BLANK
SPACES Rethinking Urban Parking
Kieran Samuel Hymers RESEARCH-BASED DESIGN PROJECT THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MA IN URBAN DESIGN 2020.
Welsh School of Architecture & School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University.
Kieran Samuel Hymers C1958426 September 2020 MA Urban Design Cardiff University School of Geography & Planning / Welsh School of Architecture
Kieran Hymers | MAUD
I would first like to thank my tutor Monisha Peter who has guided me throughout this research based design project - whose clear, informative knowledge and advice has been indelible. Thanks to my long-time friend and PhD candidate Bethan Treadgold for her advise on research methodologies. I would also like to thank my mother and father for their support and encouragement particularly during such unfamiliar adversity.
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Table Of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TOPIC, INTEREST & IMPACT
3. METHODOLOGY
introduction
problem statement
pg. 5
methodology
pg. 10
framework for change
pg. 25
research question
pg. 6
literature review
pg. 11
ccez
pg. 26
case study analysis
pg. 7
quantitative data collection pg. 16
green network
pg. 27
quantitative data analysis pg. 17
green ring road
pg. 31
parking in numbers
pg. 19
small scale
pg. 35
building around the car
pg. 24
adamsdown
pg. 36
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pg. 4
4. FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE
adams street history
pg. 37
parking mitigation
pg. 38
popbox
pg. 41
the block
pg. 43
density and mix
pg. 44
vulcan square
pg. 47
5. CONCLUSION conclusion
pg. 49
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1. INTRODUCTION This research-based design project intends to delve into the issue of parking in British city centres. Using Cardiff as the proposed research lab this postgraduate thesis will analyse the existing literature on the topic, whilst also conducting primary research into attitudes and opinions on the subject and the related sphere. Using a mixed-methods approach this research intends to gain a deeper understanding into not only the impact urban parking has had on British city centres but to a larger extent explore possible greener and more sustainable alternatives.
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2. TOPIC, INTEREST & IMPACT 2.1 PROBLEMSTATEMENT The Modernist construction centred around vehicle parking is widely frowned upon, the Brutalist form evokes such a negative response and yet parking and in particular multi-storey car parks (MSCPs) are generally considered a necessary evil, even by those who wouldn’t exactly be classed as motor fanatics. The academic and political debate on parking is widely discussed in North America, notably the USA. The impact of parking in the US is also abundantly clear with parking minimums in effect in almost every city. This has resulted in some analysis putting the total number of parking spaces in the USA at 2 billion with 800 in offstreet parking facilities (Chester, Horvath & Madanat, 2010 this reference is too old). However, the research around parking in the United Kingdom is less thorough and discussed. Whilst the Modernist planning movement maintains a stranglehold in North America it never quite took effect in the United Kingdom. Despite the rising climate emergency and fossil fuel scarcity, there seems to be no sign of car ownership declining. In fact, a recent study has shown car dependency is on the increase (RAC 2018). The need to cut down emissions and improve air quality has driven many cities in the UK to adopt greener policies in their planning framework, with many planning to ban cars from city centres completely. Cardiff Council has plans to introduce a congestion charge similar to that seen in London. The goal is clear; to cut the number of cars driving into the city centre and to encourage greener alternative means of transport. Cardiff has also over recent years progressed with the pedestrianisation of a number of its city centre roads. The city centre of Cardiff in 2020 has 13 parking facilities (not including on-street parking), 8 of which are MSCP’s constructed between the 1970s and 2000s. With plans to cut the number of vehicles entering the city centre and a push towards more sustainable types of development, what can be done with this surplus of parking facilities, many of which remain underused.
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2.2 SOCIAL IMPACT The social impact of this research will intend to offer an alternative vision from the current situation cities like Cardiff find themselves in; Auto Dependent with an over a surplus of city parking, taking up resourceful urban space. If reimagined this could have a transformative effect on the lives of users of this space.
2.3 THEORETICAL IMPACT This research-based design project intends to not only offer social alternatives through a reconceptualisation approach to the urban morphology of Cardiff but also intends to contribute to the academic debate on the topic of urban parking and its affiliated associates. With the argument still raging on what role cars play in the 21st-century city, my research intends to contribute to that debate; analysing secondary data alongside the contribution of primary data which can append a more utilitarian comprehension.
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2.5 Hypothesis:
2.4 RESEARCHQUESTIONS When conducting this analysis of parking in Cardiff ’s city centre the focus has been on public car parking facilities which are operated for the most part by private companies. These facilities vary in typology but offer parking to the public typically for a fee paid on exiting the site.
ASURPLUSOF UNDERUSEDCARPARKINGFACILITIESINCARDIFF CITY CENTREHASLEDTOANINCREASEINAUTODEPENDENCY AND ANUNDERUTILISEDAMOUNTOF SPACEWHICHCOULDTHROUGH REIMAGININGCREATEALTERNATIVE, MORESUSTAINABLETYPESOF DEVELOPMENTS. 2.6 Research Question posed:
The analysis has not taken into account private parking facilities such as workplace parking, private parking, residential parking or *unofficial parking.
• HAS ASURPLUS OF PARKINGINCARDIFF’S CITY CENTREHAD NEGATIVEIMPLICATIONS ONTHECITY’S URBANFABRICAND ACCESSIBILITY?
*unofficial parking is deemed as parking bays, spaces which are not officially regulated by the council or by private companies e.g. industrial estate roads, where private vehicles park unofficially.
• CANTHETRANSFORMATIONOF URBANPARKINGFACILITIES CREATESUSTAINABLEANDHUMANSCALEDEVELOPMENT? To best help answer the questions posed for the research questions posed, it is imperative to set out the methodological approach taken to help answer these questions and prove the hypothesis to be true. A mixture of both quantitative and qualitative methods were used throughout the research.
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2.7 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS 2.8 PACIFICPLAZA 401 NHarwood St, Dallas, TX 75215, United States
A former surface parking lot in the metropolis of Dallas, Texas, became one of the city’s many neighbourhood parks in late 2019 (PfDD 2020). The parking lot itself was owned by the city of Dallas and was pioneered by Dallas Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with Parks for Downtown Dallas which is a subsidiary of The Dallas Morning News. It is a part of a more extensive regeneration program which aims to create 4 parks in the downtown region—funded with $39m by the City of Dallas and $55m in private investments. PfDD is also raising $25m in funds to ensure the long term maintenance of the parks (PfDD 2020).
Figure 1.1 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020)
Homes built in Downtown Dallas
3.89 acre (1.5 hectares) site is part of a four park transformation project.
