The speeds are divided as slow, medium, fast categories in order to better understand the spatial implication.

3.1 Slow Speed Since the industrialization in 19th century, the pace of society has been fastening all the time. However, there is a new trend in bringing back the traditional atmosphere of slow pace. In terms of transportation and urban design, the slow pace is frequently interpreted as pedestrianisation. It is becoming increasingly popular in European cities lately.. A case in point is Munich with a 2 km strip which was pedestrianised in 1972. This approach is usually combined with mixed use development, public transport improvement and conservation of historic city centre. Many reasons can be attributes to the renaissance of walking. Firstly, it could be a reflection of fully-motorization strategy which usually creates huge scale and impersonal spaces. On the other hand, society has rediscovered the attractiveness of classical spaces such as squares and plazas in traditional cities. Secondly, mixed use strategy has proved commercially successful in real estate development or in conservation of urban historic centres. Last but not least, the fully-motorization policy has been proved unable to solve the deteriorating transport in the city centre. Pedestrainisation with public transport system seem to offer a possible option in city centre areas. Before the 20th Olympic Games, Munich opened the area from Karlsplatz to Marienplatz.

Figure 13 The Pedestrain Strip in Munich

Figure 14 The Marienplatz in Munich

Figure 15 The Potsdam Platz in 1900 and Sony Centre of Today Source: www.wikimedia.org www.gardenvisit.com

Soon the pedestrian use has increased dramatically: in 1966 there were 72,000 people daily using the area, while in 1972 the number has increased to 120,000 (Hall, HassKlau, 1985). With the initial success, the pedestrian zone has expanded several times and is now regarded the best example in Europe. There are several reasons for the great success. First of all, the tourists have been attracted by the layout of the traditional street as well as the historic monuments in city centre. Secondly, good accessibility was provided by well connected public transportation service with appropriate traffic calming policy. Last but not the least, street life has promoted by a mixture of shops, restaurants and cafes which have spread not only in the pedestrian zones but also to the adjacent streets (ibid). This new trend of pedestrianisation has been proved to bring in many positive effects such as encouraging the usage of public transport and increasing shopping turnover. However, it also brings in some negative effects by discouraging other land use which cannot pay expensive rents, causing displacement which increases the nearby traffic flow, and indirectly reducing turnover in other parts of the city (Hall and Hass-Klau, 1985). In terms of urban design, it possibly causes spatial segregation from other transport modes and eliminates the identity of the city. Many old places in the city have lost their mythical power because of the disappearance of their traffic function (Meurs and Verheijen, 2003). A case in point is Potsdam Plaza in Berlin which has achieved great commercial success. However, the indoor Sony Centre hardly reminds people that it was the historical heart of Berlin between two world wars where the heavy traffic flow and people movement provided a unique vitality in front of the department stores, hotels, restaurants and diplomatic quarters. Looking to the future, the pedestrianisation will continue playing an important role but in better co-ordination with other transport modes such as cycling and light rail, or even automobile which has been calmed.

3.2 Medium Speed Cycling is one typical example of medium speeds which is gaining increasing popularity

in Europe. In Denmark, around 18 per cent of the journey is made by cycle whereas in United Kingdom, this figure is only 2 per cent although the cycle ownership is higher than car ownership (Richards, 2001). The popularity of cycling is possibly from the environmental concern, the pursuit of health as well as defect of automobile and public transport in the city. Generally, cycling provides a speed of 15 km and is best suitable for short distance travelling (less than 4 km). In heavily congested districts, it will be even faster than driving but it is regarded dangerous without the separate cycle lane and rough weather can discourage the use of it because of safety and physical strain. Finally, safe parking is also an issue which affects its usage. Recently London has started promoting its cycling strategy with the partnership of Barclayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s Bank. With an annual fee of 45 pounds, citizens can hire a cycle for free if the travel time is less than 30 minutes . The cycle renting facilities is scattered across central London and could provide a new travel option for short trips. Considering congestion charge policy applicable in Central London and its traditional urban form, London has a natural advantage for cycling as a supplement of public transport. More importantly, in view of urban space in London cycling can easily integrate with the traditional street environment but cycling requires changing of street sections to guarantee safety. Therefore, London needs not only cycling rental facilities but more separated cycle lanes (although it already has some cycle lanes in certain streets) which will create a network. In future, cycling will undoubtedly play an even more important role for short journeys within the city but it An increased fare will be charged from then for the duration of usage.

