Dubai Street Atlas by Systematica

Transform Transport

Dubai Street Atlas

"Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs. Think of a city and what comes to mind? Its streets." Jane Jacobs

Dubai Street Atlas Walkable Cities of Tomorrow Made in Milan by Systematica Srl ÂŠ 2019 Systematica Srl All studies presented in this book are developed by Transform Transport, a research unit formed by Systematica. All rights reserved. unauthorized use is prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Systematica Srl. Systematica Srl Via Lovanio 8 20121 Milan +39 02 62 31 19 1 www.systematica.net www.transformtransport.com tt@systematica.net Graphic design: Parcodiyellowstone Printed in Milan in 2019 ISBN: 978-88-944179-1-3

Table of contents

● foreword p. 11 ● scenes from dubai streets p. 12

01 Street Atlas p. 15 ● inventory of streets p. 17 01 The Walk 02 Al Gharbi St. 03 Sheikh Zayed Rd. 05 308th Rd. 06 Al Satwa Rd. 28 Shoreline Residences 29 Al Sharta St. 30 Waterfront Promenade 34 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Blvd.

02 Planning Dubai p. 35 ● what are today the most famous streets or squares in dubai? p. 36 ● through the metropolis in the desert p. 38 ● time lapse - an unprecedented (steady) growth p. 40 ● dubai in 20 years p. 46

03 Reading the city p. 49 ● walk score p. 51 ● pedestrian level of service (plos) p.54 ● public tranport accessibility level(ptal) p. 58

● space syntax and network theories applied to planning p.62

Pedestrian crossings Dubai Tram and its impact on public realm

● pedestrian modelling p.64

Air-conditioned bus stops: from shelters to service hubs

● focus interview: shaping dubai. arthur benedetti p. 65

● future proofing dubai p. 94

04 Understanding the streets p.67 ● road planning p. 68 ● dubai different transport modes p. 70 ● focus interview: stitching the city. iyad alsaka p. 72 ● sheikh zayed road p. 73 ● junction spacing: the case of al wasl rd. p. 76 ● measuring the streets p. 78 ● allocation of space p. 80 How do Dubai streets change with different proportions of spaces for people and vehicles? Tell me your speed and I will tell which street you are The importance of shading A matter of time: same street, different time ● street elements p. 94 Greenery Modular street planning vs. scattered street elements Bike lanes and facilities

05 Retrofitting strategies p. 115 ● strategy 01: narrowing vehicular lanes p. 116 ● strategy 02: continuous sidewalks p. 118 ● strategy 03: dedicated bus lanes p. 120 ● strategy: implementing cycling lanes 04 p. 122 ● strategy 05: promote traffic calming measures p. 124 ● systematica p. 126 ● transform transport p. 127 ● credits p. 128

January 2017 During a visit to Dubai, on our way back to the metro, we found ourselves walking on a narrow road divider between a service lane and cars speeding to pass the green light before it turns red. No shading, no trees and no places to sit down for a quick break. It was then when we decided to study the city in depth, to find the right paradigms and contribute to its essential change for a better and more human-centered future.

Dubai has witnessed an unprecedented growth during the past three decades, which transformed it into a global metropolis. While a lot of efforts and investments are focused on design and construction of avant-garde buildings and stunning landmarks, the quality of the public realm is still lagging behind. We believe the essence of all cities lies in their public places and that rethinking the streets of Dubai will be the key element to consider in the upcoming planning and design challenges.

AL SATWA

04 (street code index at page 18)

AL BADA

DUBAI MEDIA CITY

BARSHA HEIGHTS

AL SAFA

AL QUOZ

THE PALM

JBR AND MARINA

JUMEIRAH 2

AL WASL

AL BARSHA

BUR DUBAI

AL MANARA

UMM SUQEIM

DOWNTOWN DUBAI

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE

16 Access limited street in Bur Dubai.

Foreword There is a myth that nobody walks or wants to walk in Dubai. We surveyed kilometers of roads during all seasons and times of the day: we found plenty of places where people gather, talk and move around by foot or on bicycle, despite the fact that many of them are not designed for that.

Pedestrians crossing in Business Bay.

We spend enough time in Dubai to understand what lies underneath its surface. It is told by media and believed by occasional visitors that it is not possible to move around Dubai without a car, that this city is hopelessly doomed to a car-oriented future: this is not accurate. The historic center of Deira and Bur Dubai, with its maze of narrow streets, attracts locals and tourists for its vibrant character, while the success of recent projects that encourage pedestrian movements such as in JBR or Citywalk, is a powerful statement that cannot be ignored by urban planners and architects. There are many areas in the city that do not have those qualities and yet they have to primarily cope with an extraordinarily fast-paced growth, which has been possible if centered around private automobile. As a result, those places and most of the city infrastructure should be readapted to Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever-changing ambitions and the increasing interest in walkable public spaces.

This book is written with the sole purpose of providing a reference as complete and exhaustive as possible of the streets of Dubai, in a specific moment in time. We are fully aware that the overall city road network and mobility infrastructure will undergo continuous changes and modifications in the coming years; for this reason, the last chapter of the book illustrates potential measures and suggestions that can be taken into account while retrofitting many of the existing roads.

Scenes from Dubai streets Mobility infrastructure design greatly affects the daily lives of city dwellers, more than any other element: it is our responsibility, as planners, to design a city where people are able to access services and reach destinations comfortably with the broader variety of transport modes and especially by walking.

● the city of ride-hail Dubai is a city that extensively relies on taxis and today it is witnessing an increasing demand for ride-hail services like Uber and Careem. Not all streets allow for easy dropoff or pick-up, while there are extreme circumstances where pedestrians end up looking for cabs along main highways and risking their safety.

● pedestrian infrastructure Despite all efforts of city authorities, still in Dubai vehicle movements are privileged to pedestrians. The above picture shows a roadwork sign placed directly on the sidewalk, partially impeding pedestrian flows; this could be easily avoided by setting guidelines that take pedestrians more into considerations.

● people walk in straight lines In Dubai, a steady pedestrian demand is already in place, walking everyday (even in the hottest months!) from metro or bus stops to the destinations. The pedestrian behavior is exactly the same as in any other city: people prefer walking straight, following convenient and intuitive path, even where comfortable crossings are not in place.

● hunger for walkable spaces Recent projects, developed by both public authorities and private developers, are delivering pedestrianoriented environments, resulting in higher quality public realm. The response of people is very positive and these walkable areas are quickly becoming the most popular areas of Dubai.

People searching for shadow on streets.

Outdoor waiting area.

Street Atlas

The following chapter takes a closer look at selected streets with remarkable qualities and great potentials for future improvements. For each street, location and a detailed road section with surveyed measurements are provided. In addition, indications of material, street elements and other design characteristics are presented. 15

19 17 18 20 16 21 22

14 15

06 07

04 05

03 34

27 26 24

12 28 25

10 30 31 01

Inventory of streets Each point on this map has a different story to tell about the activities, colors, textures and people in the streets of Dubai. This list and the codes given to each street, allow you to browse through the specific data provided in the book.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

al mamsha - the walk (p.18-19, 53, 80-81, 82, 86, 88) al gharbi st. - access to roundabout (p.20, 81) sheikh zayed rd. - frontage (p.21, 46, 73-75, 81, 86, ) 10 th st. (p.81) 308 th rd. (p.22-23, 43, 80-81, 85) al satwa rd. (p.24-25, 76, 80-81, 99) 63 rd st. (p.81, 99) jumeirah beach rd. (p.81, 83, 99, 122-123) al mustaqbal st. - city walk (p.45, 80-81, 85, 86, 92-93, 98, 100-101) al falak st. (p.81, 82-83, 102-103) al barsha heights (p.8, 80-81) 2a street al barsha (p.60, 81, 83, 116-117) al barsha rd. - mall of the emirates (p.9, 81, 83, 89, 99) ali bin abi taleb st. (p.42, 61, 81, 85) pedestrian alley in bur dubai (p.68, 81) access limited street in bur dubai (p.10, 81, 82) textile souk (p.81, 82, 86) al suq st. (p.81, 82, 85) gold market (p.71, 81) naif st. (p.81, 82, 84) al difayah st. - 2nd december (p.76, 80-81, 83, 110-111) 6a st. (p.81, 82) 23a st. residential (p.81,86) 8th - alserkal (p.81, 102-121) al quoz (p.81) al wasl rd. (p.68, 76-77, 80-81, 83, 86, 88, 122-123) 5th st. - seaside (p.9, 81, 92-93) the palm (p.8, 26-27, 46, 81, 98) al sharta st. - the torch (p.28-29, 44, 81, 118-119) marina walk (promenade) - (p.8, 30-31, 81, 82-83, 98) king salman bin abdulaziz al saud st. (p.53, 68, 81, 108-109) 45th st. near business bay (p.81, 82) al abraj st. - marasi drive (p.64, 81, 87) sheikh mohammed bin rashid blvd. - the boulevard (p.32-33, 80-81, 82, 87, 98-99, 107) financial center rd. (p.9, 53, 60, 81, 85, 89, 99) sheikh zayed rd. - emirates towers (p.9, 81, 84)

The Walk

Jumeirah Beach Residence Commercial Street

“The Walk”, completed in 2007, is located in Jumeirah Beach Residence neighborhood and it is, by definition, a pedestrianoriented street. It is approximately 1.7-Kilometer long and runs between the very dense residential towers development of Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) and the leisure destination of “the Beach”, which comprises a series of seaside facilities, shops and restaurants. This street is parallel to the shoreline and mostly one-way, with few twoway sections to allow exit from the underground parking garages. The carriageway is paved with cobblestone instead of asphalt, with textures and colors in line with the spacious sidewalks on both sides. The sidewalks are 3 to 7.5 meters wide, and the changes of levels always take place through gentle slopes that makes the entire area very accessible of people with different physical abilities. On one side of the carriageway, there is a

6.00

greenery 1.50

lane for Greenery. Palm trees are consistent across the entire length of the street, however, they do not provide adequate shading for the very large public areas, especially in the South-Eastern side of the road, which is exposed to sun during almost the entire day. The block size is significant and there are limited travel options for both vehicles and pedestrians. Considering junctions distant more than 600 meters from each other, people end up walking mainly along the street reducing attractiveness of the surrounding, especially in the neighboring development of Marina. An elevated ground floor, 6 meters above the street was planned within JBR development, but the pedestrian activity is very limited, mainly due to the lack of visibility of these areas and the reduced amount of pedestrian access points.

sidewalk 5.00

STREET SECTION Ample space for different kinds of pedestrian activities.

parking 2.50

7.00

atlas code

001

location

JBR and Marina

land use

Commerce, Retail, Hotel

width

32.00 M

family type

B. Walkable by design

speed

40 Km/h

n° of lanes

2 One-way

safety level

A. High level

sidewalk 1.50 1.00

sidewalk 7.50 0

URBAN ELEMENTS

paving

flag stone

stone

cobblestone

outdoor seating

benches

palm tree

planters

furniture

Commercial area in JBR.

STREET PLAN Variety of urban elements.

Al Gharbi St.

Jumeirah Beach Residence Access road to commerce areas Al Gharbi Street is one of the three access roads to the Walk at JBR and is built with the same high-quality materials, paving and furniture. In one of the corners at the junction, closer to the seaside, there is a bar and restaurant with outdoor seating, while in the remaining part there are no particular functions at ground floor except for technical rooms and entry/exits to parking structures. The above mentioned has a significant impact on the character

of the street, which is mainly perceived as a transition space, where pedestrians have no reason or willingness to stop, despite being in a strategic location, connecting The Beach and Marina, two of the most successful pedestrian-only areas of Dubai. Rethinking Al Gharbi as a strategic urban connector road could improve the connectivity among neighboring developments ensuring positive effects on the entire area.

atlas code

002

location

JBR and Marina

land use

Commerce, Retail, Parking

width

17.90M

family type

D. Service oriented

speed

40 Km/h

nÂ° of lanes

2+1

safety level

A. High level

URBAN MATERIALS

Access to roundabout at commercial parking areas.

sidewalk 3.90

0.90

6.70

0.6

STREET SECTION Absence of shading devices.