Figure 1.2 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020)
Figure 1.3 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020)
Figure 1.0 Houses built in Downtown Dallas (Point2Homes 2019) Kieran Hymers | MAUD
Figure 1.4 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020)
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P
Parking Facility Road DART
Figure 1.5 0.5KMMap of Downtown Dallas (Kieran Hymers)
Figure 1.7 Pacific Plaza (Dallas Observer 2017)
Environment and micro-climate: The site is located in the downtown centre of Dallas and is an open plaza amongst a mass of modernist commercial towers which cast shadows in multiple directions. This can provide an added barrier to Texas’ hot summer sun with temperatures averaging at 35 degrees C in the summer (US climate data 2020)
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Figure 1.6 Master plan of park regeneration (ASLA2019)
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2.9 PECKHAMMULTI-STOREY CAR PARK. Cerise Rd, Peckham, London SE15 5HQ, United Kingdom The Peckham multi-storey car park is located on Cerise Road in Peckham South East London. Built in 1983 with much backlash from the local community who set up the Peckham Action Group in opposition to the construction, one of the reasons was that the MSCP was to demolish existing houses (The Peckham Society, 2015). Fast forward 24 years and a not for profit: Bold Tendencies appropriated floors 7 > 10 of the MSCP. Opening Frank’s Cafe in 2007 on the rooftop (Bold Tendencies 2020). Bold Tendencies has operated over the past 13 summer seasons. In a somewhat paradox between tactical urbanism and redevelopment Bold tendencies has turned a once uninhabited and monofunctional space into a plethora of vibrant art installations, architectural majesty, music and education (Heathcote, 2017).
Figure 1.8 PeckhamMSCP (Google Earth 2020)
The Floors below were acquired by a startup called Peckham Levels. Pioneered by the group Make Shift which encourages small enterprise through the development of underutilized space in cities and communities. Peckham Levels are a group of creatives who have turned the seven stories of the former MSCP into a coworking space for artists and those in the creative industries. (Peckham Levels 2020)
Figure 1.9 Franks Cafe (Ania Mendrek 2018)
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Figure 2.0 PeckhamRoof top (Ania Mendrek 2018)
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3. METHODOLOGY
Interest
Identifying a problem
Topic
Research - Theoretical Via Literature Review of relevant authors and academics.
Research Questions
Design of Survey
Data Collection
Data Analysis Figure 2.1 Research Methodology Process (Kieran Hymers)
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Literature Review 3.1 INTRODUCTION The focus of this literature review is to critically engage with relevant literature on the topic of parking within a British city context. This review is intended to further develop the research questions posed - What overall impact has parking had on British city centres? And to what extent can the transformation of urban parking facilities build density and create more sustainable, human-scale developments? The issue of cars in cities, auto dependency, and the critical evaluation of modernist city planning has long been in academic and public debate. Jane Jacobs is one of the pioneers to take on the modernist planning movement in her book The Death & Life of Great American Cities (1960). With other notable academics and authors following in her wake. A debate which has spanned over half a century with many reports, papers, and books written on the topic of cars in cities. However much focus has been placed on the concepts of automobility or auto-dependency notably in the work of Urry (2004) with less focus on the impact that urban/city parking has had on city centre or downtown regions.
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Academic debate on parking in cities has mostly been discussed in a North American centric context i.e. with almost every major Metropolitan urban area in the USA and Canada still requiring parking minimums. This has led academics in the field to call upon city governments to amend legislation and scrap parking minimums and instead bring in a system of parking maximums as has been done in the UK (Stubbs 2010). This argument is heralded by Manville & Shoup (2004) who argue not only the economic cost of parking minimums but also of the impact that it has on the built environment. In the United States it is commonplace for a one storey commercial building to dedicate at least 75% of its lot space to surface parking (Ben-Joseph 2015). To understand and gain insight into what impact car parking infrastructure has had on city centres, and whether or not the transformation of said infrastructure can build more sustainable spaces it is important to first investigate and analyse the impacts of the car as an object itself and to understand it not only in its physical form but also the extenuating components.
3.2 THE CAR A symbol of the 21st century. A turning point for humanity in how we work, travel and live. However, the technological invention of the automobile wasn’t confined to human mobility. The auto-industrial complex has over the past century spearheaded the innate ideals of individual freedom with all its aliases: production, consumption and materialism (Freund & Martin 1993).
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This system of automobility is characterised in the work of Urry (2004) as a double-edged sword. It reaches much broader parameters with the car not only being confined to human mobility but also in the autonomous sense of cars, mixed with the creations around it. Urry stipulates the need to refrain from seeing automobility purely as the car, the car in and of itself is an inanimate object and would not function without the infrastructure, resource allocation and human cognitive abilities to drive all of it. The system itself is one of self-expansion, like a vicious circle, the environmental degradation, destruction of the natural world to artificially inseminate concrete, tarmac, steel and petroleum. What Urry posits is the innate sense of freedom a car gives individuals, the ability to leave when one chooses to travel along endless highways crossing borders. However as Urry also notes this hasn’t come without a price to pay; the freedom of mobility has also resulted in huge amounts of traffic congestion - grid locking the roads, pollution, families too now live miles apart from one another with suburban living built around the car becoming the norm. This argument is supported by Freund & Martin who too state that the convenience of the auto is undeniable however similarly posit the idea that auto-hegemony is made up of two parts production and consumption; these being two essential cogs in the capitalist system (Baer 2008). Both Urry, Freund & Martin talk of the irony of the auto for although it embodies a sense of freedom it also constrains freedom, specifically the freedom to travel via other means. This system of automobility needn’t be indelible. There are 6 social and policy transformations which could forever change the dominance of the car as we know it. These include new fuel and material systems,
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ICT, public policy shifting to alternative transport modes and the deprivatisation of vehicles. Many of Urry’s propositions have already proven to be true with carsharing becoming ever more popular particularly with Generation Y [Millennials] as they value convenience and connectivity, without the added costs and bother of outright private ownership (Schiller et al 2017). The technological advancement in alternatives to fossil fuel has led to a 22% increase in 2018 in the number of ultra-low emission vehicles being registered for the first time in the UK, with a decrease of Diesel cars by 30% (DfT 2019). City planning has long been in academic and public debate. Jane Jacobs is one of the pioneers to take on the modernist planning movement in her book The Death & Life of Great American Cities (1960). With other notable academics and authors following in her wake. A debate which has spanned over half a century with many reports, papers, and books written on the topic of cars in cities. However much focus has been placed on the concepts of automobility or auto-dependency notably in the work of Urry (2004) with less focus on the impact that urban/city parking has had on city centre or downtown regions. Academic debate on parking in cities has mostly been discussed in a North American centric context i.e. with almost every major Metropolitan urban area in the USA and Canada still requiring parking minimums. This has led academics in the field to call upon city governments to amend legislation and scrap parking minimums and instead bring in a system of parking maximums as has been done in the UK (Stubbs 2010). This argument is heralded by Manville & Shoup (2004) who argue not only the economic cost of parking minimums but also of the impact that it has on the built environment. In the United States it is commonplace for a one
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storey commercial building to dedicate at least 75% of its lot space to surface parking (Ben-Joseph 2015). To understand and gain insight into what impact car parking infrastructure has had on city centres, and whether or not the transformation of said infrastructure can build more sustainable spaces it is important to first investigate and analyse the impacts of the car as an object itself and to understand it not only in its physical form but also the extenuating components.