Figure 16 The New Cycling Hiring Facility in London

Source: blog.independent.co.uk

should better combine with current street system and other long distance travelling modes in the city.

3.3 Fast Speed Fast speed is very important in the city with the most common modes are bus, light rail (previous known as tram), metro and automobile. The merit and drawback as well as the spatial meaning of each of the above modes will be discussed as follows:

Bus Perhaps, bus is the most important public transport mean around the world with an average speed of 15- 20 kph. Traditionally it has been regarded as second-class transport because â&#x20AC;&#x153;they used out-of-date vehicles operating on congested streets with other trafficâ&#x20AC;? (Richards, 2001). With a new bus design, clean engines and bus-only lanes, buses have started catching the attention of public again. Generally speaking, bus is quite flexible in its route and the fare is cheap. However, the reliability of service restrains its popularity. For example, in London where the public transport system is excellent bus delays are very common. Compared with other transport modes the most unique feature of bus is its interaction with the street. With plenty of windows or with open upper deck, it is very suitable for sightseeing and observing the city. Figure 17 The Public Transport System in Curitiba, Brazil

Source: Future Transport in Cities, Richards, 2001

Figure 18 The Section of Cooridor with Different Development Density and Public Transport Solutions in Curitiba, Brazil Source: Future Transport in Cities, Richards, 2001

Many cities have formed their culture from bus system. A case in point is London where the red buses on the street have become an important part of urban transport culture. Another world famous case is Curitiba, Brazil whose initiative led to the invention of the holistic BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system in the city. In Curitiba, Brazil, there are five major corridors radiating from the city centre and varied public transport options are provided according to different densities. Each boulevard has its own two-way express bus-only lanes in the centre of the road. It uses a specially designed double-articulated Volvo express bus which can carry 200 people. The capacity of bus service can add up to 15,000 people per hour â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a figure comparable to the capacity of light rail (Richards, 2001). In less dense neighbourhood, a mini bus with a capacity of 15-20 people helps passengers reach express bus stops or interchange centres. In future, bus system will continue being an important mode of public transport. It should fulfil the potential of flexibility which other public transport modes lack. Possibly, it will Figure 19 The Light Rail System in Erfurt, Germany

Figure 20 The Light Rail Track through La Place Massena Nice, France

connect neighbourhoods to a major transport hub such as the metro station and adjust the route when it is necessary. To improve service, the operation of buses will be monitored. In London, 25 per cent of bus stops are equipped with “count down” boards by the end of 2005 which helps passengers to better manage their journey (ibid).

Light Rail With an average speed of 17-20 kph or even 30 kph, light rail is becoming increasingly important in Europe now. Instead of “getting in the way of traffic” as traditional tram, the light rail system can give trams the priority over other traffic (Richards, 2001). With great reliability, speed and comfort it has successfully attracted people out of driving. It has been proved that an average 11 per cent of passengers who previously drove have changed to use light rail in 14 European cities (ibid). Compared with other transport means excluding walking, light rail has the most spatial impact towards urban space. In many cities, it has successfully integrated into the fabric of the city and is creating a new transport culture. This new culture can be interpreted as an ideal picture of reliable and comfortable public transport on a dynamic street in harmony with other transport modes. In addition, the medium cost of light rail makes it more feasible for many cities while the extremely high cost of metro decreasing its possibility. Other advantages of light rail include its good relationship with the street and reduction of time taken to reach the platform (comparing with the metro system). In 1988, Zurich decided to upgrade their existing tram system which cost 100 million pounds rather than a new metro which would have cost 375 million pounds. With traffic light control priority, short interval of 370 metres and other advantages light rail has become more and more popular among the residents. Now an annual 800 trips per person is made using public transport in Zurich, while in London the figure is only 270 Generally, light rail refers to the urban rail public transportation with lower capacity, but in this report, it follows the common notion which usually defines it as a tram running on the street. Therefore, certain light rail such as Dockland Light Rail which owns separate tracks over the ground is considered as a variant of metro system.

trips (ibid). Nowadays, the trend of combining light rail with pedestrian areas has been been proved to bring vitality to the street through reliable and non-polluting public transport option. In addition, the construction of light rail usually integrates with urban design and landscape design. Many proposals aim at encouraging street life include new lighting, street furniture as well as planting more trees. When it comes to real estate market, with the good transport access light rail is proved to encourage property development. In Strasbourg, France, the value of the flats is 10 per cent higher near light rail stops than in other location of city centre (ibid).

