P What makes a high quality street

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What makes a high quality street?

Textbook answer for ‘high quality street’ gives off a sterile street feel, one that lacks distinct character. Does a clean, safe but character-less street makes it high quality? Can a place be character-less?

Rem Koolhaas wrote about the generic city. Pedestrian environment review system (PERS), a tool for measuring the quality of the pedestrian environment.

• Dropped kerbs • Tactile paving and colour contrast • Smooth, clean, well-drained surfaces • High-quality materials • High standards of maintenance • Pavement width • No pinch points • No potential obstructions • Sufficient crossing points • Adequate traffic • Good lighting • Sense of security • No graffiti or litter • No signs of anti-social behaviour • Signage, landmarks, good sightlines • Public spaces along streets

Individual importance of each category >>>>

PERS is an audit tool used to assess levels of service and quality provided across a range of pedestrian environment developed and used by Transport for London (TfL) and UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). Assessment is extensively used in UK and is now used in Australia as well.