3.3 MODERNISM The Brutalist styling of the Modernist movement which came to dominate the post-war era was a large player in the shaping of cities in the UK with Britain severely damaged from relentless German bombing the need to rebuild many cities began. London County Council wished for the rebuilding to be done on a more human scale, mimicking the softness of Scandinavian cities. However, avant-garde architects saw this as a return to the past and instead pursued their alchemistic vision of modernity (Clement 2018). Although Modernist architecture became supreme in the post-war period, Modernist city planning didn’t quite take as tight a grip on the UK as it did in the US. However, that is not to say that the modernist planning movement didn’t at least try to reshape the UK in this post-war period. The impact of the car on British cities is profound, Ortolano (2011) highlights this in his writing - During the 1940s & 1950s, the most used
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form of transportation for commuting was: bicycle, train and bus with the car and van succeeding. By the 60s and 70s cars sat comfortably in first place replacing all other modes of transport combined. Ortolano emphasises the impact that this had on British city centres many of which are historic and long-dated the automobile. Colin Buchanan’s report Traffic in Towns highlighted the real long term impacts that traffic congestion was having on urban areas. With traffic engulfing British city centres the Modernist Buchanans solution was simple - the total “reconceptualisation of the city” (Ortolano 2011). This required vast urban restructuring in what would have been similar to that of Le Corbusier’s Ville De Radieusse vision of segregated pedestrian pathways and separate multi-lane freeways, allowing the auto to flourish unhindered. Many plans were drafted in the post-war period which were led with a Modernist vision for Britain’s cities. One of which was Bradford, Gunn 2011 highlights the intention to separate the city into functional zones, a bedrock in the Modernist planning theory (Le Corbusier 1933). Birmingham was another city that modernisms attempted to annex, the vision for Birmingham was to turn it into Britain’s Motor City and Planner Wilfred Burns along with the Labour led council were intent on turning Newcastle into the “Brasilia of the North” (Gunn 2017 p4). However by the 1970s Urban Modernism was tried, tested and had been rejected in British cities, Gunn (2017 p6) argues that one reason for Modernism’s demise lay in its animosity to history with its tabula rasa approach to planning, this clashed with British plannings predisposition toward conservation and preservation. This was largely due to the credence that the car should take precedence over all else in the shaping of cities creating mass automobility; coinciding with the
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“techno-utopian” vision that all problems could be solved through the technical know-how of an engineer or an omnipotent architect.
surface car parks as immense possibilities for designers to transform them, unleashing new potential for city spaces.
The United Kingdom has allowed the policy of auto-hegemony since the post-war period. This is evident in the Beeching reports of 1963 and 1965, where the implication of the report led to what was colloquially known as the Beeching axe where 5,000 miles of rail track were severed due to The Modernisation Plan of 1955 (Network Rail 2020). The plan recognised the growing amount of private car ownership in the United Kingdom and the vast amount of money being lost by British Rail. This political will to ‘modernise’ has been one pursued by both Labour and Conservative governments, both have actively encouraged and allowed auto-hegemony to flourish (Freund & Martin 1983). This is supported in the work of Gunn (2017) who stipulated the desire of both political parties in their encouragement of urban motorway building programs during the 1960s and 70s.
Ever since the Death & Life of Great American Cities New Urbanisms has been seen as the adversary of Modernism, at its core New Urbanism seeks to dismantle and reconstruct where Modernism has failed. The New Urbanism movement too holds radical ideas about the total transformation of the city and to (de)modernise in what Christopher Alexander coined a “back to the future style of development” (Anderbeek & Irazabal 2007, p. 42). This is where Neo-traditionalism and new urbanism collide they claim with the references to a historical nostalgia of the city.
3.4 ANEO-MODERNISM? Parking is a contentious and complex subject, one that has baffled developers, angered the public and become a headache for architects and planners. To be able to understand the impact this has had on city centres one exposure to look at is the financial cost. Ben-Joseph (2015) argues that parking speculation or predetermining the suburban demand for city centre parking leads to the development of multi-storey parking facilities and large surface level lots this in turn increases the cost of land and discourages the development of sustainable density particularly infill housing.
Yet Anderbeek & Irazabal (2007) argue that New Urbanism can be seen as a Neo-Modernism and although New Urbanism has a distinctive antimodernist approach to urban design and architecture the two in fact belong to the same genealogy born out the same problem i.e. central city decline. In the case of Modernism it was due to slums, overcrowding and industrialisation. Whereas New Urbanism faces central city decline due to suburban migration. Anderbeek & Irazabal are highly critical of those who seek to see New Urbanism as a separate entity of Modernism, in fact both the New Urbanism Charter and the Athens Charter share many of the same goals, albeit written in a different format. Therefore it could be argued New Urbanism has established itself as a ‘new’ Modernism for a different time. Nonetheless Anderbeek & Irazabal state that New Urbanism like Modernism has the power to alter behaviour through urban design but they will fail where Modernism did if they believe they can control social behaviours and collective values.
Ben-Joseph sees car parks as an opportunity, however he does not go far enough in his writing on how to radically transform car parking in cities, instead he focuses on the aesthetics of space, to oversimplify ‘plant a few trees and install an urban drainage system’. Trancik (1986) sees open
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3.5 Conclusion Rethinking urban parking in British city centres presents an opportunity, not to stop suburban migration or to stop people from driving but simply to create alternatives. More sustainable, greener alternatives for a future where resource scarcity will become ever more common. As this literature review has shown the system of automobility is complex and has many individual components, the literature review has also set out how automobiles became the hegemonic force through the political will to modernise which modernist city planning embraced valiantly. As the world faces a climate emergency with repercussions in almost every aspect of human and natural life could a neo-modernism be required to help mitigate in the urban context and is it in the form of New Urbanism?
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3.6 QUANTITATIVE DATACOLLECTION Quantitative data was collected in the form of a participatory online survey; this primary data assisted in gaining an insight into the public attitudes and opinions on mobility, transport and development in Cardiff city centre. When composing the survey, I began by referring to my hypothesis and extracting elements from this. Using Google Forms for a secure and user-friendly platform, the survey comprised multiple choice, checkbox and add an option answering. Utilising social media as the means to distribute the online survey, the intention was to specifically target Facebook community pages used by residents in the Cardiff region. These community pages provide an untapped and astute means of snowballing a survey. The survey was to be completed by Cardiff residents or frequent visitors/commuters to the city; this was specified prior to the survey questions with the disclaimer. Three pages were targeted all together, Pontprennau community located in the North of Cardiff, Roath, Penylan & Cyncoed community located in Cardiff Central and Grangetown community located in Cardiff South. The intention was to locate several community groups around the city, in order to get a broad reach on people’s views. Furthermore, the survey was also posted to Twitter as a general post. In total, the sample size was 436 individuals, of which 99.8% was the participatory rate. The survey was live for one week. The reasoning behind choosing a participatory user survey was primarily the ability to reach a large number of people gaining an insight into attitudes and opinions on a non-complex issue. On the subject of transport and development, my anecdotal observation is that community members take a more active role in these issues as it affects them directly. Therefore through targeting community Facebook pages, the assumption was it would be the most effective and efficient way of reaching a large and broad sample. The goal was for the virtual snowball effect to take place where the survey would get shared by users of these community groups. This type of virtual snowball has been proven more effective than the traditional snowball technique (Baltar & Brunet, 2012). Whilst there was a response from every constituency in Cardiff, there was an over-representation of two constituencies in particular, those being Cardiff North and Cardiff Central, which made up 74% of the respondents.