Source: www.tfl.gov.uk

Figure 21The Metro Map of London

Metro System The speed of metro system can be as high as 30 kph with a capacity of 20,000-40,000 people an hour in each direction (Richards, 2001), making it is the best option for high speed massive transit. Many cities such as London, Paris and New York have constructed an underground system more than a century ago when the labour was cheap. Now despite the high cost, many cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong endeavour to perfect their metro system. The greatest strength of metro is its amazing reliability and speed despite it being extremely expensive. It maximally avoids negative impact towards 24

the ground but unfortunately loses context with the street which frequently leaves the experience of taking metro quite generic or even unpleasant. The spatial impact of metro is complex. First of all, the public transport access has improved significantly. Secondly, the metro station usually reinforces a prosperous neighbourhood centre or brings in new property development. In fact, due to the high cost of construction, the complex metro station development often combines with commercial and business property development to recover the investment through high rent. Lastly, a major metro station will become the transport hub in the city, which requires integrating well with other transport modes such as rail, bus and light rail. London owns one of the most famous metro systems in the world. Though constructed more than 100 years ago, it is a comparatively perfect system with 14 lines in total.

Figure 22 The Underground in London by Krish Krishnamoorthi

Source: www.krishnamoorthi.com

The slogan in early 20 century can summarise the feature of underground: â&#x20AC;&#x153;London underground, a way for allâ&#x20AC;?. Most of the lines and stations follows the existing urban fabric and usually strengthen the economic activities of local areas. However, because of the early construction the stations are usually old and generic and fail to capture the positive impacts of the metro system from property development. Recently, the new lines such as DLR (Dockland Light Rail) and Stratford International Station have started to cautiously combine infrastructure and property development. The positive impacts mainly refer to the reliable public transport system and heavy people movement.

In future, the metro will continue being an important part of public transportation. In the developed countries the metro system may show restrainment in conducting large-scale expansion owing to high cost. In big cities of developing countries where the labour is still cheap, it will play a crucial part in the urban transport system. The station design will become vital in the future and will have to provide a better travelling experience for the passengers. Now there is a trend of small scale, low-capacity lines with a capacity of 20,000 passengers an hour in each direction which is proved successful in Copenhagen, Demark. This kind of small scale metro seems to be a compromise between light rail and metro and possibly will be preferred in future.

Automobile Generally speaking, automobile has the best mobility among all transport modes. It could provide a high speed, convenient and comfortable travel option (around 30 mph) from start point to destination which overshadows all other transport modes. In many cities of North America, automobile has played an important role in urban spatial expansion process and created a unique form of urban sprawl. However, this type of transport mode and its urban typology has been increasingly criticised under the background of deteriorating transport, energy crisis and sustainable development. Recently, there is an emerging trend to reconsider the automobile-oriented urban space and improve the environment, torn apart by excessive road structure. In San Francisco, local authorities have halted construction of elevated Embarcadero Freeway and started demolishing it which has proved successful in transform the area into a fine landscaped promenade