STREET PLAN Outdoor seating area.

sidewalk 2.30

3.50

facade

wall

window

lighting

seatings

cobblestone

Sheikh Zayed Rd.

In front of Dubai International Financial Centre - DIFC Frontage Road Despite Sheikh Zayed Road being defacto a highway, in dense areas it has a unique semi-urban character due to a frontage road with on-street parking and ground floors retail activities on both sides. The frontage road is providing access to flanking buildings as well as connecting directly to acceleration and deceleration lanes of Sheikh Zayed Road. This results often in queues and congestion due to the high vehicle pressure from the highway and the frequent irregular driving behaviors characterized by vehicles passing by, dropping-off at building lobbies or cruising for parking. Despite being generally a very lowspeed environment, the width of lanes is very generous, therefore encouraging improper double parking for short stay and reducing sidewalk width in an area where

pedestrian activity is significant due to relatively high buildings density and retail activities at ground floor. A reconfiguration of this frontage road is possible with changes in space allocation and minor interventions, which could have significant impact on the everyday activities of inhabitants and visitors of the area.

atlas code

003

location

Bur Dubai

land use

Service & offices

width

24.50 M

family type

F. Vehicle oriented

speed

60 Km/h

nÂ° of lanes

2 One-way

safety level

B. Average

Proximity to metro station.

signage

sidewalk 1.50

parking 5.50

1.00

STREET SECTION Very little space for pedestrians.

7.00

parking 5.50

sidewalk 4.00 0

5 sidewalk

STREET PLAN Areas for parking in the proximity of metro station.

curbs

The result is a car-dominated environment with no concern for pedestrian comfort and safety. The current land use of Al Satwa

308th Road is parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road and stretches for approximately 3.5 Kilometers from Al Safa Street to 2nd December Street. It runs through a relatively low-density area, with few signalized intersections and generous road width; that makes this road a very attractive and convenient route for vehicle trips in this part of the city. As it can be seen from the section, there are three lanes per direction, with service roads on both sides where access to buildings or parking lots is provided. Within the wide median along the entire road, a fence is installed to stop pedestrians from crossing if not at specific signalized junctions.

Al Satwa area Car oriented street

308th Rd. is high-density retail outlets and residential buildings and the 308th Road provides access to the parking structures of the towers of Sheikh Zayed Road. The western side of the road is subject to extensive redevelopment resulting in locating 308th Road in a strategic point at the heart of the new development. Permeability of the infrastructure is crucial therefore new design solutions should be provided for connecting the Al Satwa development to Sheikh Zayed Road.

Al Satwa Services, Hotel, Parking areas 52.30 M F. Vehicle oriented 80 Km/h 4+4 C. Medium level

location land use width family type speed nÂ° of lanes safety level

An example of a misplaced pedestrian crossing .

005

atlas code

Dividing fences.

1.00

greenery 2.80 0.80 11.00

med 1.40

parking 6.00 4.00

Fences along the entire length of the road.

parking 6.00

11.00

STREET PLAN Parking area has a relevant dimension on the section, affecting urban quality.

1.00

4.60

STREET SECTION Predominance of lane for vehicle lanes.

0.90

1.80

Al Satwa Road is located at the hearth of Al Satwa neighborhood, parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road and 308th Road, connecting the dense and mixed-use urban tissue in the proximity of 2nd December Street to the low density, mainly residential neighborhoods close to Al Safa street. Starting from Al Satwa bus terminus, this street is characterized by a uniquely large median with double rows of trees that is generally not accessible to people. On both sides of the median, there are two lanes per direction with a frontage road that provides access to buildings and on-street parking. The large median succeeds in breaking up the very wide scale of the road, offering a pedestrian friendly urban character, increased by the continuous activation of the ground floor.

Al Satwa area Mixed use

Al Satwa Rd. Considering there are no adequate number and location of pedestrian crossings on this road, as they are more than 200 meters distant from each other and located in the vicinity of U-turns, pedestrians tend to cross informally throughout the entire road passing through bushes and greenery, risking their safety. Such problems are resolved by giving two different solutions. Prevent informal and unsafe crossing by installing fences that is not recommended. Providing more crossing points and traffic calming strategies, which is more in line with the context of Al Satwa, since such policies will increase the footfall of the area resulting in positive impacts on local businesses.

Al Bada Services 53.20 M C. Shared street 60 Km/h 3+3 C. Medium level

location land use width family type speed nÂ° of lanes safety level

Natural dividers.

006

atlas code

Wide median.

7.00

greenery 12.00 7.00

median 4.80

3.60

There is ample space for road retrofit.

parking 2.50

greenery 4.80

STREET PLAN There is no shading along the pedestrian sidewalk.

3.60

service road 2.50

STREET SECTION The wide green buffer breaks the dimension of the road and creates a human-scale environment.

sidewalk 2.70

Shoreline Residences The Palm Jumeirah Access road The Palm Jumeirah is a landmark of global fame that goes far beyond the scale of a regular development: looking at a satellite map of the UAE, it is one of the few clearly recognizable man-made artifacts together with the Palm Jebel Ali and the World Islands. The Palm Jumeirah is accessible through a dense road network connecting the two main boulevards of the development to the rest of city, mainly via Sheikh Zayd Road. The residential towers of Shoreline Residences are located on both sides of these two boulevards that are approximately 62 meters wide, almost as wide as Champs-Ă&#x2030;lysĂŠes the iconic boulevard of Paris with 70 meters width. Each boulevard has three lanes per direction, divided by a large median with palm trees and art pieces. The median is fenced discouraging pedestrian crossings. On both sides, a wide and lush landscape buffer separates the highspeed traffic from the access road to buildings: the two-way access road is paved with cobblestone, with a paid on-street parking along the entire road mainly for visitors of

Greenery on the median.

the residential towers. This buffer breaks up the scale of the entire street section, giving the perception of being in a much smaller public space that is, however, intentionally separated from building entrances and drop-off points, located approximately 1.5 meters above street level. The mentioned configuration combined with the absence of public functions at ground floor, in addition to the significant width of the high-speed boulevards with fenced median and limited number of pedestrian crossings, turns the neighborhood in to a caroriented one with very limited pedestrian activities.

atlas code

028

location

Jbr and Marina

land use

Residential

width

31.70 M (partial)

family type

E. Busy street

speed

80 Km/h

nÂ° of lanes

5+5

safety level

C. Medium level

Old pedestrian crossing.

greenery

12.20

STREET SECTION This shows only half of the entire right side of the way.

STREET PLAN The lush divider creates quieter areas in front of the residential complexes.

greenery 6.80

6.70

parking 2.40

sidewalk 1.60 2.00 0

Residential area and vegetation give a human scale to the frontage road.

Al Sharta St. Marina Local road Al Sharta street is a short road in one of the densest areas of Dubai, surrounded by skyscrapers with residential, hospitality and office functions from 80 to 100 floors such as Princess Tower, The Torch, Elite Residence, Cayan Tower: this incredibly high density is in contrast with the tranquility of the street, both in term of vehicle and pedestrian movements. The two sides of the street are very different from each other: the Southern side has an active ground floor with mainly bars, restaurants and supermarkets with residents and employees as their main customers, while on the Northern side there are no active frontages. The ground floor at the northern side consists of a series of louvres that cover technical rooms alternated to entries/exits points to parking

Delivery vehicles parked on sidewalk.

29 floors of buildings. Its sidewalk, despite being very spacious with 5.50 meters width, is not designed to allow continuity in the pedestrian network since in every entry point of parking areas, there is a curb cut forcing pedestrians to change level without pram ramps. Retrofitting this kind of street is simple; few ad hoc solutions suggested for this street can be found in the last chapter of the book. During multiple visits to Al Sharta Street, vehicles informally parked along the side of the road or on the sidewalk were always noticed: cars parked for short stay, parked vans and trucks delivering goods. A reorganization of the curb, with minor changes to the current configuration, would free areas for pedestrians while answering to the parking and short-stay shortage issue.

atlas code

029

location

Jbr and Marina

land use

Services

width

33.00 M

family type

F. Vehicle oriented

speed

30 Km/h

nÂ° of lanes

2+2

safety level

B. Average level

Modest vegetation on large sidewalk.

access to parking / sidewalk 8.00

7.00

1.00

7.00

parking 5.50

sidewalk 4.50

STREET SECTION Compact road section between tall skyscrapers..

STREET PLAN Large sidewalk with low pedestrian activity.

Parking access points and technical roads result in an inactive public realm.

Waterfront Promenade Marina Pedestrian only The waterfront promenade at Marina development is surely one of the most popular places in Dubai; this pedestrian-only route, very active during cooler months of the year, follows the entire length of the artificial water body with different restaurants and retail destinations. The promenade continues for more than 7 Kilometers and a pedestrian corridor of 8 meters width is always provided, with a narrow strip (50 centimeters wide) in the middle for main urban furniture and facilities such as streetlights, trash bins and seats. The modularity of the promenade is emphasized by using different pavements, which successfully provide a sense of order and subtle decoration at the same time. With the same modularity, a series of seating areas and elevated palms

are on the opposite side of the water, providing sun shading and increasing thermal comfort. Restaurants and shops, located a few steps above the promenade level, end up being quieter areas with a better view of people passing by along the water canal. Despite being a popular destination, the promenade is wide enough to give the feeling of not being congested and, as a result, is regularly used by residents for jogging and performing sports activities. atlas code

030

location

Jbr and Marina

land use

Services

width

14.30 M

family type

A. Pedestrian only

speed

4.5 Km/h Walking Speed

nÂ° of lanes

safety level

A. High safety

Water canal.

Urban furniture is organized in clear modules.

The promenade.

sidewalk 1.00

3.30

0.5

sidewalk

4.10

5.40

STREET SECTION Vertical elements such as lighting and vegetation define the scales and uses of the area.

STREET PLAN Variety of materials and colors of paving.

Sidewalk near water canal.

The posted speed is 40 Km/h and traffic-calming strategies are implemented along the entire length of the road including raised pedestrian crossings and tight turning radiuses making it possible to avoid the implementation of service roads, despite the number of lanes. The low speed allows direct access to buildings and parking ramps. The mentioned strategies resulted in leaving more space available on sidewalks where large outdoor seating areas are available for all food and beverage activities at both sides of the boulevard. The wide sidewalks on both sides of the boulevard have double rows of palms providing shading during the day and iconic lighting at nighttime. Although there is a couple of interruptions of this modular pattern in correspondence of the

The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, better known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Boulevardâ&#x20AC;?, is a road with three lanes per direction, approximately 3 Kilometers long with significant width of approximately 74 meters (in line with the grandeur of the Downtown development, where both the tallest building and one of the largest malls of the world are located), and yet is very human.

Downtown

Despite its highly walkable character, most of pedestrian flows are centered around the Dubai Mall area, with no significant footfall spreading along the rest of the boulevard, mainly due to the lack of a counterpart as attractive as the mall which brings tourists and visitors from all around the world. It is noteworthy that the boulevard is designed with great attention in details, the street signs are for example different from the standard ones as they are smaller and installed at a lower height, reducing significantly their visual impact.

entry / exit points of underground car parks located underneath the road, narrowing the pedestrian route without compromising their comfort.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Blvd.

Downtown Dubai Services 74.00 M B. Walkable by design 80 Km/h 3+3 A. High level

location land use width family type speed nÂ° of lanes safety level

General View of the street.

034

atlas code

Pedestrian Crossing.

Bike Sharing Service.

greenery 6.00 10.20

sidewalk 2.70 1.5 1.3

sidewalk 7.00

activated sidewalk 9.50

Outdoor services activate the sidewalk.

0 1 2 3

13.60

STREET PLAN Street paving is very detailed resulting in clear reading of the different areas.

sidewalk sidewalk 4.00 1.70 3.70

0 1 2 3

access to parking 5.60

STREET SECTION This large road has a speed limit of 40Km/h.

sidewalk 5.60

People attending the hourly show at Dubai Fountain.