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Sample Constituencies
Outside of Cardiff
Not Sure
Cardiff West Cardiff South & Penarth Cardiff North
Cardiff Central
Figure 2.2 Survey showing constituencies of participants (Kieran Hymers)
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3.7 QUANTITATIVE DATAANALYSIS Figure 2.3 Data Analysis (Kieran Hymers)
Would you support/oppose more investment in public transport in Cardiff? Do you support/oppose measures which reduce car-dependency
support
oppose
89.1%
1.8%
Where should the prioritisation of future housing developments be?
Opinion on Cardiff’s public transport system?
60
Satisfactory
50
84.4%
10.1%
Poor 40
Do you support/oppose the creation of the South Wales Metro? Do you support/oppose transforming urban car parks into other more usable spaces?
Do you support/oppose some formof congestion charge in Cardiff City Centre?
86.6%
Good
3.5%
68.3%
30
10.4%
65.4%
20
Unsure
10
Very Good
23.1% 0
When traveling to the city centre, what mode do you normally use?
What is your primary purpose for visiting the city centre?
If you currently drive into the city centre, what would encourage you to use alternative modes?
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Very Poor
Car
37.5%
Train
9.2%
Bus
31.7%
Walk
31.0%
Shopping
78.4%
Study
3.5%
Leisure
55.2%
Live
3.0%
Work
26.5%
Other
0.2%
Better infrastructure
69.9%
Cheaper fares
39.5%
Faster Journey
39.5%
Free public transport
23.3%
Improved safety
20.2%
Nothing
3.9%
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Urban centres Suburban Urban & No pref Suburban
Dumfries Place Capital
10
15
20
25
30
35
Knox Rd Westgate St
On Street
St Davids 2 Typically where do you park your car?
Other
John Lewis
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<£3.99
£4.00 >6.99
City Centre
£7.00+
Figure 2.4 Heat map of parking prices (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Pedestrianised zone
Arterial Route
Figure 2.5 Network connecting parking facilities (Kieran Hymers 2020) Figure 2.6 Map of Cardiff City Centre (Kieran Hymers 2020)
To begin to understand whether a surplus of parking has had a negative impact on the city centre of Cardiff, it is imperative to conduct a thorough analysis of both primary and secondary data on the topic. Beginning firstly with defining the boundary of the city centre. This analysis has chosen not to include the Governments chosen boundary of Cardiff city centre or as its known, the City centre region, for this zone encompasses a small pocket of the actual city centre. Therefore to get a much broader idea of the impacts of parking the scope must be extended geographically to include non-official areas in this study. Figure2.4 shows the red line defining exactly where this research will be conducted. There are currently 7 key access points to the city centre used by auto drivers. Highlighted in pink are the pedestrianised zones of the city centre (CC), which are inaccessible to the general public in motor vehicles. Identifying public parking facilities in this analysis drew up three clear distinct typologies in parking. MSCP, surface level and onstreet or curbside as it’s also known. In total there are 14 public parking facilities located in Cardiff ’s city centre which includes on-street parking. For the purpose of this research and to prevent confusion - on-street parking has been classified as one single typology as it is run by Cardiff council and is in several different locations in the city centre. Public Parking Facilities Kieran Hymers | MAUD
Figure 2.7 Map of parking facilities in Cardiff City Centre (Own Image 2020)
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3.8 PARKINGINNUMBERS
GROSS FLOOR AREA(GFA) OF ALL PARKING TOTAL NUMBER OF PARKINGBAYS
395,000m
2
39.5 ha
34,300
Average UKparking bay is 4.8mx 2.4m=11.5m2
NUMBER OF PEOPLE PER SPACE
10.5
IF ALL THE PARKINGSPACES INCARDIFF CITY CENTRE WERE PUT INTO ASINGLE PLACE THENIT WOULDBE ENOUGHSPACE TOCOVER THE ENTIRETY OF PONTCANNAFIELDS JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY CENTRE.
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Figure 2.8 Image of total parking space in CCC(Kieran Hymers 2020)
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3.9 Pricing Analysis
3.10 Observational Analysis
The analysis has shown the pricing of public parking facilities across the city centre varies greatly. In fact the secondary data collected on pricing can be analysed alongside primary data collected via the user survey and shows that the parking facilities which charge the most per 2 hours are in fact the least used parking facilities in the city centre. The basis for using 2 hours as a metric is that the average time spent shopping in the city centre in the UK is 98mins (Statista 2014). For example Dumfries Place NCP which charges £8.00 for 2hr is used by 1.6% of people when travelling into the CC despite Dumfries Place being the second-largest facility by total floor area. The most popular parking facilities John Lewis and St Davids 2 are used by over half of all who park in the CC, these two MSCP’s happen to also be two of the cheapest facilities with prices set at £3.00 for 2hrs - 37% cheaper than Dumfries Place. Therefore through an analysis of both the quantitative and secondary data, a pattern does emerge showing that the higher the price of parking the less use that parking facility gets. The correlation between pricing and population density of these parking facilities is also reflected in the quantitative data results where 53% believe that parking in Cardiff city centre is overpriced with 38% believing parking is reasonably priced.
Observational analysis was necessary for assisting to determine the research questions posed, what the observational analysis i.e., counting allowed was to provide clear quantitative data in real-time of whether or not the parking facilities within the city centre of Cardiff were being adequately used. The observation was conducted midday on Friday, September 4th 2020. It must be noted that although COVID19 must be taken into account for possible inconsistencies in data results it was not during any travel restrictions and most businesses were back open. Counting was used in two of the sites as it is a form of observational analysis that is a fast and effective way of collecting primary data which can assist architects, planners and urban designers inadequate decision making (Gehl 2013). All other sites data was collected through the LCD parking screens around the city which notify drivers of the exact amount of spaces available in the displayed parking facility.
57%
OF DRIVERS USE ST DAVIDS OR JOHNLEWIS PARKING
77%
OF DRIVERS USE PARKING WHICHCHARGES <£4 FOR 2HRS
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53%
OF DRIVERS THINK PARKINGIS OVERPRICEDINCCC.