Figure 23 The Freeway in Los Angeles

Source: www.city-data.com

Figure 24 The Road to Autopia, Los Angeles 2010 27

(Richards, 2001). Similarly in Portland, Oregon the light rail of Max line replaced the construction of the Mount Hood Freeway and later well restored the existing city centre (ibid). Los Angeles is a typical city on wheels. It is estimated that about 30 per cent of the urban land has been used by roads . The freeway system and petrol station can be regarded as the symbol of autopia. This unique urban culture can be justified by two examples: the parking space outside Los Angeles International Airport is larger than the airport itself and Los Angeles seems to have more petrol stations than restaurants if not as many. In terms of urban form, automobile has created a big scale urban space, wide road system and low density land use pattern. Although providing a good experience for driving, the urban space in Los Angeles strongly discourages walking and other transport modes. The congestion in Los Angeles has become very serious recently. In 2006, the annual delay was 72 hours per person and during peak hour, the speed on the freeway is reduced to 5-20 miles per hour (Morris, 2009; Taxes Transport Institution, 2009). Recently, the local authority has abandoned the fully-motorization transport strategy and attempted seeking alternative solution of public transport. The future of automobile is unclear, and will probably be more influenced by the political climate but undoubtedly will still play an important role in urban transportation. However, certain limitation policies which restrain its usage will be implemented. Considering collaboration with public transportation, â&#x20AC;&#x153;park and rideâ&#x20AC;? facilities should be provided around major transport hub, which encourages people to take public transportation to commute to city centre. In addition, road pricing has been considered in many cities. From an economic perspective, this policy forces the driver to be responsible for the negative externality of their behaviour . London has successful adopted a congestion charge strategy since 17th Feb, 2003, which is believed to have reduced traffic in central London and corresponding pollution. Last but not the least, traffic calming has gradually obtained peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention especially in the city centre and its neighbourhood. This calming policy recognises the significance of automobile in the city and attempts to reduce their speed to an appropriate level which will help all transport modes co-exist in harmony.

The figures from different sources are varied. According to B. Richards 2001, Los Angeles has used 60 per cent of the land for the road and parking. The culture of freeway can be summarised as a national network with wide traffic lanes, smooth surfacing, clear signage, elimination of traffic lights, one-way entry and exit ramps and bright overhead light after the dark. All these features make driving easy and pleasant (Votolato, 2007).

Chapter 4 The Complex Speeds, Interchange and Urban Space 4.1 The Complex Speeds and Interchange in the City In the city, various speeds coexist and frequently clash with each other, which usually make urban mobility extremely complicated. In city, the most typical complex speeds are around the gateways of the transport network, i.e. airport and railway stations. These spaces usually have more urban dimension than the simple function of transport. A case in point is the railway station , which acts not only as a node to access train and other transport networks but also as a space with concentration of infrastructure, diversified buildings and open spaces (Bertolini and Spit, 1998). As a node on the transport network, development around railway station has some unique features. Generally stations enjoy high accessibility, proximity of centres and high flows of people which makes it a focal point of major (re)development. Many researches have proved that development or regeneration of stations and surrounding areas throughout Europe is an important part of urban restructuring (Bertolini, 1996, 2006; Bertolini and Spit, 1998; Masen, 2007). However, these regeneration projects have high development costs and generate low revenue in return. Therefore, stations often attract activities irrelevant to transport such as offices and shops (Bertolini and Spit, 1998; Masen, 2007). Another important feature of stations is their function of interchange as the stations are Railways usually range from national or international high speed train system to urban and suburban network (such as underground or overground). Therefore, stations include both railway and metro stations.

Figure 25 Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the Biggest Raillway Station Development in Europe

Figure 26 The Commerical Development inside Berlin Hauptbahnhof

usually well connected with other transport modes such as bus, underground or parking lot for private cars. The connectivity issue is becoming increasingly crucial in station development. Nowadays, the transport-led development especially the station development is prevalent due to the substantial investment on urban infrastructure. This type of development exerts a profound influence on urban economy, planning and real estate development. As for urban design, first of all these transport projects should activate chain reactions which reorganises the local or even the overall urban transport system. Secondly, a station should turn into â&#x20AC;&#x153;a place to be, not just a place to pass throughâ&#x20AC;? ((Bertolini and Spit, 1998). It requires fulfilling the development potential which often involves relocation of land use and densification. Finally, it requires very convenient interchange facilities as well as encouraging better urban spaces around major transport nodes by mixed-use development and high quality of environment.