Planning Dubai

The city has witnessed an exceptionally fast-paced urban growth during the past three decades, hence becoming one of the most iconic cities in the world, well known for its skyscrapers, luxurious resorts and diverse attractions. What about its streets? 35

What are today the most famous streets or squares in Dubai? What are the main features characterizing Dubai public spaces? What distinguishes Dubai from any other city? Streets and sidewalks are considered the main public places of any city. They are living organs accommodating daily flows of vehicles and people commuting from one place to another. Thinking of any city, they are the first images coming to mind and characterizing the cities to calm, chaotic, crowded, clean and so on. To improve an image of the city and its attractiveness it is essential to rethink its streets and sidewalks. General perception about Dubai and its streets consist in common features; skyscrapers, heavy infrastructure and advanced technological features. These elements shape the urban landscape of Dubai, where roads are the connectors of diverse metropolitan areas in which natural space is altered to artificial islands and tradition is reinterpreted to explore new possibilities. They are mostly concentrated in business centres and landmarks in the urban fabric. Dubai's particular and rapid urbanization and expansion process resulted in distinctive neighbourhoods in terms of land-use and functions. Each of them are provided with flexible and sizable public spaces that can serve for exposition and temporary events. Considering that the city has over 14 million overnight international tourists visiting its landmarks of Burj Khalifa, Mall of Emirates, Dubai Fountain to mention a few, it can accommodate their mobility needs and provide them with big enough public spaces, a unique quality to further study and accentuate.

Through the metropolis in the desert Dubai represents one of the major cities in the Middle East and is a major global transport hub of cargo and passengers due to its strategic location. The city has witnessed a rapid urban and economic growth, resulting in significant population increase in a short period. Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban fabric is extended rapidly over 400 times and this resulted in many urban planning challenges especially in terms of urban mobility.

Currently moving around the city is facilitated through sixlane highways, flyover junctions, overhead transit rail and a new tramline although as the city will be expanding even more through the coming years and is planning for EXPO 2020, with 25 million expected visitors, it is time to enhance and improve the quality of its urban fabric and public space. The EXPO 2020, theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;Connecting Minds, Creating the Futureâ&#x20AC;?, underpinned by three interwoven themes that are fundamental in addressing the most pressing challenges of our time: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. As Mobility is the bridge to opportunity by connecting people, goods and ideas and providing easier access to markets, knowledge and innovation, focusing on sustainable urban mobility solutions, rethinking the street designs, privileging the pedestrians and enhancing the human scale are the main topics to ensure a sustainable future-proofed city that is home of people from 100 different nations.

time lapse - an unprecedented (steady) growth

1984

1990

2001

2005

2010

2013

1995

2007

2016

1983 14 Ali Bin Abi Taleb Street in Bur Dubai The oldest neighborhoods of Dubai are consistent city structures made of small blocks with compact road infrastructures. Narrow streets with no building setback to increase shading in the sidewalk for longer hours during the day, almost entirely with active frontage and often occupied by people resting or working outside.

31991 05

308th Road in Al Satwa

Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth is supported by an extensive road infrastructure network that privileged uninterrupted free-flow vehicle movements, with split-level interchange junctions in central areas. Furthermore, this model connects distant areas inside the city and disconnected local neighborhoods, making short distance trips more difficult.

2005 29 Al Sharta street in JBR and Marina During the first decade of the XXI Century Dubai has witnessed an unprecedented number of large developments and world renowned buildings. The mega developments, attracting and generating a large number of vehicles in an era when Dubai mass rapid transit systems were not built. As a result, the design of these new developments suffered from a very car-oriented design approach.

52012 09

City Walk in Al Wasl

Recently, there is an increasing demand towards developments characterized by high quality public realm and traffic calmed streets in Dubai. Although designing and developing such places is a multifactor matter and needs committed support from public authoritiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; side.

Dubai in 20 years The rapid and radical growth process of Dubai resulted in a population boom. The total built up area increased from only 54 square Km in 1975 to 977 square Km in 2015, as Dubai increased (17 times in only 38 years). The total population of Dubai has grown 10 times over the last 40 years alone. In 1975, the total population was 183,000 inhabitants, which increased to about 2.2 million in 2015. These high percentages make Dubai one of the fastest growing cities in the world.* (*Source : The Boom: Population and Urban Growth of Dubai City, Fayez M. Elessawy)

landmarks

important events

2003

media city is inaugurated

dubai knowledge village opens

1967

the palm jumeirah is the largest offshore residential development

population 1.5 millions

sheikh mohammed becomes the ruler of dubai

sheikh zayed road is completed

1980

the mall of emirates opens

2000

artificial archipielagos projects are announced

population 59,000

highlights

dubai international financial centre

burj al arab is inaugurated

urban development

2005

2002

1999

2001

2006

population

growth rate

3 000 000 3.000.000

Years â&#x2013; 2016 â&#x2013; 2017 â&#x2013; 2018

2 500 000 2.500.000

2.000.000 2 000 000

1.500.000 1 500 000

3 2 2

1.000.000 1 000 000

1 1

500.000 500 000

2005 2005

2010 2010

2015 2015

2017 2017

to Tuo ruri sism m

2000 2000

lo Lgo igsi tsit m cics anM s uaf nau cfat cutr uir ning g re Rae lal esE tsat tatee

1995 1995

trT arad dee

fFi nina ann ccee co C nso tnrs utrcu tcit oionn

2016 2017 2018

(Source : Department of Economic Development Dubai)

2007

2009

2010

dubai studio city is inaugurated

dubai mall is inaugurated

burj khalifa is the world's tallest building

2011

2016

2012

the palm deira jw marriott station opens marquis is the tallest hotel

inauguraion of the dubai water canal

2014

dubai international city opens

dubai sport city opens

dubai metro red line

dubai metro green line

al maktoum international airport begins operations

stall of major construction projects

2008

burj al arab is burj al arab is burj al arab is inaugurated inaugurated inaugurated

population 2.2 millions

dubai plan 2021 development strategy is announced

dubai and the uae win the bid for the world expo 2020

2013

Reading the city

Available information and predictions of possible future scenarios are the two key elements defining the planning process. Innovative readings and advanced analysis are essential instruments for urban planners and decision makers to shape and reshape cities. The following chapter illustrates five different cutting-edge analytical tools used to describe Dubai in terms of mobility and transport from connectivity to pedestrian safety and comfort; from routes intuitiveness of all transport modes to public transport accessibility levels. 49

Walk Score© Walk Score© is a private company founded in July 2007 with the main aim "to promote walkable neighborhoods" in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The company's mission was based on the belief that such neighborhoods are "one of the simplest and best solutions for the environment, our health, and our economy." Walk Score© service is used as a strategic tool for analysts and researchers in different fields of real estate, urban planning, policy making, public health, and finance. The data provided by Walk Score© is used by real estate analysts to explore the evolution of neighborhoods walkability over time to identify the economically vibrant ones. Walk Score© highlights the importance of walkability, it is a widely used tool by urban planners to design and promote new neighborhoods that are more accessible, secure and appealing where people have more access to public and active modes of transport and consequently better quality of life.

Step 1: Base grid for analysis. Hospitals ■ Services ■ Supermarket ■ Shops ■ Bar ■ Restaurant ■

Step 2: Map of services. 0 minutes

10 minutes Step 3: Access to food supply service. 0 minutes

Walkability Index ■ Walker’s paradise ■ Very walkable ■ Somewhat walkable ■ Car oriented ■ Car dominated

10 minutes Step 4: Access to healthcare service.

Walk Score© is a tool for assessing the accessibility by foot to functions and services Within the numerous studies reporting the relations between built environment and walkability of neighborhoods, the importance of mixed uses, as the key ingredient to encourage walking, is emphasized. The Walk Score© is a reliable measure of neighborhood walkability based on the hypothesis that distance from amenities (retail, food, services, etc.) strongly influences the choice of transport mode. Walk Score uses an algorithm to score each section of the city on a scale of 0 to 100, from the most car-dependent to the most walkable neighborhoods. The methodology used to define Walk Score© requires the creation of a predefined grid to divide the city into equal parts as the first step. The next step is mapping the points of interest mainly retail (e.g. shops and supermarket), food (e.g. restaurants), services (e.g. hospitals and schools) and recreation (e.g. parks and cinema) for scoring the proximity to amenities.

New York City, credit: walkscore.com.

Melbourne, credit: walkscore.com.

In order to measure the distance from facilities, the pedestrian network created permits to define the pedestrian catchment areas starting from each point of interest. Walk Score© is calculated taking into consideration the distance to the closest point of interest through a linear combination of distances weighted by their importance to walkability and a distance decay function. As mentioned before, the algorithm scores on a scale of 0 to 100. The following is the official classification of Walk Score:

Houston, credit: walkscore.com.

● 0 - 24: Car dependent, almost all errands require a car; ● 25 - 49: Car dependent, most errands require a car; ● 50 - 69: Somewhat walkable, some errands can be accomplished on foot; ● 70 - 89: Very walkable, most errands can be accomplished on foot; ● 90 - 100: Walker’s paradise, daily errands do not require a car. Atlanta, credit: walkscore.com.

walker’s paradise 90-100

Higher values of Walk Score© correspond to a more lively urban environment where people have better chances to move around on foot. ● al mamsha st. the walk walker’s paradise This street was designed for pedestrians and its names confirms it. It connects a large number of restaurants, hospitality and retail venues seamlessly, while the entire area has a multitude of pedestrian-only routes that attract users from different parts of the city.

very walkable 70-89

somewhat walkable 50-69

car oriented 25-49

car dependent 0-24

● king salman bin abdulaziz al saud st. somewhat walkable Not distant from “The Walk”, this street is also in the proximity to a large number of services and public functions. However, the tram barriers create an obstacle for pedestrian connectivity; it is possible to cross only in a very few locations, significantly increasing travel time while decreasing the overall walkability of the area. ● financial center rd. car dependent There are very few reasons to walk along this road that is very congested with no active frontage to attract people or customers. The few pedestrians are generally lost tourists or construction site workers that rest or eat in the shade of the large elevated road that runs in front of Dubai Mall.

Lower values of Walk Score© coincide with a very car-oriented environment, where walking is neither pleasant nor safe. 53

Pedestrian Level Of Service (PLOS) is being increasingly used to assess safety and comfort levels across entire cities, providing effective indications on priority of interventions With the increase of car-dependence, design of streets is becoming more and more a matter that exclusively regards motorized vehicles, while little attention to design adequate spaces and facilities for pedestrian movements. Consequently, people usually use cars for walkable trips, a decision predominantly influenced by the lack of services and venues at ground levels as well as inadequate sidewalk design. Therefore, to encourage walking as a viable mode of transport for short trips, it is necessary to set higher design standards of the urban realm hence creating better walking conditions and an enhanced pedestrian experience. To objectively measure and evaluate the current walking conditions, developing a tool for Pedestrian Level of Service is necessary. The Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) is a complex measure, which permits to quantify comfort and safety levels of existing and planned walkways allowing objective and sound evaluations of pedestrians’ perception and response to roadway environment. With the scope to develop the Pedestrian Level of Service in Dubai, a detailed GIS model is developed to incorporate the entire range of necessary attributes, quantitative and qualitative, of streets and sidewalks. The input variables considered in the Pedestrian Level of Service analysis reflect different characteristics of roads. The first is the motorized traffic, for which vehicular traffic volumes, vehicle speed and the percentage of occupied parking are taken into consideration. The second is the roadway, for which the number of street lanes and the presence of median in roads are taken into consideration. The last one is the sidewalk, for which several variables, such as the width of the sidewalk, the width of the buffer between sidewalk and roadway, the presence of greenery within the buffer area and the presence of bike lanes are taken into consideration. 54

The computation of these variables allows to categorize the roads of Dubai in six Pedestrian Level of Service classes, defined according to the quality of the street, from best to worst conditions: ● plos a: Streets with higher level of service are characterized by a highly pedestrian-oriented environment, with ample sidewalks and a green buffer space between road and sidewalk. ● plos b: These streets, similar to the previous rank, have low vehicular traffic volumes and many pedestrian safety and comfort features implemented. ● plos c: Streets with standard-size sidewalks, but with some deficiencies in pedestrian facility design or higher vehicular traffic volumes. ● plos d: Streets are adequate for pedestrian use but the frequent deficiencies in the width of sidewalks and safety of pedestrians decreases the walking conditions on these streets. ● plos e: These streets are inadequate for pedestrian use, since they have high levels of interaction with traffic and very little space dedicated to pedestrians. ● plos f: Streets with the lower level of service are characterized by an extremely car-oriented environment, where roads are designed for high vehicular traffic volumes and sidewalks are usually not present. In conclusion, the Pedestrian Level of Service is a mathematical method, which permits to evaluate the comfort and safety level of pedestrian PLOS Index experience within a roadway environment, defining an output that can be integrated with ■ A (best) ■B planning decisions, prioritizing the needs of ■ C existing streets for sidewalk retrofit. ■D ■E ■ F (worst)

● plos a ● plos b ● plos c ● plos d ● plos e ● plos f

Elements increasing the Pedestrian Level of Service Among the quantitative and qualitative measures influencing the Pedestrian Level of Service, there are four elements, which increase the score: sidewalk width, on-street parking, greenery and buffer from vehicles. 12 meters

0 meters

● sidewalk width The width of the sidewalk is generally a measure of comfort and convenience for pedestrians to effectively use the sidewalk.