Population
Spaces
DUMFRIES PLACE
90 / 957
WESTGATESTREET
242 / 317
GREYFRIARS ROAD
168 / 254
PELLET STREET
79 / 284
ADAMSTREET
71 / 428
ST DAVIDS CENTRE
1557 / 2000
JOHNLEWIS
493 / 550
Figure 2.8(i) Observational analysis data (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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PARKING SUMMARY
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Figure 2.9 Infographic of parking analysis (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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3.11 BUILDINGAROUNDTHE CAR Cardiff ’s Local Development Plan has outlined several locations for residential development in the city. Almost every location is located on the periphery of Cardiff in the following locations seen in figure 3.2. These developments are being constructed by some of Britain’s largest home building conglomerates in what is an expansion of the city’s suburbs. The primary typology of residential dwelling constructed is single-family homes with a small percentage being low rise apartments or other typologies. In what has been labelled as a garden city expansion this presents many issues to highlight. In Ebeneezer Howard’s initial plans for the Garden City, the intention was to utilise rail as a means to link and allow for commuting/movement. This has been one of the main criticisms of suburban development and low-density building with the reliance on cars becoming a necessity with amenities like shops and offices segregated from these housing developments (Boys Smith & Lucy 2017). However, as figure 3.3 shows almost all of the proposed new developments are not near rail or transport links. It can be argued that this form of development will increase auto dependency and result in more cars commuting into the city centre again reiterating the notion of auto dependency - where people have no choice but to drive. CCEZ has even stated in their report to accommodate more cars a 300 space MSCP has been constructed in Cardiff ’s Capital Quarter. The failure of government and transport planners has and will lead to the hegemony of the auto in Cardiff, this is in part due to government subsidisation of the auto while neglecting to invest in alternative modes; they “taxed and harassed public transportation, even while subsidizing the automobile like a pampered child” (Jackson 1985, p.170).
Figure 3.0 St Edeyrn’s development (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 3.1 St Edeyrn’s development (Kieran Hymers 2020)
WEST OF PONTPRENNAU 5,000 HOMES EAST OF PONTPRENNAU 1,300 HOMES PENTREBANE & ST FAGANS 5,000 HOMES CREIGIAU 2,500 HOMES Figure 3.2 LDP list of development in Cardiff (Kieran Hymers 2020) Kieran Hymers | MAUD
Figure 3.3 Cardiff LDP (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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4.0 FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE The analysis conducted has determined the hypothesis posed to be true that there is in fact a surplus of underused car parking in Cardiff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city centre. What measures then can be put into a framework to enact the change needed to ensure the most beneficial use of urban space? There are 5 key pillars to this framework seen in figure 3.4. This will be broken down into a large scale intervention and a small scale intervention, both using these five key points in design interventions. The large scale intervention focuses on a broader change for the city centre of Cardiff, taking the dominant auto infrastructure creating more equitable spaces. Reverting back to the research question of whether a more sustainable form of development can be used is also applied in the framework. The smaller scale intervention will focus n on a specific site in an attempt to highlight just how radical a transformation can be when repurposing car parks.
GREENNETWORK CONNECTION
INCREASE PERSONAL WELLBEING
RESTRUCTURING SPATIAL HIGHERARCHY
NEWURBANIST PRINCIPLES
SOCIAL INTERACTION
Figure 3.4 Framework for development change (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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4.1 CARDIFF CENTRAL ECONOMICZONE The CCEZ is a Welsh government-led development with the intention of turning Cardiff into Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second business city after London. The plans include 52,000 m2 of commercial office space to accommodate the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing private sector employment (Business Wales 2020) as well as a mixed-use development on the former 15ha industrial embankment site providing between 2000-25000 homes (Vastint 2019). The CCEZ has already seen the near completion of Central Square and the Capital Quarter. This investment is in a push to increase the number of jobs in the city centre and stimulate economic development for the wider region.
Central Square
John Street
Capital Quarter
Cardiff Central Station Callaghan Square
Figure 3.6 Capital Quarter new MSCP (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 3.7 Capital Quarter (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Embankment Site
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Figure 3.5 Cardiff Economic Zone Map (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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4.2 GREENNETWORK INTHE CITY Identifying Underused car parks was the first stage in setting out a plan for a large-scale intervention. Referring back to the methodological Research 5 Key sites stood out those being seen in figure 3.8. Each one of these sites aside from Adam Street NCP are multi-storey car parks and all of them are in the higher tier priced bracket with Greyfriars Rd being the most expensive at ÂŁ8 for 2hrs. When looking into the road network around Cardiff what became apparent is that there is an unofficial ring road around the city centre. This ring road can be seen in figure 3.9 the auto infrastructure that makes up this ring road is predominantly multi-lane highways giving priority of space to cars with almost no other forms of sustainable infrastructure except bus lanes. Nowhere on this ring road is there any dedicated or safe cycling infrastructure.
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1 - Adam Street NCP 4 - Greyfriars Road NCP
2 - Knox Road NCP
3 - Dumfries Place NCP
5 - Westgate Street NCP
Figure 3.8 Map identifying underused parking facilities (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 3.9 Map showing access routes via car (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Pedestrianised Zone Primary Road Potential Sites Figure 4.0 Map highlighting pedestrianised zones (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Public Squares Parks Potential Sites
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Figure 4.1 Map highlighting Public spaces (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Identifying infrastructure which was people-friendly was needed to help in creating a greener network for the city centre. Cardiff already has quite a significant portion of the city centre dedicated to pedestrians where former roads have been pedestrianised creating more active see figure 4.0, lively and bustling streets. The most recent is Castle Street located to the south of Cardiff castle, Cardiff city council pedestrianised the street after the national lockdown due to COVID19. Subsequently, space has been transformed from a busy arterial road into an outdoor cafe seating area for local businesses to use. On the contrary, these pedestrianised streets do not make up for the inadequate amount of public space in CCC. Cardiff has a large victorian park - Bute Park is a connector of the city centre with many subdivisions of the city also connecting other parks on the peripheries. However, through morphological analysis of the centre, it is clear Cardiff is lacking parks, squares and public spaces. There are currently two formal squares, those being Callaghan Square located in between two 3 lane highways, making it inaccessible and an unpleasant walk see pink in figure 4.1. Callaghan Square is also located on the periphery of the city centre, very little is located around aside from offices and undeveloped land. The second public square is in the newly developing central Square - directly outside of the train station this has a much higher footfall yet still fails to create a space people wish to stay in with very limited greenery or other amenities like seating or bicycle parking. Cardiff also lacks more of a variety in parks and greenery, given the benefits of green space on the cooling effect they give to cities (Vaz Monteiro, Doick, et al 2016).
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4.3 Connecting the dots The auto-centric infrastructure provides several great opportunities for creating a green network, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ringroadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; style of roads that run around CCC do in fact connect to all five car parks. Pedestrians are currently confined to sidewalks which offer little room or variety in terms of walkability, it would take 30mins to walk the entire loop seen in figure 4.3. Therefore to create a green network which actively encourages and allows other forms of mobility the proposal is to utilise the current road infrastructure around the city centre.
Figure 4.3 Pedestrian Connection (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 4.2 Network Programme (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 4.4 Green Connection (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Linking all the current sites is the first step in the framework set out, this will in effect create a green network or a green ring road figure 4.5. This green ring road will prioritise sustainable forms of transport i.e. walking, cycling and public transportation. The proposal is to not exclude private motor vehicles but instead limit them down to one lane of traffic flowing each way. The aim of the large scale intervention is connecting the varying parts of the urban fabric to create a coherent and sustainable network linking all of the sites. Utilising the pedestrianised zone as a bridge across the green ring road, the biophilic design will be incorporated into the green ring road which will also link up several of the already existing green spaces. This provides green space in a mixture of sizes - S,M,L & XL.