4.2 The Case Study of Canary Wharf Canary Wharf in London is a typical sub-centre with complex speeds and urban space. Before 1980s, it was part of the dockland. As a result of successful real estate development, it has become one of two major financial centres in London. As on date, there are 13 high rise office buildings in total with an area of 9 million sq ft. The tenants

include major banks such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Citigroup and law firms such as Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy. According to statistics, over 100,000 people are employed on the estate with 25% of them living in the surrounding five boroughs. With the opening of Jubilee Place Shopping Centre and Canada Place Shopping Centre, Canary Wharf has become a new shopping destination. The success of Canary Wharf should be partially attributed to the good transport access. Currently Dockland Light Rail (DLR) and the Underground (Jubilee Line) provide frequent transport links with other parts of the city especially to City of London (10 minutes journey with three-minute frequency at peak hours). Owing to good public transport service and traffic congestion in central London, about 84 per cent of employees in Canary Wharf use either public transport or walk to work. In future, the transport access will be further improved as the currently developing Crossrail project will provide direct links to Heathrow Airport, City of London and City Airport. There are two important points to be noticed: first of all, unlike other underground lines in London, DLR is light rail above ground due to the legacy of former dockland railway; secondly, the interchange between Jubilee Line and DLR is remote due the underestimation of passenger transfer which seems to be a defect in London underground system. Density of Canary Wharf is significantly higher than other parts of London due to abolishment of planning regulation during its development. The office Tower has created a beautiful skyline with One Canada Square as the highest building in United Kingdom (50 floors and 235 metres). This kind of high density urban form exerts huge pressure on the infrastructure especially to the transport system. Currently the underground, DLR, bus, cycle and ferry have formed a holistic transport system which has been upgraded several Figure 27 The Transport System in Canary Wharf

Source: Future Transport in Cities, Richards, 2001

Figure 28 The Monofunction Street in Canary Wharf

Figure 29 The Waiting Crowd of Peak Hour in Canary Wharf

Figure 30 The Town Square Lacking the Services in Canary Wharf

times. In order to relieve the current transport pressure, the extension programme of DLR and Crossrail programme are still in proposal or in progress. Though Canary Wharf is mainly regarded as a business centre, its segregated transport system and the artificial combination of office and shopping fail to create an attractive urban space. Firstly, without commercial and leisure activities the mono-functional road between office buildings hardly attracts pedestrians to stay. Even the major square is separated from cafes and other services. Secondly, the shopping malls in Canary Wharf only use second-class spaces which are usually underground or isolated from the street. It fails to apply commercial activities to vibrate the pubic space which has been proved successful in many other city centres. In addition, with such high office content and segregation of shopping and residential areas no wonder that it becomes dead at night and weekends. The new residential development around Canary Wharf which has just begun is expected to relieve the spatial segregation in the future . From this case study, it can be concluded that the topic of mobility and urban space is more complicated than generally believed. Canary Wharf has basically solved the transport problem, relevant development density issue and has created a successful business centre in terms of property development. However this North American development model fails to inherit the European city culture as well as providing new identity for the financial centre. The spatial segregation of transport, business, commercial and residential area has proved to be a failure again since the first criticism by J. Jacobs in 1961. Although there are many criticisms of Canary Wharf, one should notice that this new financial centre almost has no history and nothing to inherit. Meanwhile, the difficulty of transport organisation from the large water in the site and the spatial segregation issue is complex which is possibly from the underestimation and lack of confidence in early development. The segregation of office may be intentional from the security perspective against the backdrop of terrorism similar to 1996 Dockland bombing.

Figure 31 The Shopping Mall in Canary Wharf

Figure 32 The Transport System in Los Angeles

Chapter 5 The Future Vision of Monility and Urban Space This chapter uses Los Angeles as an example to predict the future urban transport and spatial development. Owing to the complexity of research and proposal, this chapter is divided into two as urban planning from strategic level and urban design from detail level.

5.1 Future of Los Angeles Automobile culture has become an important part of Los Angeles which revels in its huge parking lot, giant freeway and low density land use pattern. Historically, in Los Angeles the fully-motorization strategy has had profound impact on the city: major city centres are remote from each other with an average driving distance is 27 miles (Morris, 200). Considering the unique urban form only freeway can provide convenient connection between the city centres while public transportation is able to offer only limited service. However, the development of automobile will not be able to sustain the city in future. The annual delay in 2006 was 72 hours per person which is the top among 14 metropolises in America, the average driving speed on freeway is 37 miles and the public transport only takes up about 10 per cent of the total trips while private car usage is 70 per cent (Morris, 2009; Taxes Transport Institution, 2009 ). Considering the energy crisis in the foreseeable future, population, car ownership growth and the sustainability issue Los Angeles will confront the big challenge of transportation. The local authority has started realising this and stopped the construction of the new freeway and turned to public transportation especially the metro system for help. However, it is still controversial because first of all, the construction of metro is extremely expensive and the maintenance cost is high which requires a huge investment for a long time. Secondly, the ridership of metro in Los Angeles is very low with only the low class using the public transport service and its proving difficult to attract other groups. Finally, according to scholars in UCLA, the chaotic commute pattern means public transport itself cannot solve the holistic transport problem. Considering the current scattered city centres and existing public transportation system, a development strategy for the new corridors is proposed to combine both public transport and land use. In future, there will be four major corridors from downtown to Long Beach, Los Angeles International Airport, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley. In these new corridors, good transport access will be provided, and activates the complex station development and other property development along the metro line. In addition, density of the corridor (including the business, commercial, residential district) will be increased for future development. Meanwhile, with the new business and commercial centres commute 35