● on-street parking The presence of on-street parking tends to increase street quality as it gives pedestrians a sense of safety given the buffer created between walking people and cars.

Yes

8 meters

0 meters

● greenery The shadows shed by trees on sidewalks improve comfort conditions and improve its attractiveness, especially in places with extreme hot conditions like Dubai.

100%

● buffer from vehicles The buffer width is the distance between the roadway and the available sidewalk, which is important to provide an adequate sense of safety for pedestrians.

Elements decreasing the Pedestrian Level of Service Among the quantitative and qualitative measures affecting the Pedestrian Level of Service, there are four elements, which decrease the score: vehicle speed, number of lanes, vehicular traffic and the presence of the median. 120 km/h

6 lanes

20 km/h

1 lane

● vehicle speed The motorized vehicles speed can decrease the PLOS since high vehicle speed greatly increases the risk of injury and death of pedestrians.

● number of lanes PLOS takes into consideration the number of through lanes on the segment in the subject direction of travel. The Higher number of lanes results in higher negative impact on the final score.

5228 vehicles/H

Yes

50 vehicles/H

● traffic volume The vehicular traffic flow, measured as for direction nearest to the subject sidewalk, can have a strong negative impact on the PLOS, especially if the traffic volume is substantial.

● median The median of a street is a factor that can decrease the PLOS since its presence enlarges the total width of the roadway and consequently increases the distance from the opposite sidewalk. 57

Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) shows how efficiently an area is connected to the transit network

Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) is a strategic tool developed to measure the accessibility level of cities to public transport services, by taking into account the walking time to a public transport stop, the number and the frequency of services at that stop. The methodology of the PTAL calculation was initially developed in UK by the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and was subsequently implemented by Transport for London as the standard method for assessment of public transport accessibility in London but also as a planning tool to determine permitted parking standards and development densities. Today, the methodology used to evaluate the Public Transport Accessibility Level of cities and neighborhoods, consists in the following factors: 1 public transport stops and routes: Identification and GIS mapping of public transport stops for each transport mode, indicating the number of routes available.

Step 1: The area is divided in a 100x100m grid. Metro ■ Bus ■

2 public transport frequencies: definition of the frequencies of the available services. 3 pedestrian network: creation of the pedestrian network in GIS environment and connections to public transport stops. 4 walk access time: generation of pedestrian catchment areas for each set of public transport stops divided by transport mode and frequencies. The extent of the catchment area varies according to the incisiveness of different transport modes.

Step 2: Public transport stops. 0 minutes

5 edf values calculation: the EDF (Equivalent Doorstep Frequency) values for each set of isochrones are calculated using the official calculation method and weighed by a fixed reliability factor for each mode. The values are then intersected with a pre-defined grid, which divides the city in equal zones. 6 accessibility index: all EDF values are multiplied by a weighting factor in favor of the most dominant route for each mode, to obtain the accessibility index per mode (AI) whose sum is the overall accessibility index.

15 minutes Step 3: Walk access time from metro stops. 0 minutes

7 ptal values: the accessibility index is then converted to PTAL values that are 6 levels of accessibility: very poor (level 1a and 1b), poor (level 2), moderate (level 3), good (level 4), very good (level 5) and excellent (level 6a and 6b). PTAL Index ■ 6b (best) ■ 6a ■5 ■4 ■3 ■2 ■ 1b ■ 1a (worst)

15 minutes Step 4: Walk access time from bus stops.

Legend Public Transport Accessibility Level is increasingly applied to different international contexts in order to have a coherent and comparable reading of different cities 2030PTAL

edftot

0.001000 - 2.5

2.191001 - 5.000000

5.000001 - 10.000000

10.000001 - 15

14.038001 - 20.000000

20.000001 - 25.000000

25.000001 - 40

37.000001 - 100.000000

isometrov15

COST

0.042 - 3.033 3.034 - 6.024 6.025 - 9.016 9.017 - 12.007 12.008 - 14.998

0.25 00.5 11.5 2 Kilometers

PTAL of Dubai, UAE.

PTAL of Dubai â&#x2014;? financial centre ptal 1a Only two buses serve the main entry of Dubai Mall, while the connection to/ from the metro station taps directly into the building, without any connection with the ground floor.

ptal 1a lowest level of accessibility

â&#x2014;? al barsha rd. ptal 2 Al Barsha is in the proximity of Mall of The Emirates metro station, however, not efficiently connected to it. The road to its entry is not properly designed to encourage pedestrian movements.

ptal 1b

ptal 2

ptal 3

PTAL of Milan, Italy.

PTAL of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

â&#x2014;? ali bin abi taleb st. ptal 4 Bur Dubai center is served by multiple bus lines, also on dedicated lanes, and directly accessible from the green metro line. In addition, the scarcity of public parking encourages the use of public transport.

â&#x2014;? al marsa st. ptal 5 Dubai Jumeirah Lake Towers station is one of Dubai's transit hubs with many transport services and options including metro, tram and bus interchange, increasing the overall PTAL level.

ptal 4

ptal 5

ptal 6a

ptal 6b highest level of accessibility

Since the late 1970s, network theories are used to study, understand and plan cities Very few urban theories succeed in describing our cities in such robust and convincing manner like Space Syntax. This discipline borrows graph theories from the mathematical domain and applies them to urban analysis, describing the city not as a sum of plots and land uses, but rather as a legible system made of nodes and relations. This tool is developed by Bill Hillier and other researchers at UCL in the late 1970s, while today it is further developed and supported by a much broader international community. From a transport perspective, the most innovative factor of their work consists in describing convenient movements not just in terms of time or distance, but also the angular deviation from a straight route from origin and destination. The shortest path is therefore determined not only by metric distance, but also by relative cost of turning, whereby greater turns are costlier. This is confirmed by more than three decades of observations and studies, still ongoing, that generally people tend to move preferring intuitiveness to distance, especially on foot. Angular Choice reveals the streets that are inherently the most convenient paths, when considering all origins and all destinations within a certain network distance parameter. High choice scores indicates a high potential for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;throughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; movement: these streets are inherently important parts of many different journeys. It is noteworthy that this reading is purely based on the spatial arrangement of streets, therefore does not take into account land use or traffic generators.

● choice 250meters Analysis at very small scales highlight those streets, and particularly junctions, that are ideal for community services, small local businesses that require high pedestrian footfall.

● choice 750meters This is the ideal distance everyone is willing to walk on foot, and where walking is much more convenient than all other modes; the potential areas for being center of neighborhood activities are identified.

● choice 2500 meters Increasing the distance of the analysis is possible to identify the most convenient routes for bicycles and other small electric vehicles, understanding strategic corridors to connect adjacent districts in a sustainable manner.

● choice n meters By setting the limit of the analysis to infinite (“n”), it is possible to preliminarily identify arteries convenient for long distance movements, therefore most likely by car or by bus at urban scale. 63

Pedestrian Modelling Pedestrian simulations have been widely and generally used only to deal with emergency situations: the evacuation of stations, public buildings or to predict people behavior during mass events in order to avoid stampedes and other dangerous situations. Walking, despite being the primary transportation mode for all human beings, has therefore been neglected for many decades by traffic engineers and planners. Luckily, we are assisting to the rise of new generations of practitioners that are promoting good practices for pedestrians, raising the attention to this crucial issue: the planning discipline is also re-defining the way to look at pedestrians and how to plan for them. As an example, in this page we look at pedestrian simulations of Business Bay done with CUBE, by Citilabs, which is a very flexible software that has always been used in standard transport planning to assess movements of cars and public transport. By reprogramming the same tool with other parameters, it is possible to replicate the current patterns of pedestrian flows, enabling a much more informed design decision making process for this primary category of users.

Model Zoning.

Desire Lines.

TVOL ■ <435.092 ■ 435.092 - 870.184 ■ 870.184 - 1305.276 ■ 1305.276 - 1740.368 ■ 1740.368 - 2175.46 ■ 2175.46 - 2610.552 Pedestrian Flow simulation in Business Bay.

Focus Interview: Shaping Dubai Arthur Benedetti Co-Founder and Principal at 5+ design

Arthur is known best for his design process, which begins with a story. Drawing on themes and motifs to inform his designs, Arthur’s approach is rooted in the contextual meaning of a project’s site and the aspirations of the client. Finding enjoyment and ease within the design process, Arthur’s main source of inspiration comes from the often-overlooked concept of play. He understands that the experience of a project is what visitors will leave with and ultimately return for. The challenge of transforming grand ideas into designs that hold meaning, importance and tell a story once fully realized is where Arthur excels. Arthur co-founded 5+design in 2005.

Q: The quality of public realm is significantly influenced by the design features of buildings facing roads and squares. Dubai’s most successful streets and public places are, in fact, created through private initiatives, which were able to turn the design quality into a fundamental asset. To what extent is it possible to intervene as designers outside the property boundaries and what are the main strategies that you adopt in your practice to influence the surrounding of the buildings you design? ab: The best opportunities for intervention, of course, are within the larger master planned developments, where the master developer provides the vision and design for the public realm space. We have been fortunate to be involved with several projects in Dubai, which are large-scale multiuse projects in which the design of the public realm is a contributing factor in the branding and identity of the project. Dubai is a lot like Los Angeles, and yet in some ways, totally different. Like LA, the city is a collection of ‘projects’ or destinations dotted across the landscape and accessible by an enormous infrastructure catering to the automobile. Unlike LA, it has not yet found the means to connect these destinations together into a sustainable network of communities or neighborhoods. The car is currently the dominant method of transportation, but we believe that there is a strong leaning towards the creation of more walkable and accessible communities, and even connecting communities; perhaps like the hundreds of neighborhoods within LA metro area with each expressing a unique character and quality.

Q: 5+ design is extensively working in Dubai across all design scales, from large master plans, to the design of complex buildings, residential towers and smaller pieces of architecture such as the pavilion constructed in Business Bay. In all projects, particular care has been taken to deliver high-quality public realm as well as increasing walkability and improve user experience. What qualities and design solutions are in common to most of your projects? ab: At the root of our global experience is several decades of retail design, in which the smooth and uninterrupted movement of people, the comfort of the visitor, and the visibility and attraction of the surrounding atmosphere is the key to success of the project. We bring all these attributes into the design of our projects from the large-scale master plans residential/commercial projects, to parks and pavilions. To create projects that stand the test of time, we utilize age old traditions of human-scaled, public space design; creating enduring spaces that transcend the cultures or generations that utilize them. Timeless design incorporates authenticity, comfort, intuitive wayfinding, ease of use, discovery and a few elements of surprise.

Understand the streets

There is no straightforward way to describe the complexity of Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s streets. From the narrowest alley in Deira to the widest boulevard, the streets and roads are dissected into their key features and smallest components, finding analogies and differences. 67

Road planning Dubai is a linear city growing parallel to the coastline: from Deira to the port of Jebel Ali, a great variety of different urban contexts alternated for more than 50 Kilometers. The main axis running from North to South constitutes the backbone for future growth and deserves an indepth analysis. In particular, it is of great importance to explore the urban characteristics of the areas in the proximity of this axis: Jumeirah Street, Al Wasl Road and Sheikh Zayed Road. From the coast to the inland, from pedestrian zones to car-oriented areas, the chart on the right provides a glimpse of Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complexity and diversity.

king salman bin abdulaziz al saud st.