Figure 4.5 Sustainability Map (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY NETWORK
PEDESTRIANISEDZONES
+
GREENNETWORK CONNECTION
+ =
Figure 4.6 Green Ring Road (Kieran Hymers 2020)
THE GREENRINGROAD Kieran Hymers | MAUD
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58% Car space
6.7m
1m
2.7m
2.7m
3.1m
2.5m
3.5m
3.5m
5.2m
56% Car space 3m
2.9m
3.4m
3.4m
1.4m
3m
3.3m
3.3m
2.8m
5.4m
4.3(i) Green Roads Using Boulevard De Nantes and Adam street as precedents for which to highlight the argument the section on figure 4.7 shows to the left how the current road hierarchy exists. Cars get the vast majority of space with pedestrians and cyclists pushed to the outsides in tiny lanes. The redesign shows on the right how the redistribution of space could create a more sustainable and equitable road network prioritising more sustainable forms of transport. Also included in the design is the incorporation of biophilic elements such as green buffers separating zones with the possibility of reconstructing Cardiff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterways.
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Figure 4.7 Section of new road way (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 4.8 Green ring road isometric view (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 4.9 Dumfries Place concept space (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Avisualisation of Dumfries place reimagined could provide outdoor space for workers as they enjoy lunch or a place to relax offering more green space and creating a more permeable zone.
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Figure 5.1 AdamStreet NCP (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 5.2 AdamStreet NCP (Kieran Hymers 2020)
4.4 SMALL SCALEINTERVENTION The site chosen for the design proposals is Adam Street, located on the outskirts of the city centre region seen here in figure 5.0. The site itself is currently an open air NCP car park and presents many opportunities for development potential. Nestled between two densely populated commercial locations; those being the University of South Wales Atrium campus and the new Capital Quarter which is a mixed-use development.
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Figure 5.0 AdamStreet site currently (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 5.4 Age Ranges in Adamsdown (City Population 2020)
Figure 5.5 Age Ranges in Adamsdown (City Population 2020)
4.5 ADAMSDOWN Adamsdown is an area of socioeconomic deprivation with 40% of households earning under £25,600 (Cardiff Research Centre 2015). It is also an area which lacks many basic amenities, with recent plans of opening a library in The Chapel at Cardiff Royal Infirmary (Cardiff Council 2017). Adamsdown remains one of Cardiff ’s most prolific neighbourhoods for crime ranking highest in 2016 (Jomec 2019). With the construction of the University of South Wales Atrium Campus off of Adam Street, this has led to an influx of students in the area, with Adamsdown now occupying seven separate student accommodations of which two are affordable. It therefore could be argued that the ward of Adamsdown is undergoing the process of gentrification. Gentrification can be defined as a process where lower income inner city residents are displaced as property and land prices increase due to the influx of capital which is invested through the area in the process of commodification (Ley 2003).
Population est 2018 Adamsdown
11,964
Avg. Current Value
Population density km2 11,216
Avg. Current Rent
HOUSE*
£227,398
£1,019 pcm
APARTMENT*
£129,730
£792 pcm
Figure 5.3 AdamStreet NCP (Kieran Hymers 2020)
£
0-9
10-19
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79
80+
Age ranges
40% HOUSEHOLDS INDEPRIVATION 27% IMMIGRANT HOUSEHOLD HIGHCRIME RATE £620PCMFOR STUDENT HOUSING LACK BASICCOMMUNITY FACILITIES Student Accommodation Site Figure 5.6 Student accommodation in around/Adamsdown (Own Image 2020)
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36 *houseis basedon3bedterrace *apartment is basedon2bed
4.6 ADAMSTREET: THROUGHHISTORY Prior to the 19th century Adamsdown was predominantly farm and mooreland, however the industrial revolution changed this. The housing constructed around the south of Adamsdown was built predominantly during the 1870’s by the Bute Estate, a housing development corporation owned by John CrichtonStuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute (J. Stewart, 1900). The houses are a typical row house built on small blocks in a grid street system. These houses were used for the housing of manual and working class labourers working in Cardiff ’s dockland (RLHS 1983). Today Adamsdown is still predominantly a working class area however like many other neighbourhoods in Cardiff may be showing signs of Gentrification. Adamsdown saw a reduction in its housing with the local council clearing Victorian row housing from the Adam Street site in the 1970s (Digimaps 2020). The housing formerly located on the Adam Street site had 89 dwellings comprising five streets as seen in figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7 Map of Adamsdown 1900 (Digimap 1900)
1900
Figure 5.9 AdamStreet 1980s (Wales online 2016)
Figure 6.0 The Vulcan Pub, (John Lord 2008)
2020
Adam street is perhaps most famous for it was the location of Cardiff ’s oldest public house, the Vulcan which was constructed in the 1850’s. It remained on Adam Street for another 160 years when it was deconstructed and sent to Saint Fagans Natural History Museum to be rebuilt (BBC 2020). The Vulcan however did face a much bleaker prospect with the initial plan of demolition submitted by the landowner Marcol Asset Management Limited (Cardiff Planning, 2012) however after much anger of preservationists and locals it was agreed on a relocation plan. Figure 5.8 Map of Adamsdown today (Digimap 2020)
Figure 6.1 Historic map overlayed with modern map (Digimap/edit 2020) Kieran Hymers | MAUD
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4.7 PARKINGMITIGATIONSTRATEGY Before design proposals can be set up the proposal of removing parking from the city centre must take into account overflows, until larger alternative transport infrastructure is put in place the likelihood is that people will continue driving into the city centre. Therefore using Adam Street NCP as a precedent how can the loss of this parking facility be taken into account and any overflows mitigated. Currently Adam Street on a weekday has been counted as 2/3 empty. Adam Street currently has 428 spaces therefore the proposal is to distribute this load throughout 4 of the cheapest parking facilities in the city centre. Those being seen in figure 6.2
ADAMSTREET 428
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PELLET STREET NCP
284
ST DAVIDS 2
2000
JOHNLEWIS
550
CAPITAL CENTRE
388
Figure 6.2 Parking mitigation strategy (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 6.7 Pellet Street (Kieran Hymers 2020) Figure 6.3 Access to Adamstreet site (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 6.8 Pellet Street (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 6.4 Inactive frontages (Kieran Hymers 2020)
2
3
1 5 4 Figure 6.5 mobility flows (Kieran Hymers 2020)
Figure 6.6 points of interest (Kieran Hymers 2020)
4.8 PERMEABILITY
The site is conveniently located at the base of the ‘Smart Bridge’ a £2.5m bridge (figure 6.5) which connects Cardiff ’s city centre to the newly developed Capital Quarter. Currently the Smart Bridge leads from the CQ to 2 NCP car parks either side. A busy thoroughfare with much potential. Stepping off the bridge immediately pedestrians are confronted with a metal fence in front of them that was placed by NCP to prevent people from using Adam Street car park as a thoroughfare. Instead walkers must stick to the narrow sidewalk or as observation shows walk in the road of Pellet Street.