Figure 33 The New Corridor Strategy for Los Angeles 36

pattern will become more predictable and much easier to organise. In order to promote this strategy, the carrot and stick policy will be introduced simultaneously. The carrot side of the policy includes the provision of new metro lines, park and ride facilities as well as comprehensive development of the station. On the other hand, the stick side of the policy will help form the corridor. The new development especially those mega size projects which will possibly generate substantial trips will be allowed to locate only in these corridors. At the same time, certain limitation of car usage such as road pricing will be introduced to encourage people to use public transportation instead of driving.

5.2 Future of Wilshire Corridor In order to test this corridor strategy, Wilshire Boulevard has been chosen for detailed examination. Wilshire is the most mature one among the four corridors. It is 17 miles long and passes through 5 city centres namely downtown, Wilshire Centre, Beverly Hill, Westwood and Santa Monica. Economic activities along the boulevard are mainly office and commercial with density significantly higher than neighbouring areas. At present the Metro Purple Line only reaches the west of Wilshire Centre. The local government has now proposed that the metro line will be extended to Westwood and possibly to Santa Monica. After successfully securing funding, this programme is currently in progress. The metro extension programme will bring new opportunity to the Wilshire Corridor through excellent public transport access. It is expected that the identity of each section will be strengthened in the future. For example Miracle Mile will become a new culture centre; Beverly Hill will continue being a major shopping centre and Santa Monica will still be the major leisure and tourist attraction. The transportation system will be reorganised accordingly. Currently, the bus lines have already formed a network along Wilshire Corridor. In future, they should be carefully adjusted to be the feeder and carry citizens to the metro line. The density along the boulevard will be doubled in the least case, however the density will vary according to local conditions. Beverly Hill and Santa Monica will continue the low density development pattern due to current urban form and major industries. In Miracle Mile and Wilshire Centre though the density is very high at present, it will be further increased in future due to new demand for office. With higher density, the quality of environment will have to be carefully addressed. Currently, the open space along Wilshire Boulevard is fragmented with very small areas for the city parks. In the new corridor plan, a green necklace along the boulevard will be created. It will connect the major city parks and golf courts as well as provide a linear green strip for the local residents. To summarise, the Wilshire Corridor will become a future growth strip with higher density, good access of public transport and high quality of environment.

Figure 34 The Land Use Plan along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 35 The Transport System along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 36 The Open Space and Desnsity Plan along Wilshire Boulevrad

Figure 37 The Future Vision of Wilshire Boulevard

5.3 Future of Miracle Mile History To test this urban planning strategy, Miracle Mile site has been chosen for detailed urban design. Miracle Mile, located in the middle of Wilshire Boulevard obtains this name because it was an oil field in 1920s which turned to become the first shopping centre outside downtown due to urban sprawl and real estate speculation (Roderick and Lynxwiler, 2005). In 1921, real estate developer A. W. Ross predicted that Los Angeles would continue to sprawl. He believed that there is a need for new shopping centre for Beverly Hill and Hancock Park neighbourhood to avoid congestion and lack of parking space in downtown. He chose Miracle Mile which was located in the centre of many new neighbourhoods and he was absolutely right. Soon the Art Deco office towers and department stores turned Miracle Mile into a seductive shopping centre in 1940s. One of the greatest successes of Miracle Mile is its urban design which reveals the automobile culture and caters for driving. He introduced the first timed traffic light in America and created dedicated left turn lanes required all merchants to provide enough parking lots for customers and only one high rise building in each block to avoid too much traffic as well as guarantee the best view for driving. The achievement of Ross is unprecedented, not only did it bring huge commercial success in Miracle Mile, but also invented the caroriented urban form - which Reyner Banham called "the linear downtown" model later adopted across the United States. The inscription on the sculpture of Ross standing at 5800 Wilshire writes: "A. W. Ross, founder and developer of the Miracle Mile. Vision to see, wisdom to know, courage to do." However, the prosperity of Miracle Mile is just a flash in the pan. It soon lost its popularity owing to further suburbanisation and competition from other shopping destinations.