10 01

abdulah omran taryam st. / al wasl rd.

15 21 06

15 sheikh zayed rd.

common characteristics of the streets mainly pedestrian activities

very active pedestrian activities & land uses

urban elements

good connectivity

commerce

car oriented

medium active

fragmented urban path

urban barriers

office & services

potential retrofit on streets

somehow active

vegetation elements

diversity of paving

mixed use

public main road infrastructure transport

not active

limited pedestrian flow

housing

Dubai relies on an extended road network and different transport modes such as two heavily used metro lines, a recently implemented tramway system, a monorail cutting through Palm Jumeirah, bus network, a large taxi fleet and different types of water transport.

THE WORLD

191 325 729 metro passengers trips in 2016

JUMEIRAH

5.2 M

UMM SUQEIM

daily trips in 2015

AL MANARA

Modal Split ■ Private cars (76.1%) ■ Public Transport (14.4%) ■ Taxi (9.5%)

UM AL SHEIF

AL SUFOUH

3 THE PALM JUMEIRAH

Legend

MONORAIL LINE

MONORAIL LINE MONORAIL LINE Monorail MONORAIL LINE MONORAIL LINELINE STATION MONORAIL MONORAIL LINE MONORAIL STATION MONORAIL STATION MONORAIL STATION Monorail Station TRAM LINE Tram TRAMSTATION LINE METRO LINE TRAM MONORAIL STATION METRO LINE TRAM STATION TRAM STATION TRAM STATION METRO LINE TRAM LINE METRO LINE STATION METRO LINE TRAM STATION TRAM LINE METRO STATION Tram Stop METRO STATION TRAM STATION METRO LINE METRO LINE METRO STATION METRO STATION TRAM STATION METRO LINE COMPACT JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION METRO LINE Metro METRO LINE COMPACT JUNCTION METRO STATION COMPACT METROJUNCTION STATION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION METRO STATION METRO STATION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION METRO STATION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION Metro station INCOMPLETE JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION MONORAIL LINE COMPACT JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION MONORAIL LINE COMPACT JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION MAIN USE HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION MONORAIL STATION MAIN USE USE use Main INCOMPLETE JUNCTION MONORAIL STATION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION MAIN INCOMPLETE JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION COMMERCIAL AREA MAIN USE COMMERCIAL AREA INCOMPLETE JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION TRAM LINE MAIN USE TRAM LINE COMMERCIAL AREA HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION RESIDENTIAL AREA Commercial area RESIDENTIAL AREA HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION COMMERCIAL AREA MONORAIL LINE HIGH COMPLEX TRAM STATION COMMERCIAL AREA JUNCTION RESIDENTIAL AREA MAIN USE GREEN AREA TRAM STATION GREEN AREA MAIN USESTATIONAREA MONORAIL RESIDENTIAL Residential area MAIN USE METRO LINE RESIDENTIAL AREA GREEN COMMERCIAL AREA METRO LINE TRAM LINE AREA COMMERCIAL AREA MAIN USE GREEN AREA MAIN USE RESIDENTIAL AREA GREEN AREA TRAM STATION METRO STATION COMMERCIAL AREA Green area RESIDENTIAL AREA METRO STATION COMMERCIAL AREA METRO LINE COMMERCIAL AREA GREEN AREA GREEN AREA RESIDENTIAL AREA COMPACT METRO STATIONJUNCTION Compact junction COMPACT JUNCTION RESIDENTIAL AREA RESIDENTIAL AREA GREEN AREAJUNCTION INCOMPLETE COMPACT JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION Incomplete junction GREENJUNCTION AREA GREEN AREA INCOMPLETE HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEX JUNCTION Complex Split-Level MAIN MAIN USE USE MAIN USE Junction COMMERCIAL AREA AREA COMMERCIAL MONORAIL TRAM LINE STATION MONORAIL LINE MONORAIL STATION TRAM LINELINE STATION MONORAIL TRAM LINE MONORAIL STATION MONORAIL LINE TRAM STATION TRAM LINE MONORAIL LINE TRAM STATION TRAM LINE TRAM STATION MONORAIL STATION

COMMERCIAL AREA

RESIDENTIAL AREA RESIDENTIAL AREA RESIDENTIAL AREA GREEN AREA

GREEN GREEN AREA AREA

DUBAI MARINA

MARSA DUBAI

AL BARSHA

PORT RASHID AL KHABAISI AL MINA

AL RAFA

MURAQ QABAT

AL KARAMA

AL GARHOUD

HUDHEIBA AL JAFILYA AL BADA

AL KIFAF

GOLD MARKET

OUD METHA

AL SATWA

UMM RAMOOL

ZAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ABEEL

JADDAF

AL WASL

RAS AL KHOR

DUBAI MALL

BUSINESS BAY

AL SAFA

ALSERKAL

AL QUOZ

AL QUOZ INDUSTRIAL AREA

MALL OF EMIRATES

4 DUBAILAND

GLOBAL VILLAGE

DUBAI MARINA

5 71

Focus Interview: Stitching the city Iyad Alsaka Partner at OMA

Iyad Alsaka joined OMA as a director in 2007 and became partner in 2011. Responsible for OMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in the Middle East and Africa, Iyad has led projects including the acclaimed masterplan for Waterfront City in Dubai, the HAI Airport City masterplan in Doha, and Concrete in Alserkal Avenue, a new public venue for Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural district. Before joining OMA, Iyad was director of design and development at Dubai Holding where he was responsible for numerus of projects. Born in 1969 in Syria, Iyad holds a degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Aleppo.

Q: Jane Jacobs once wrote that the essence of cities lies in the intricacy of sidewalk use. Dubai is today internationally renowned for its luxurious buildings and stunning landmarks, however not (yet) for its streets. While we are witnessing an increasing number of new projects with a focus on public realm and design quality, no satisfying model of street retrofitting has been tested yet. To what extent do you see flexibility in the current streets configurations to accommodate new design solutions?

ia: The Dubai urban fabric found in old Deirah and Bur Dubai, like Al Ras, Naif Souk, etc. provided the opportunity to create pedestrians life by two factors; the street canyons vs. the buildings heights and set-backs provided sufficient shading for people to walk in the shade, either on left or right of the road depending on the time of the day. And second the buildings ground floor are fully activated as retail, not only it engages pedestrian in the public realm, but also provides economic opportunities for live / work districts. Encouraging buildings owners and providing them with the right planning permissions to activate their ground floor and engage it with the existing public realm is very viable scenarios throughout the city. Q: Many believe that Dubai is and will always be an air-conditioned city, where hot climate conditions will force people to move around only with cars, taxis and Uber, giving up sidewalk in favour of additional vehicle lanes. We know this is neither a sustainable growth model nor an accurate reading of the reality, however, the general planning practice is endorsing this belief. What are in your opinion the policies that should be put in place to invert this tendency? ia: There are many possibilities to introduce and encourage pedestrian life in Dubai. One; The current Dubai metro network offers great coverage throughout the city, yet it falls short on providing sufficient parking spaces around each station to encourage commuters to use it for work or private. Each station should have a parking for commuters to park their cars. Two; building planning regulation to activate the ground floor with retail is a must and reconsidering the urban fabric vs. street canyons to be more suitable for such climate by creating shade, a successful model already exist in the old city. Three:

reduce commuting by providing incentives for business and people to live / work in the same district or neighbourhoods. This is where walking and even cycling to work become very feasible. Four: using local trees for walkways as a norm in planning any new road corridors. Q: Dubai has been growing at an incredibly steady pace in the last decades, coupled with a substantial lack of comprehensive long term planning documents. This increased the complexity in coordination among neighboring developments, which often feel disconnected among each other. What mechanism or planning policy do you believe should be put in place to stitch back different developments and provide adequate continuity to the urban fabric? ia: It is very apparent that the hasty development that took place in late 90â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and early 2000, mainly lead by semi government developers, and in complete absence of the city as a regulatory body, lead to the current conditions of the public realm in the city and the disconnection between the various parts of Dubai. Yet I strongly think that planned organic transformation and regeneration can take place through time by commencing a framework and structure plan for the city and introducing social normality by cementing the existing and the future planned urban conditions. The framework should study the current proven city planning methods globally, Dubai as an international city, can absorb all kinds of scenarios collected from various global conditions, and incorporate sufficient resilience in the plan to grow and transform based on future trends and technologies.

Sheikh Zayed Road A unique infrastructure

View of Emirates Towers metro station in Sheikh Zayed Road.

E11 is the longest road in the UAE: it connects the entire country crossing six of the seven Emirates, from the Western border with Saudi Arabia to the Northern one with Oman. The road has different names in different Emirates; in Dubai, the E11 is called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheikh Zayed Roadâ&#x20AC;? and it runs through the hearth of the city for more than 70 Kilometers, connecting most of the key city destinations. While being one of the most scenic drives in Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road is also one of the most congested streets, with more than 400,000 vehicles per day and peak of 35,000 vehicles per hour in both directions. These flows are surely encouraged by the great capacity of the street, which currently in some sections has up to eight lanes per direction. The road connects linearly the entire city, creating a barrier that often cuts the city in two parts. For pedestrians, it is mainly possible to cross using the air-conditioned bridges in correspondence of

the red line metro stations. The frequent junctions and flyovers are analyzed in depth in the following pages. It is noteworthy that Sheikh Zayed Road is a test-bed for innovative solutions: from the introduction of Salik, an automatic toll system that collects road fares seamlessly, implementation of the first metro line in the country, the ongoing test of real-time parking indicators on the frontage roads, to the future plan for a continuous cycle lane along the entire length of the metro line.

Every junction on Sheikh Zayed Road differs from the other in shape and configuration. However, by looking at their size and number of maneuvers it is possible to find significant similarities and group them into four main categories: (1) very large with all possible connections; (2) large junctions that, despite their size do not satisfy all connections; (3) compact junctions with reduced complexity and (4) singular junctions that have all types of connections while being very compact. These typologies are described more in detail in the following page.

CONNECTION connections NÂ°

DIAMOND 2

14 16

12 18

HIGH COMPLEXITY

8 6

INCOMPLETE

11 13 15

9 COMPACT

44 22

0.5 0.50

1.0 1.00

1.5 1.50

km2 DIMENSION KM2

2.0 2.00

2.5 2.50

11 10

9 8

LEGEND

COMPACT JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION

Type of Junction SINGULARITY JUNCTION LEGEND HIGH COMPLEXITY High Complexity COMPACT JUNCTION JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION LEGEND Incomplete LEGEND SINGULARITY JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION COMPACT JUNCTION Compact HIGH COMPLEXITY INCOMPLETE JUNCTION INCOMPLETE JUNCTION JUNCTION SINGULARITY JUNCTION Diamond SINGULARITY JUNCTION HIGH COMPLEXITY HIGH COMPLEXITY JUNCTION JUNCTION

3 19

19 19 18

16 17

1614 16

14 14 14

13 11 10

12 12

13 13

15 15 15

17 17

18 18

● high complexity junction This category represents the majority of junctions along Sheikh Zayed Road; very large intersections with three or four levels and the red metro line running through them. In order to accommodate all maneuvers, the size of junctions increases significantly, reaching up to 2.00-2.50 Sq. Kilometers, even in neighborhoods close to Downtown, Mall of the Emirates or Marina with high land prices.

peripheral context

12 connections

● incomplete junction This category is similar to the previous one, however, due to the lack of available land or technical constraints, not every maneuver is possible and some connections are missing. The main result is a decrease in travel options and subsequent lack of intuitiveness of the junction: drivers need to learn what to do at every junction in Dubai in order to reach their destination.

10 tall towers +low density connections context

● compact junction A category of more compact junctions with limited maneuvers is diffused along Sheikh Zayed Road, alternating in between bigger and more complex junctions. Generally, these junctions provide right-in / right-out connections to the surrounding neighborhoods or connections to long stretches of frontage roads, with few or no split-level solutions.