4.9 FRONTAGE
Figure 6.9 Smart Bridge (Kieran Hymers2020)
Ty Pont Haearn is located to the left of the site with student accommodation situated above. The street frontage surrounding the site is completely inactive, from both Ty Haearn House to Ty Llewelyn House on the East side of the site. This provides an opportunity to develop a more active frontage allowing public life to thrive creating a comfortable, accessible and active public space principles which contribute to successful public space (Gehl et al, 2006)
4.10 POI 1. Ty Pont Haearn - Student accommodation located above an NCP car park 2. USW - University campus 3. Ty Llewellyn - Territorial Army offices 4. Capital Quarter - Mixed use development, mostly luxury office space 5. Lumis Living - Premium Student accommodation Kieran Hymers | MAUD
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N
Figure 7.0 Functional Mix Map (Kieran Hymers 2020)
4.10(i) Functional Mix Analysis
Conducting an analysis of the site and surrounding area included a functional mix analysis. As the site is adjacent to the newly constructed Capital Quarter which is a mixed use development comprising predominantly offices it can be seen in figure 7.0. This form of map provides a great opportunity to highlight the mixture of uses in the .5km area. Using the work of Dovey & Pafka 2017 the map in figure 7.1 was able to utilise the Live, Work, Visit triangle to paint a clear picture of the
Figure 7.1 Site Breakdown (Own Image 2020) Kieran Hymers | MAUD
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Figure 7.2 PopBox Programme (Own Image 2020)
4.11 POPBOX The ÂŁ2.5m smart bridge which won an award from The Institution of Civil Engineers connects the Capital Quarter to the City Centre and it currently leads to an NCP car park on either side. In order to maximise this asset i.e. the award winning bridge and its heavy traffic usage among students, commuters and the public is to use the south west of the site and turn it into a small commercial hub named PopBox, the design will utilise shipping containers and convert them into A1 A2 & A3 usage all provided at an affordable rate marketed to students, small businesses and startups. As Cardiff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital Quarters primary objective is delivering high quality offices to predominantly large corporate organisations and the Adam Street site falls within Cardiff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Economic Zone therefore it is imperative to cater to smaller businesses and companies/ individuals with less assets; and not create an exclusionary zone.
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Figure 7.3 PopBox visualisation (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 7.4 Residential Block programme (Kieran Hymers 2020)
PLOT
TRADITIONAL BLOCK
ADAPTIVE BLOCK
TYPOLOGIES apartment
commercial
community
duplex
4.12 The Block The plot provides straight lines which form a square this is why a block typology is proposed. However an adaptation to the tradition block creates a more layered approach to the design. This in turn creates variety and breaks up the form of a large block structure. The North side of the block will face directly onto Adam Street, due to this utilising the ground floor for commercial use will be most sufficient and an effective usage of the space. Adam street already has people walking this route to the city centre therefore having a supermarket operate on the ground floor could also produce a more active street life. The East of the block which faces onto Vulcan Square will also accommodate commercial use on the ground floor. With much narrower sections this will provide smaller retail/commercial space to possible vendors and smaller businesses. Adamsdown as shown in this research paper lacks adequate community facilities, in one of the poorest wards in the capital. Therefore the corner highlighters in yellow in figure 7.4 will
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be a community centre, offering a dance studio which can be used by the community of Adamsdown. The remaining floors above will be a mixture of apartments and duplexes. The tenures will be mixed offering 75% affordable housing and 25% market price. Within the block will be a private courtyard giving residents a private space away from the public space located outside of their residence. These forms of private courtyards provide a safe and secure area for children to play but also for growing vegetables.
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4.13 Density and functional mix
2
16,571m of residential floor area 448 dwellings based on RIBAreccomended design standards for living space (RIBA2015)
2
2,570m commercial floor area 6 commercial units 2
1x 1,000+m Supermarket 2
1x 226m Coffee Shop 2
3x 137m Retail Unit 2
1x 675m Community Space Figure 7.4.i Functional mix and density in the block (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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1. 3.
2. 4.
1. LUMIS STUDENT LIVING
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2. LIBERTY LIVING
3. TY LLEWELLYN
4. USWATRIUM
Figure 7.5 Isometric of site (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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4.14 Vulcan Square Aptly named after the historic pub which once stood on the site for over 150 years the design proposal for Adam Street is the total reconceptualisation of the car park. Turning something whichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; very purpose is for stationary pieces of aluminium into a thriving urban square built around people - for people. Vulcan Square provides public space for all offering plenty of green space. The location ensures a heavy footfall therefore creating a permeable and easily accessible site is key. The smart bridge will be accessible via the square with the removal of the current metal fence there to prevent crossing. The placing of the square between the PopBox site and the Block creates a sense of enclosure whilst also creating a flow system where people coming from Vulcan Square to the Bridge will pass by the PopBox sites, meaning more opportunity for commerce and custom for small businesses. The square has been designed with changes in the topography to create geographic diversity and not the sense of a flat plain; these forms of topographic changes also provide not only more seating on step platforms but also space for children to explore and play on. Figure 7.6 Section of residential block (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 7.7 Vulcan Square (Kieran Hymers 2020)
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Figure 7.8 Masterplan (Kieran Hymer 2020)
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5.0 Conclusion This research-based design thesis has set out to answer specific questions relating to city-centre parking. The hypothesis proposed stated that: ‘a surplus of car parking facilities in Cardiff city centre has led to an increase in auto dependency and an underutilised amount of space which through reimagining could create an alternative, more sustainable type of development’. The research conducted achieved numerous key objectives with the quantitative survey proving to be highly popular amongst the targeted demographic with a 99.8% participatory rate. Overall 436 individuals participated; this amount gives a strong foundation for which the data can be measured and conclusions drawn in the analysis of the primary data. Through analyzing, residents/visitors attitudes and opinions links could be drawn with the observational data collected. These links show that in fact, the hypothesis is correct; yes whilst there is an oversupply of parking in Cardiff city centre it must be noted that two car parks are more popular than others. This may not have led to an increase in auto dependency however that is not to say that auto dependency is still not at large levels - with the majority of people still using a car as their primary mode of transport for daily life and when commuting into the city centre. The research conducted has also answered the two research questions posed: 1. Has a surplus of parking in Cardiff ’s city centre had negative implications on the city’s urban fabric and accessibility? 2. Can the transformation of urban parking facilities create more sustainable, people-oriented developments? It could be argued that the research has proven this statement true. With many of the urban parking facilities underused, this has had a negative impact on the urban fabric, for large parts of the infrastructure is dedicated to cars centred around these parking facilities instead of more human scale development The intention of the design strategies posed in this research design project was to transform current underused parking in
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the city of Cardiff though reimagining them and the purpose they serve. It was to create more sustainable forms of development. Both the large scale intervention and the small scale intervention have done exactly that. Proposing an alternative which is people-focused rather than autofocused. What this research project has shown is that whilst it is possible to transform these underutilised car parks on a smaller scale, it must go in tandem with a larger-scale intervention i.e. the reconceptualisation of infrastructure space and altering of current user hierarchy on the street level moreover combining these interventions the possibility of creating a greener, people-centred and dense city centre would be possible. Progressing forward now there is still much to be answered in terms of the topic of city-centre parking. Using Cardiff as a lab to conduct such research has been insightful and useful in helping determine the questions posed. looking to the future it would be far more beneficial to analyse this on a UK wide basis to study other cities and determine what impact or whether an over surplus of parking is having the same effect on the many other city centres across the UK. It would also be beneficial to explore in further detail how transforming auto-centric infrastructure can transform car-dependent city centres as we move to a greener future and with the recent decision by the UK government to ban fossil fuel cars from 2030 (Ambrose 2020). As stated previously, the intention of this research-based design thesis was to contribute to existing work undertaken on the topic of city-centre parking and the broader subject of auto dependency in the United Kingdom. The outcomes of this research have shown that auto dependency should not be conflated with auto enthusiasm i.e. the desire to drive everywhere. Instead, it is the NEED to drive. Much of the data collected shows the general populous want change not only in terms of better transport infrastructure and policies which moves people away from the private automobile but also in the transformation of the city centre into a denser, greener more people-centric space.