Site Analysis The research area is along the Wilshire Boulevard in Miracle Mile. It is 2.8 km from the east of La Brea Avenue to west of San Vincent Boulevard and 0.4 km from the north of 6th Street to the south of 8th Street. The whole site is around 1sq km. Currently, the legacy of former prosperity is the Hancock Park, the cluster of museums (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Peterson Automotive Museum and other small museums and galleries) as well as many historic office buildings with Art Deco Style. Further analysing the land use, the museums and Hancock Park are clustered in the centre of Miracle Mile while the business and office buildings are located along the high street The density of residential areas is varied. In the west part of the boulevard, majority of the area is low density detached house and in the east, apartments are dominant. In this strip, the form of linear downtown is distinct. The density along the boulevard is significantly higher than the adjacent areas. When it comes to transport system, the grid system has influenced the urban fabric as other parts of Los Angeles. In the future, there will be two metro stations located at the junctions between Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue as well as La Brea Avenue. On site, there are many parking lots behind buildings and multi-story 43

Figure 38 Site Analysis

Figure 39 Site Analysis

Figure 40 Site Analysis

car parking structures along the street which encourages driving.

Overall Strategy After the analysis, it is now necessary to establish the main theme to direct the detailed design. Considering the strategic planning policy and local situation, there are three themes to be established: the transportation system; the density issue and the new identity of Miracle Mile. In future, with the new infrastructure of metro extension and two new stations, the public transport system will be reorganised. The second theme of density is complex and it is desirable to increase density in Miracle Mile to guarantee future development potential, vitality of community and appropriate ridership of public transport. The new identity of Miracle Mile is vital as previously Miracle Mile showed a strong urban culture of automobile whereas now there are many elements which can help form new identities such as the new culture of transportation, green necklace, museums and historical legacy.

Zoning and Transport Plan In the new land use plan from east to west along the high street Miracle Mile is divided into business and residential district, cultural and residential district as well as mixeduse area. Meanwhile, the density of residential area will be increased possibly doubled. The transport system will undergo a major change with the current 6-lane (two directions in total) street will be reduced to 2 or 4 lanes. There are many reasons to support this intervention because, it can be regarded as a stick policy to discourage driving along the boulevard and it also encourages residents to use public transportation. Pavement will be widened by the reduction of traffic lanes, which will stimulate the street life with more activities happening on the generous pedestrian space.

Density As mentioned above, the density of Miracle Mile should be significantly increased. Considering the nature of Wilshire Corridor, a new model will be raised to integrate land use and density. There will be four layers with decreased density. The first layer will be business and commercial areas along the high street with the buildings as high as 40 stories. The next layer will be a high density strip of residential towers which will become the apartment and town house district. Finally, it will change to a low density residential area with typical detached houses. The main aim of the different layers is to gradually decrease the density according to land use with a potential for the layer to shift to the edge for further growth in future.

New Identity The new identity of Miracle Mile is crucial. With the new infrastructure, the Metro Purple line, it is necessary to introduce a new culture of transportation which will integrate walking, cycling, public transport as well as street life. In order to demonstrate this culture, five sections along Wilshire Boulevard have been chosen for further detailed design. 47