5 tall towers connections context

● diamond junction Right on the Southern edge of Ibn Battuta Mall, in correspondence of exit to Al Tahlia Road, there is a unique example of junction along Sheikh Zayed Road, very compact with all travel options for vehicles. This solution consists in a couplet of roundabouts at both ends of the bridge overpassing the highway.

12 low density connections context

Junction Spacing: the case of Al Wasl Rd. Block sizes, junctions spacing and the density of intersections have the greatest impact on the public realm and the pedestrian behavior. Al Wasl Road is a great reference to see how road planning and urban context go hand in hand: with a 15-Kilometer ride along this road, from 2nd December Road to Umm Suqueim Street, it is possible to see a vibrant urban environment, with an active ground floor and frequent crossings, which turns into a low-density residential environment with distant crossings and almost no pedestrian activity.

14.5 Km

DISTANCE BETWEEN SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION

890M 545M 280M 300M

TOTAL LENGTH

DISTANCE BETWEEN INTERSECTIONS

220 M 325 M 280 M 220 M 370 M 130 M 300 M 200 M 150 M 230 M 130 M 180 M 75 M 290 M 140 M 460 M 180 M 300 M 80 M 175 M 90 M 215 M 180 M 250 M 370 M 120 M 220 M

13 12 11

1 380M

675M

1 495M 120M 1 155M

satwa

1 160M

INTERSECTIONS

7 6 jumeirah

jumeirah

1 130M

TRAFFIC LIGHTS

al safa

580 M 260 M 670 M

2 030M

2 000M

250 M 90 M 90 M 260 M 670 M

um suqeim al manara

465 M 180 M 180 M 470 M

LEGEND Legend LEGEND LEGEND WASL AlAL Road AL Wasl WASL ROAD ROAD AL WASL ROAD MICRO MICRO AREAS AREAS Neighbourhood MICRO AREAS TRAFFIC LIGHT TRAFFIC LIGHT LIGHT Traffic light TRAFFIC LOCAL INTERSECTION INTERSECTION LOCAL Primary intersection LOCAL INTERSECTION PRIMARY INTERSECTION INTERSECTION PRIMARY PRIMARY INTERSECTION Local intersection

345 M 290 M 278 M 525 M

360 M

um suqeim

540 M

1 633M

Um Suqeim Area.

675 M 140 M 290 M

425 M 465 M

Jumeirah Area.

Al Safa Area.

Satwa Area.

sidewalk 5.20

parking 2.50

4.10

1.50

7.30

greenery 4.60

7.30

1.50

4.60

parkingsidewalk greenery 2.50 2.40 4.30

STREET SECTION Service oriented street.

0 1 2

â&#x2014;? al satwa The Northern stretch of Al Wasl runs through Al Satwa, a mixed-use neighborhood consisting of retail outlets, active ground floors with a variety of commercial activities, condos and detached residential dwellings, as well as public functions such as the Satwa Grand Mosque and the Satwa bus terminal. In this area, where sidewalks are crowded with pedestrian flows the entire day, junctions are very frequent with distances ranging from 130 meters to the maximum of 300 meters, with traffic lights regulating the vehicle traffic and pedestrian crossings every 280-500 meters. Credits: plus.google.

â&#x2014;? umm suqeim A very few places differ more to Al Satwa than Umm Suqeim, a low-density residential neighborhood with detached villas. Al Wasl is the only road infrastructure where some public functions are available, mainly Clinics alternated with a few restaurants, shops and gas stations. In this area most of the functions are reached by car and the pedestrian activity is very limited; junctions, mainly right-in / right-out are far apart and the distance between signalized intersections vary from 1.5 to 2 Kilometers. Credits: plus.google. bus stop

2 mins walk

intersections /sq km

LEED Neighbourhood Development.

5 mins walk Neighbourhood Pattern & Design (NPD).

Smart Location & Linkage (SLL).

Measuring the streets

ACTIVITIES & FUNCTIONS

URBAN SERVICES

While many elements define the character of a street, its physical dimensions set the spectrum of possibilities. To understand and re-imagine Dubai streets it is essential to measure them identifying how space is allocated and what are the consequences of different design choices. This chapter addresses all measurable elements of streets, from the width of carriageways and sidewalks, to design speed and lighting. 78

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

FURNITURE & PAVING

GREENERY & VEGETATION

Allocation of space Several streets are surveyed in depth to identify the recurring dimensions and proportions that characterize Dubai streets. The way a street is used is strongly related to allocation of space to different users. Generally, footfall increases in streets with large sidewalks especially in front of retail destinations or in proximity of key public functions. Large sidewalks also facilitate walking, increasing user comfort and attracting more people along a specific route. Moreover, roads with many and wide lanes become main urban corridors for medium to long distance vehicle trips, attracting more cars and increasing the noise and air pollution in the area. Resulting in reduction of pedestrian movements and decreasing the suitability and success of amenities at ground-floor. The same generally applies to cycling facilities.

PEDESTRIAN

CYCLIST AND TRANSIT RIDER

Between June and August 2017, 36 roads were surveyed to understand and document the state of Dubai streets. While being far from a comprehensive database of all streets in Dubai, the collected data describes road sections that were specifically chosen for their peculiar character: from heavily vehicular to fully pedestrianized, with cycling lanes, and on-street parking. Some of them are very successful public places, which should be taken as examples to follow and replicate in the future, while others leave room for improvements that are addressed and proposed in this book. The diagram on the following page provides a quantitative comparison of all surveyed roads: it is significant to notice that more than 30 meters are dedicated to pedestrians in the Boulevard (n.34) and City Walk (n.09), while in other important streets up to 20 meters are reserved for pedestrians and greenery, such as The Walk at JBR (n.01) and 2nd December Street (n.21). Moreover, it is noticed that most of the streets larger than 40 meters with small quota of sidewalks lack urban quality and result in fewer pedestrians on the ground floor, such as Al Wasl (n.26), Al Barsha Heights (n.11) and 308th Road (n.05). This is not the case of Al Satwa Road (n.06), which has an active ground floor due to its higher urban density and availability of more public transport services.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

PRIVATE TRANSPORT

sheikh zayed frontage rd. (at emirates towers metro station)

financial center rd.

sheikh mohammed bin rashid blvd. (the boulevard)

al abraj st. (marasi drive)

45th st. (holiday inn)

king salman bin abdulaziz al saud st.

marina walk (promenade)

al sharta st. (the torch)

the palm

5th st. (seaside)

al quoz

al wasl rd.

8th (alserkal)

23a st. residential

6a st.

al difayah st. (2nd december)

naif st.

gold market

al suq st.

textile souk

access limited

21 22

ped only ali bin abi taleb st.

al marsha rd. (moe)

nn (ibis hotel)

al barsha heights

al falak st.

al mustaqbal st. (city walk)

jumeirah beach rd.

63 rd st.

al satwa rd.

308 th rd.

10 th st.

sheikh zayed rd. (frontage)

al gharbi st. (access to roundabout)

al mamsha (the walk)

0.0m

greenery trees + vegetation

20.0m

pedestrian sidewalk + activation

40.0m

street width 60.0m

bike lane cycle path

80.0m

transport public + private

100.0m

parking on street

120.0m

other median

By grouping streets with similar allocation of space, few specific groups are identified and explored further. It will soon be argued that proportions are more indicative than the dimension itself. PEDESTRIAN ONLY

WALKABLE BY DESIGN

SHARED STREET

SERVICE ORIENTED STREET

BUSY STREET

VEHICLE ORIENTED

30 - 40%

40 - 50%

50 - 60%

60 - 70%

70 - 90%

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Allocation of space ■ Pedestrian ■ Greenery ■ Transport ■ Parking ■ Other ■ Bike lane

The above scheme provides a different reading of the collected data during the surveys: instead of providing the precise measures of each street component, the share for each road user is shown, from fully pedestrianized to car-oriented streets. Different combinations and rankings are studied and the one that better describes the perceived reality and the qualities of the street is the one that arranges the streets by their share of driving lanes plus the space for parking. As a result, six different road groups are identified, together with the tipping points where major changes are observed from a fully pedestrianized street to the most car-oriented. It is noteworthy that this is an approximation of the reality and there are surely many cases that do not fit in this classification, however, most of the Dubai streets can be categorized as one of the following.

●a pedestrian only In these streets, pedestrians can roam freely without paying too much attention to vehicles; this is mostly the case of fully pedestrianized areas such as Textile Souk (#17), the Waterfront Promenade in Marina (#30) and in streets where vehicular access is for deliveries only, like in the case of Bur Dubai (#16). ●b walkable by design These streets are designed with the intent of being walkable, with ample space of up to 60-70% dedicated to pedestrian movements; this is generally also reflected in the choice of material as well as in a step-free environment where sidewalks are connected without changing in levels. This category comprises of streets such as The Walk, The Boulevard or the main street cutting through Citywalk, as well as Al Falak Street, in Dubai Media City, where there is a good mix between vehicle lanes, green buffer and a two-way cycling lane.

●c balance between pedestrian and cars These streets have approximately 40 to 50% of the Right of Way dedicated to vehicles; as a result, there is adequate space for pedestrian movements, the ground floors are activated with shops and there are always people walking at every hour of the day in all seasons. However, certain qualities of the previous category (B) are no longer there and some safety measures are required to reduce the perceived vehicle presence. These streets are ideal testing grounds for innovative pilot projects. Few minor interventions would improve them significantly, increasing their attractiveness and turning them into more successful centralities. ●d service oriented street More than 50% of these street sections is dedicated to vehicles: this is the threshold in Dubai where most of the walkability preconditions are missing. Despite having a great potential, like the case of the roads in Al Barsha close to Mall of the Emirates or Al Wasl Road, the design of the streets discourages pedestrian movements. The lack of crossings reduces the permeability of the roads (with a subsequent increase of dangerous behavior of people who wants to cross anyway) and the width of the sidewalks does not allow for proper ground floor activation. These streets could be turned into completely different places by removing or narrowing vehicle lanes, providing more space for other transport modes; some examples of retrofitting strategies are shown in the last chapter. ●e busy street Up to 70% of the width of these streets is dedicated to cars, mostly vehicle lanes apart from narrow roads within quiet residential areas. Vehicle flows are generally high and the lack of ground floor activities is evident. Some isolated cases should instead be transformed due to their strategic role within the city and their potentials. For instance, Jumeirah Beach Road, is the gateway to waterfront and frequent pedestrian crossings would increase the accessibility from neighborhood on its eastern side.

a● promenade

b al falak

c● 2nd december

f● king salman-tram

●f vehicle oriented street Vehicle-oriented streets, with more than 70% of the space dedicated to cars, are designed to facilitate vehicle flows and generally have a key role within the entire road network. Along the main strategic axes, lanes could be potentially dedicated to surface public transport to reinforce transit routes between important city nodes.

How do Dubai streets change in proportion and in space allocation for people and vehicles?

120

street section (m)

The scheme on this page correlates the width of the road to the space dedicated to pedestrians, providing an immediate reading of different groups of roads with similar characteristics.

100

11 06

24 28

36 27

12 03 23

07 30

15 5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

This approach is useful to identify the types of potential interventions applicable to similar road groups; some examples of retrofitting strategies are shown more in detail in the last chapter. Adequate space for pedestrians Improvements can be done at low cost, with high benefits for pedestrian movements Potential for improvements with significant cost implications Interventions require structural and substantial changes ●a city walk High safety

●b ali bin abi taleb st. Average safety

●c 308th st.

Medium safety

35 space dedicated to pedestrians (m) 25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

●d financial center rd. Medium-Low safety

Tell me your speed and I will tell which street you are 40

30 20

5 0 140

KM/H

130

120

Vehicle speed is the element that has the major impact on the road character and the way it is used. Lower speeds encourage an urban type of development while increasing safety for all road users.

90 110

100

PEDESTRIAN STREET: Textile Souk WALKABLE / MAIN STREET: City Walk LOCAL ROAD: The Walk COLLECTOR: Al Wasl ARTERIAL: Sheikh Zayed Rd.