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and public perceptions of parking provision. Journal of Urban Design. Vol . 7, No . 2, 21. https://doi. org/10.1080/1357480022000012249 SWA. 2016, Envision Pacific Plaza. Available at: https://parksfordowntowndallas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-03-29_Pacific-Plaza-Public-Meeting-Summary.pdf. Accessed: 06/08/2020 Torney C. 2018. RACReport on Motoring 2018. Walsall. RAC. Trancik R. 1986, Finding lost space : Theories of urban design. New York. Wiley. Urry J. 2004. The ‘System’ of Automobility. Theory, Culture &Society, Vol. 21(4/5): 25–39. DOI: 10.1177/026327640404605902 046059. US Climate Data, 2020. Climate Dallas - Texas. Available at: https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/dallas/ texas/united-states/ustx1575 Accessed on: 23/08/2020 Vastint, 2020. The Embankment Site, Cardiff | Vastint United Kingdom, Available at: https://vastint.eu/uk/ projects/cardiff-site/ Accessed: 29/08/2020 Wells C, Thomas N. 2016. Household disposable income and inequality: financial year ending 2015. Newport. The Office for National Statistics. Western Mail. 1900. Lord Bute’s Will - Bequest To The Seaman’s Hospital - Explanation Of The Conditions. p. 5. Retrieved 10 December 2015 Zoopla, 2020. Area guide for CF24 - Zoopla. Available at: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/market/cf24/?q=cf240jd. Accessed: 01/09/2020
Figure Table Figure 1.0 Houses built in Downtown Dallas (Point2Homes 2019) Figure 1.1 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020) Figure 1.2 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020) Figure 1.3 Pacific Plaza Dallas (SWA2020) Figure 1.4 Pacific Plaza Dallas (PfdD2020) Figure 1.5 0.5KMMap of Downtown Dallas (Own Image) Figure 1.6 Master plan of park regeneration (ASLA2019) Figure 1.7 Pacific Plaza (Dallas Observer 2017) Figure 1.8 PeckhamMSCP (Google Earth 2020) Figure 1.9 Franks Cafe (Ania Mendrek 2018) Figure 2.0 PeckhamRoof top (Ania Mendrek 2018) Figure 2.1 Research Methodology Process (own image) Figure 2.2 Survey showing constituencies of participants (Own image) Kieran Hymers | MAUD
Figure 2.3 Data Analysis (Own image) Figure 2.4 Heat map of parking prices (Own image 2020) Figure 2.5 Network connecting parking facilities (Own Image 2020) Figure 2.6 Map of Cardiff City Centre (Own image 2020) Figure 2.8 Image of total parking space in CCC(Google Earth/edit 2020) Figure 2.8(i) Observational analysis data (Own image 2020) Figure 2.9 Infographic of parking analysis (Own image 2020) Figure 3.0 St Edeyrn’s development (Own Image 2020) Figure 3.1 St Edeyrn’s development (Own Image 2020) Figure 3.2 LDP list of development in Cardiff (Own Image 2020) Figure 3.3 Cardiff LDP (Own image 2020) Figure 3.4 Framework for development change (Own Image 2020) Figure 3.5 Cardiff Economic Zone Map (Google Earth/edit 2020) Figure 3.6 Capital Quarter new MSCP (Own Image 2020)
Figure 3.7 Capital Quarter (Own Image 2020) Figure 3.8 Map identifying underused parking facilities (Own image 2020) Figure 3.9 Map showing access routes via car (own image 2020) Figure 4.0 Map highlighting pedestrianised zoned (own Image 2020) Figure 4.1 Map highlighting Public spaces (own image 2020) Figure 4.2 Network Comparison (Own image 2020) Figure 4.3 Pedestrian Connection (Own Image 2020) Figure 4.4 Green Connection (Own Image 2020) Figure 4.5 Sustainability Map (Own image 2020) Figure 4.6 Green Ring Road (Own Image 2020) Figure 4.7 Section of new road way (Own Image 2020) Figure 4.8 Green ring road isometric view (Own image 2020) Figure 4.9 Dumfries Place concept space (Own image 2020) Figure 5.0 AdamStreet site currently (Own image 2020) 51
Figure 5.1 AdamStreet NCP (Own Image 2020) Figure 5.2 AdamStreet NCP (Own Image 2020) Figure 5.3 Adamsdown Property Prices (Zoopla 2020) 5.4 Age Ranges in Adamsdown (City Population 2020) 5.5 Age Ranges in Adamsdown (City Population 2020) 5.6 Stuednt accomodation in around/Adamsdown (Own Image 2020) 5.7 Map of Adamsdown 1900 (Digimap 1900) 5.8 Map of Adamsdown today (Digimap 2020) 5.9 AdamStreet 1980s (Wales online 2016)
Kieran Hymers | MAUD
6.0 The Vulcan Pub, (John Lord 2008) 6.1 Historic map overlayed with modern map (Digimap/edit 2020) 6.2 Parking mitigation strategy (own image 2020) 6.3 Access to Adamstreet site (own image 2020) 6.4 Inactive frontages (own images 2020) 6.5 mobility flows (own image 2020) 6.6 points of interest (own image 2020) 6.7 Pellet Street (own image 2020) 6.8 Pellet Street (own image 2020) 6.9 Smart Bridge (own image 2020)
7.0 Functional Mix Map (Own Image 2020) 7.1 Site Breakdown (Own Image 2020) 7.2 PopBox Programme (Own Image 2020) 7.3 PopBox visualisation (Own Image 2020) 7.4 Residential Block programme (Own Image 2020) 7.4.i Functional mix and density in the block (Own image 2020) 7.5 Isometric of site (Own Image 2020) 7.6 Section of residential block (Own Image 2020) 7.7 Vulcan Square (Own Image 2020) 7.8 Masterplan (own image 2020)
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