Figure 41 The Concept of Miracle Mile

Metro Station at the junction of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue With the new metro station a new shopping plaza will be created. Potential customers are local residents, passengers of the metro and visitors to the museums. A new square is formed with the surrounding of commercial buildings and there will be a market frequently. Entrance of Los Angeles County Museum of Art Perhaps, Los Angeles County Museum of Art is the most important attraction of Miracle Mile. However with a closed facade, it hardly attracts pedestrians. In future, green necklace will pass by the museum. With a wider pavement, pleasant green space, souvenir shops, street exhibition and outdoor sculptures will create an artistic atmosphere at the entrance of the museum. The street adjacent to Hancock Park Providing leisure space to the local community, Hancock Park is an important element of Miracle Mile. The boundary of the park will be removed and the atmosphere of jungle will be brought to the street, and with wider pavement and green space, it is expected that more leisure activities will happen on the street. Preserved Street Many places in Miracle Mile have interesting stories, with the “Darkroom” just one of them. In 1920s, there was a camera shop here and installed a furniture of camera shape. Although owners of the shop have changed many times, the “darkroom” has still stood there for more than 80 years and has become one of the historic spots of Miracle Mile. In this proposal, the pleasant street scale will be preserved, however a high rise building will be added to increase the density. Restaurants, cafes and other shops at ground level will promote more activities on the pavement. Green Office District Around the metro station at the junction of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, a new business centre will be created. Many office buildings are there in the area at present. In future, the green necklace will continue to the metro station and increase the quality of environment. With the new green space employees will enjoy more leisure activities on the street leading to the creation of a new identity called green office district.

Summary As the first shopping centre outside downtown, Miracle Mile has already witnessed the culture of automobile. In this century with a new rapid transit transport system, a new urban culture of transportation will be created with a corresponding new type of urban space for human needs instead of automobile will emerge.

Figure 42 The Land Use Plan of Miracle Mile

Figure 43 The Road Section of Miracle Mile

Figure 44 The Master Plan of Miracle Mile

Figure 45 The Section of Fairfax Metro Station 54

Figure 46 The Skyline and Density in the West of Miracle Mile

Figure 47 The Perspective of Whole Miracle Mile

Figure 48 The Perspective of Shooping Plaza in Fairfax Metro Station

Figure 49 The Perspective of the Entrance of Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Figure 50 The Perspective of Green Strip outside the Hancock Park 59

Figure 51 The Perspective of Preserved Street with Historic Spot "Darkroom"

Figure 52 The Perspective of the Green Business District in La Brea Metro Station

Chapter 6 Conclusion

The transportation issue could not be overemphasised in the modern city. Up until now, only few cities have maintained an efficient transport system and successfully addressed the congestion problem. In the foreseeable future, transportation will continue being a vital theme of urban development. In the past, motorization was thought to provide a “onesize-fit-all” solution. However, this automobile-centred transport system is approaching saturation opening up a window of opportunities for other alternatives (Bertolini and Spit, 1998). In the proposal for Los Angeles, automobile should cooperate with the new transport system composing of walk, cycle, bus, light rail and metro. With a new multidimensional dynamic transport organisation, urban mobility is expected to be improved. In view of physical solution zoning through urban planning, provision for new infrastructure and small scale design intervention should collaborate together. With an increasingly complex transport situation, a single solution proposal will fail. It is desirable to address this situation in a wider context, i.e. social, economic, transport, real estate, urban planning and design fields. As in the proposal of Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, the new transportation project should cautiously consider future density, a new identity of the city as well as planning policy and real estate development. In terms of urban design, it is crucial for designers to capture the spatial impact of various transport modes. Consequently, it is desirable to integrate urban design within infrastructure planning at an early stage. This type of urban design should focus on an individual travelling experience in order to encourage certain behaviour or transport modes. A century ago, automobile created a unique culture which influenced the spatial development of many cities. In this new century, a transportation culture should be created making use of a variety of transport modes. In order to achieve this new culture, a number of key measures should be implemented which is summarised below:  Urban planning and infrastructure provision will determine the overall situation of transportation system in the city.  Walking is an essential part of urban transport system. The quality of environment for pedestrians should be given the highest priority (Richards, 2001).  Cycling is an important mode of transportation and safety issue such as dedicated cycle lanes and parking should be carefully addressed.

ď Ź Bus, light rail and other surface-level transport modes strongly influence the street and people. A good public space can be activated through careful design and appropriate transport system. ď Ź Metro system is more suitable for a city with high density. The interchange and station development are two major issues which need to be cautiously considered. ď Ź Automobile will have to confront the restrain policy in future. Road pricing, parking charge and traffic calming will help reduce the negative impact from driving.

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