19 4.5 - 5 km/h

09 30 km/h

40 km/h

Currently, there is a global shift, moving away from the rigid application of the standards towards ad hoc design solutions, depending on overall design goals and aspirations. One example is the inspiring case of New York City reducing the width of its vehicle lanes across all five boroughs, decreasing speed for cars and making room for other transport modes, from bicycles to dedicated bus lanes. This strategy paradoxically increased the average speed of vehicles, which today are getting people to destinations quicker since there are less cars on the streets, with fewer conflicts between different transport modes.

The correlation between low vehicle speed and urban quality is consistent in almost every context and especially in Dubai. The posted speed, which by law is assigned to each street, goes hand in hand with the road design speed: a set of precise regulations are defining all geometric characteristics of each road type, with the goal of ensuring an adequate level of safety for moving vehicles. The introduction of these regulations happened worldwide mainly in the second half of the 20th century, to cope with the boom of the automobile. Dubai boomed in a time where road manuals were widely adopted worldwide, therefore many standards were inspired by the international context: the growth of the city coincided with the diligent application of design manuals. Similar to many other cases, from the USA to the Far-East, resulting in certain degree of homogeneity throughout the city, however, it is excessively focused on private vehicles, paying less attention to other road users.

Similarly, slower roads in Dubai have significant differences from roads of the same width but different posted speed. The case of the Boulevard at Downtown is certainly a great example of large infrastructure with very high-quality standards: being a 40 Km/h road it was possible to design smaller turning radiuses providing more space for pedestrians at intersections, and raised pedestrian crossings to prioritize pedestrians.

120

100

06 50 km/h

03 60-70 km/h

80 km/h

40 km/h

Al Mamsha - The Walk

Al Wasl Road

70 km/h

50 km/h

Al Barsha Road - Mall of the Emirates

100 km/h

Financial Center Road

The importance of shading Dubai's summer temperatures and humidity levels have very few rivals worldwide: how to deal with such harsh climate conditions? If you have been to Dubai in summer, it is impossible to forget how difficult it is to move around some areas in certain times of the day: with temperature above 45°C and humidity up to 80%, it is definitely a challenge to move around on foot from June to September. While many use private vehicles, Uber or taxis to get to their destination, while benefiting from air conditioning, a significant portion of the resident population move around by public transport, being ultimately a pedestrian. Where possible, all pedestrian flows are concentrated only on the side of the road that is shaded, where a lot of at-grade retail activities are in place, pedestrians are often relieved by air-conditioning spilling out of the entrances of the shops. Where none of this is available, it is common to see men and woman with sun umbrella walking on small sidewalks along large carriageways. Dubai will need to cope with this issue in the coming decades to increase walking opportunities across the entire city, rethinking design solutions similar to other cities. In Seville, one of the hottest cities in Southern Spain, the larger streets in the center are equipped with tents in summer that at the same time provide efficient shading while becoming an icon of the city. Another smart way to reduce the perceived temperature is to decrease the overall road width, increasing shading from adjacent buildings, or to reduce lanes width, diminishing the heat generated by every square meters of asphalt.

25° 16’ 11” N 55°16’ 18’11” 34”NE 25° 55° 16’ 18’ 11” 34” NE 25° 55° 18’ 34” E

1 location utc + 4:00

1717

2 sunpath in dubai city

3 thermal impact e.g. between strets

16 16

Relatively recent studies proved how the comfort (or discomfort in this case) of pedestrians is mainly due to the time spent in harsh climate conditions rather than the temperature itself. In other words, it is not necessary to provide a full air-conditioned route from A to B, it is instead to provide frequent relief to human body along the journey. By alternating open air, shaded areas with cooled zones it is possible to provide an adequate level of comfort for pedestrians, encouraging them to walk also during warmer months of the year. It is also possible to predict and plan using proper tools, software and experience, which routes will be used mainly in summer, in winter and during the whole year.

SHADOW SHADOW

16 16 16

15 15 15

14 10 10 11 12 13 14

15 15

10 11 12 13 14

14 14 14

13 11 12 13 11 12 13SUNPATH 11 12

SUNPATH SUNPATH

10 10

9 9

8 8

Walking under the sun.

A matter of time: same street, different time Day

provision of greenery

shading provision

thermal comfort

functions and activities

urban services

activities network

definition of boundaries

pedestrian areas

urban furniture

Streets offer different opportunities and services to the users depending on the time of the day. Street lighting plays a key role in allowing or denying certain types of activities during nighttime: while in Downtown or City Walk lighting is continuous and well positioned along the main roads, in the seaside only the spots with public functions are illuminated.

Night

degrees + colors variety

lighting elements

urban furniture

hierarchy of spots

temporary activities

light in movement

definition of boundaries

light paths

light containers

Street Elements The diversity and livability of streets are related to the elements composing them; from the quality of the chosen materials to the types of crossings, bike racks and benches, everything affects the way streets are being used by residents and visitors. This section explores what are the recurring and outstanding elements that characterize Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s streetscape.

PEDESTRIAN AREAS

GREENERY

BIKE LANE

JUNCTIONS

MATERIALS

SHADING

FURNITURE

BOLLARDS

PEDESTRIAN CROSSING

PARKING

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

SIGNALS

Greenery The introduction of greenery and vegetation requires great coordination among all consultants and designers throughout the different project phases. Vegetation is one of the few elements that is able to convey the spirit of a place in a very direct yet subtle manner; consistency and variations of trees throughout a neighborhood or a city influences the perception of the places significantly. Dubai, despite its climatic conditions, is planting lush vegetation in its main arteries and some selected areas; a significant maintenance effort is essential since the planting costs might be relatively low, operation costs of greenery have to be borne forever.

Besides its purely aesthetic and poetic qualities, the cultivation of trees and greenery is excellent for increasing thermal comfort for pedestrians, providing shading and cooling temperature in their proximity. Despite the common belief, proper plantation of trees in new master plans is a tough task requiring great coordination among all consultants and designers in different phases of the project: the type and location of trees depend strongly on the location of utilities, and vice versa. Tall trees subtract space from utilities, which

16 m 14 m 12 m 10 m 8m 6m 4m 2m

roots

area on street

location on street section street code

01 03

26 28 30 36

generally cannot be located underneath vehicle traffic lanes resulting in widening the Right of Way, detaching the plot boundaries and reducing buildings footprint. By re-thinking the way utilities impact on the composition of Dubai’s roads, it is possible to design new generation of roads, which are more compact, green and therefore shaded, walkable, with higher urban quality.

Allocation of space ■ Sidewalk ■ Flexible ■ Vegetation area / median

16 m 14 m 12 m 10 m 8m 6m 4m 2m

07 23

04 28

09 27 28 30 31

Al Mustaqbal Street - City Walk

Jumeirah Beach Road

Marina Walk (Promenade)

63rd Street

Shoreline Residences in The Palm Jumeirah

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard

Al Satwa Road

Al Barsha Road

Financial Center Road

Modular street planning vs. scattered street elements Modular streets allow for flexibility during all design phases and over time; instead of relying on standard road sections, every street should be designed in order to accommodate seamlessly a great variety of different configurations. While planning new infrastructure, one big risk is to think in terms of typical road sections. Streets change significantly along their length: different elements need to be accommodated including benches, light poles, greenery, on-street parking and bus shelters, and many more. During the planning phase it is crucial to imagine how and by whom the street is used and consequently take into account all the necessary elements. It is a difficult task that requires adjustments through all design phases: along the path from planning to construction, requirements and level of details change significantly, and new elements that were not considered in the previous phase need to be included in the revised design. In case street design has no intrinsic order and rules, the new elements will be implemented depending on the capability of the designer each time. This is too risky and often results in elements placed randomly or in the only possible location, which is not necessarily the ideal one.

Light pole on sidewalk.

Road sign on sidewalk.

Urban furniture in Dubai Design District.

Smart approach is to design a modular infrastructure since early planning phases, to ensure flexibility and adaptability to varying conditions. For example, if a street has both on-street parking and greenery along the curb, their width should be the same, so that there will be no widening or bottleneck in the sidewalk. Other basic street elements like street lights or signs will be automatically located in the same buffer space. Larger roads and sidewalks should have multiple modules where other elements, like benches, cycle lanes, bike racks or wayfinding systems are located.

Cycling lane in Citywalk.

100

sidewalk 11.70

3.10 2.20 2.00

11.10

greenery 5.90

14.60

STREET SECTION Urban elements give human scale to Al Mustaqbal St.

STREET PLAN Modular organization along consistent stripes.

Car lane with different paving.

greenery 3.50 3.00

sidewalk 6.50 1.50

sidewalk 6.50 0 1 23

0 1 23

Sidewalk area.

101

Bike lanes and facilities

Cycling is not popular in Dubai, however, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is introducing an extensive bicycle network with the ambitious target of 10% modal share shift. Dubai is investing by far more than any Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) city in cycling infrastructure, with up to 900 Kilometers of planned bike lanes, which could significantly change the mobility habits of the city. Bike lanes have the potential to reconnect neighborhoods alongside large infrastructure, which are today very difficult to cross. To move from one side of Sheikh Zayed Road to the opposite one, for example, currently there are two solutions: use the pedestrian bridges in correspondence of the metro stations or drive up to five or six kilometers to the next junction, U-turn and get to the destination. Cycling is an alternative mode to reconnect neighborhoods. It is noteworthy that pedestrian bridges should be accessible for bikes and underpass connections has to be provided where possible. Network analysis carried out following Space Syntax methods and tools (see chapter 2) shows the potential in the current Dubai structure to create successful centralities that would be efficiently organized around movements of approximately 2500 meters, where bicycles are far more efficient than cars, considering the journey cost (money and time) to reach the vehicle and park it close to the destination. Although the harsh summer climate conditions would make cycling very difficult (if not impossible), Dubai can count on seven to eight months of temperate climate with no rain, perfectly suitable to move around with a bike. Furthermore, being a sustainable and convenient transport mode for residents and employees, cycling would be an attractive leisure activity for the increasing number of tourists.

Bike rental point.

Bike racks at Metro Station.

Cycling lane.

New York City has shown that an efficient cycling network can be put in place in a very short period. During the Bloomberg administration, in approximately six years, more than 300 miles of protected bike lanes were created at a fraction of the cost of a highway junction. This is a good example in which streets are re-thought, narrowing lanes and making room for other modes. Dubai has surely ample space within the Right of Way and the implementation of the planned network is most likely to occur soon. Intersection with cycling facilities.

102

sidewalk 3.60

parking 2.50

7.40

median 4.80

7.30

parking bike lane greenery sidewalk 2.50 1.0 3.90 4.20 2.00

greenery 8.50

sidewalk 4.50

STREET SECTION Bike lane are fully integrated in the road design of Al Falak St.

0 1 2 3

STREET PLAN Vegetation elements along the bike lane.

0 1 2 3

Detail of bike lane.

Safety elements.

Buffer between bike lane and parked cars increase safety for all users.

103

It is believed for decades that Dubai is a car-oriented city. But the city is ready for a switch, a positive change towards a more pedestrian-oriented environment and walkable streets. Intersection management and design are the key factors for increasing pedestrian movements, since it is where the interaction between people and vehicles is higher. Typical planning tools in Dubai and worldwide do not even consider pedestrians in traffic engineering analysis for junctions, prioritizing cars throughout the entire design process.

Pedestrian Crossing at Happiness Street in Business Bay

104

105

Pedestrian crossings Pedestrian crossings are where pedestrian and vehicule flows intersect, defining de facto what are the priorities and who are the privileged users of streets in different areas of Dubai. From compact and nicely paved to large with complete absence of pedestrian facilities, there is a very large spectrum of solutions. Three fundamental design principles are addressed below. â&#x2014;? frequent pedestrian crossings are necessary to allow users to get to destination on foot in the quickest and most effective way, therefore encouraging pedestrian activity at the ground floor. If only a few routes would be provided, due to very long block size or lack of pedestrian crossings, significant opportunities to activate an entire area will be lost, while informal crossings in dangerous areas would increase. â&#x2014;? pedestrian desire lines should be planned or respected to allow quick and intuitive routes. This is done providing pedestrian crossings at each intersection where flows usually meet and through mid-block connections, where block size is too big or in the proximity of significant attractors/ generators, usually preferring in this case the implementation of traffic calming design solutions and measures. â&#x2014;? compact intersections allow for more comfortable and safer pedestrian movements. On the one hand, people routes are not deviated from the straight desire line, which they want to follow. On the other hand, they increase pedestrian safety as vehicle speed is decreased due to smaller turning radiuses, while the time spent by people in the carriageway would decrease.

106

34 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard Pedestrian crossings in latest developments show an increased attention to traffic calming measures, alongside a clear intention to implement pedestrian-oriented environments that are safer for all road users.

107

Dubai Tram and its impact on public realm Opened in 2014, Dubai Tram is the latest transport mode introduced in the city: A ten-kilometer network with eleven stations.

The Dubai Tram stretches from Al Sufouh to Marina, connecting different neighborhoods to each other. At the local scale it disconnects the public realm due to the barriers installed on both sides of the tracks. The tram is completely segregated from all other transport modes, except at junctions in order to increase safety: this includes pedestrians as well, that are allowed to cross only at stations and intersections, which are often 500 to 600 meters apart. The result is a street that is bound to strict confines with excessively channeled pedestrian movements, totally in contrast with tram environments elsewhere, where the space dedicated for private vehicles, tram and pedestrians share a continuous and obstacle-free public realm. Of course, this might increase friction and accidents. Lessons learnt in other countries are worth examining as part of long and tedious process for improving safety by changing

behavior. The massive barriers are somehow in contrast with the very gentle technical solution chosen for providing electricity to vehicles, with a third rail which provides ground-level power supply instead of the typical overhead pantograph. This is a pioneering solution that was implemented for the first time in Bordeaux in 2003 and is currently used only in a few french cities, in Dubai and in couple of chinese cities; this technology is usually chosen for minimizing the visual impact of the infrastructure, mainly in historic city centers. This is just the beginning; Dubai Tram will most likely change over time, opening its barriers and increasing permeability and connectivity across its sides; the extension in Phase II could be the ideal testing ground to explore alternative solutions and pilot projects that would grant both high safety standards and good urban quality.

Tram JBR Marina Tram Stop Tram Line Walking distance (km) Walking time (min)

0.7 KM 9 MIN

MEDIA CITY

J.B.RESIDENCE

MINA SEYAHI 0.8 KM 9 MIN

JUMEIRAH BEACH RESIDENCE 1 0.95 KM 12 MIN

1.1 KM 14 MIN

DUBAI MARINA

J.L.TOWERS

1.4 KM 18 MIN

JUMEIRAH BEACH RESIDENCE 2

LEGEND TRAM STOP TRAM LANE WALKING DISTANCE WALKING TIME

108

JUMEIRAH LAKES TOWERS 1.5 KM 19 MIN

MARINA TOWERS

sidewalk 4.00

median 5.50

3.10

median 4.50

7.00

median 7.50

7.50

1.0

4.00

sidewalk 3.30

STREET SECTION The Right of Way of the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud St. is mainly dedicated to vehicles.

0 1

2 3

STREET PLAN Absence of shading elements.

0 1

2 3

Tram stop.

Safety elements.

Tram fences disconnect the two sides of the street .

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Air-conditioned bus stops: from shelters to service hubs There are two types of bus stops in Dubai: the majority is the standard pole, with simple bus line information and time schedule and a growing number of air-conditioned stops, usually located in denser areas or along strategic public transport corridors. These stops were initially introduced in 2007 and they consist in an enclosed box with eight to ten seats, cooled in warmer months by a standard indoor air handling unit with external fan coil unit. Where ridership is high or expected to increase, two stops are installed aside each other, to double the capacity for waiting passengers. While these stops are certainly useful in the short term to encourage public transport usage and ridership increase, they will require some design review in order to be capable to accommodate the expected increase in public transport users in the future. This review might not include just their shape or size, but a wider range of design issues that could profoundly change the role of the stops within usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; everyday routine. An innovative program called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Smart bus shelterâ&#x20AC;? was launched in 2016 to introduce services within at least 100 bus stops, from minimart operating 24/7, to F&B outlets, to courier services. This is one of the largest bus stops retrofit attempts so far adopted worldwide, and it paves the road for further tests and improvements: Dubai should lead the research for a new type of stop suitable for metropoleis in very harsh climate conditions, re-imagining the relation between buildings, sidewalks and waiting areas for public transport users.

Since 2007 Dubai has been installing fully A/C stops to increase user comfort and public transport ridership.

Some air-conditioned bus stops in Dubai are fully turned into billboards for advertising. Source: Capitalgroup.

Smart Shelter Bus stop Bur Dubai area

Bus shelther in Bur Dubai.

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Each unit provides different services to target clients according to their location. Source: smartshelterdubai.

sidewalk sidewalk 3.00 .5 4.90

1.60 1.0

9.50

STREET SECTION + PLAN Bus stop in 2nd December St.

1.0

greenery 5.50

0 1 2 3

Lay-by bus stops in urban contexts narrow sidewalks while decreasing transit performance

sidewalk 9.00

2.50

STREET SECTION + PLAN Pedestrian crossing in 2nd December St.

9.50

1.0

greenery 5.50

0 1 2 3

The lay-by bus stop is a very suburban typology, generally implemented in those situations where a public service with low frequency is deprioritized compared to private vehicles. In city centers and dense urban contexts, this typology should generally be avoided in order to prioritize public transport modes, decreasing operation time at every stop and ultimately operation costs. In Dubai there are many lay-by bus stops, also in central areas like 2nd December Street, which should be rethought in order to promote better public transport performances and higher ridership.

Bus stops often create bottlenecks on sidewalks.

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Future-proofing Dubai The city introduced its first dedicated bus lanes in 2010, primarily in the most central and congested areas; since then, the overall length of the network increased and a new Dubai Bus Rapid Transit Master Plan is now under discussion. The design and implementation of an extended network of dedicated bus lanes could significantly change the mobility patterns in Dubai, as it did in many other cities in South America and other contexts.

Buses fleet in Dubai. Source: Wikimedia.

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Dubai has wide roads that can be easily converted into transit corridors: conceding one or more vehicle lanes would make room for a far more efficient transport mode, at a fraction of the cost of a tramway. The main challenge in the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network consists in introducing transit corridors without creating additional barriers at street level, looking for the right balance between system capacity and local pedestrian connectivity. Dubai is the only city setting a specific goal for future driverless modal share, and the target is very ambitious: 25% of all trips are planned to be driverless by 2030. In the era of upcoming mobility revolutions, Dubai will surely play a leading role in automation, and several initiatives are taken in multiple directions. ● The fully automated metro system, moves up to 5% of all trips in Dubai, with more lines planned in the future. Bus Network ■ Express line Express Stop ■ CBD Bus route CBD Bus Stop ■ Local Bus route Local Bus Stop

● In 2016-17 a driverless minibus was tested in three pedestrian areas, in Downtown, World Trade Center and Business Bay, with positive results and interest from the press and public. ● Although being far from implementation, the first tests for RTA flying taxis were done in September 2017 with the Chinese vehicle EHang 184, and automated helicopter with the capacity of one person.

Existing Bus network.

● Again in 2017, RTA ordered 200 Tesla cars with hardware ready for upgrade to full automation in the future, to be included in its taxi fleet. As expected, and as already anticipated by the Authorities, the test and introduction of driverless buses and taxis will be gradual and they will not merge with general traffic in the first years: dedicated driverless lanes will most likely be put in place, with sensors and cameras monitoring the performance of the vehicles and special measures to intervene in case of emergency situations. The dedicated bus lanes of today can easily be turned into testing lanes of tomorrow, allowing for the introduction of driverless vehicles at no, or low costs. This is a key issue that should be taken into account while drafting the Bus Rapid Transit Master Plan, which could be the key step towards a smooth transition to automated connected mobility.

Driveless vehicle. Source: DNA India.

Flying taxi. Source: Wikimedia.

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114

Retrofitting strategies

The last chapter shows a series of proposed interventions to improve the quality of some of the existing roads in Dubai, chosen as reference. The main objective is to identify typical actions and strategies that can be applied on a much larger set of roads, providing diffused benefits across the entire city. Therefore, for each case study there is a main strategy focusing on a specific goal, from the introduction of bus and cycle lanes, to the improvement of the pedestrian infrastructure. 115

Strategy 01 Increase pedestrian safety and public realm quality by narrowing vehicular lanes This street, located in Al Barsha nearby Mall of the Emirates, is a lively street with hotels and retail at ground floor. Both international franchise and local businesses are available, creating an interesting mix of different functions, completed by restaurants with outdoor seating areas. It is common to find taxi parked or dropping-off passengers in double row, given the significant number of hotels and the wide width of the lanes allowing them to stop without impeding the twoway vehicular traffic.

Pedestrian Crossing.

â&#x2014;? existing situation The road has two-vehicular lanes in opposite directions and onstreet parking on both sides of the carriageway. The lane width is ample for a very local road and there are no pedestrian crossings points. sidewalk 3.80

13.70

sidewalk 3.80

â&#x2014;? main intervention By narrowing the lanes width, it would be possible to widen one of the two sidewalks. This would improve the pedestrian conditions while providing more space for commercial activities and maintaining the same opportunities for vehicles.

116

sidewalk 3.80

11.50

sidewalk 6.00

AXONOMETRY Main intervention on the street.

â&#x2014;? action 01 narrowing vehicular lanes

â&#x2014;? action 02 introduce parklets

â&#x2014;? action 03 safe pedestrian crossings

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/.

By reducing the width of the lanes from 4.35 m to 3.25 m it is possible to provide space for alternative modes without losing curb space for parking or drop-off. This will also decrease vehicular speed making the road safer for all users.

Parklets can be implemented to increase the area for retailers or other local businesses. This solution can be delivered with temporary and reversible interventions allowing quick and low-cost implementation.

Pedestrian crossing results in more permeability. By reducing the lane width, the distance to cross is lower and therefore pedestrian safety is increased.

117

Strategy 02 Increase pedestrian infrastructure with continuous sidewalks

Al Sharta Street is a local access road located in one of the densest built area of Dubai: a couple of small blocks with several skyscrapers including Cayan Tower, The Torch, Princess Tower, etc. Despite the high density and the generous dimension of sidewalks, very low pedestrian activity is recorded. The situation is worsened by frequent curb cuts that make walking more difficult, as well as the presence of delivery vehicles on sidewalks.

sidewalk 8.00

7.00

sidewalk 8.00

Access to parking.

â&#x2014;? existing situation The Right of Way is 30 meters wide, with two lanes per direction divided by a narrow median. Generous sidewalks on both sides are facing mainly parking entry and exit points, service areas and technical rooms. â&#x2014;? main intervention reconfiguration of continuous sidewalk By removing the frequent curb cuts, it would be possible to provide a generous and continuous pedestrian infrastructure with low cost. The introduction of furniture and shading devices would increase footfall and pedestrian activity for people of the adjacent buildings or directed to the Promenade on the Marina. 118

AXONOMETRY Main intervention on the street.

● action 01 continuous sidewalk

● action 02 furniture and shading

● action 03 loading bays

The large size of the sidewalk allows to implement urban furniture, seating areas and thick foliage trees to ensure shading.

Dedicating areas for loading/ unloading and short stays will free the sidewalk from informally parked vehicles.

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Strategy 03 Increase public transport use and ridership implementing a bus network with dedicated lanes

Al Quoz area.

The 8th street in Al Quoz is a wide primary road that once connected to Happiness Street, will become one of the main arteries of Dubai for North-South commutes. Considering the land use of the surrounding there is almost no pedestrian presence, however, in the area there are interesting destinations such Alserkal Avenue capable of attracting users from the entire city. â&#x2014;? existing situation The Right of Way is very generous and consists of three lanes per direction, divided by a narrow median. There are very few traffic lights.

â&#x2014;? main intervention conversion of one vehicular lane per direction to dedicated bus lane This lane could therefore be turned into bus only lane used also by taxies, emergency vehicles, etc. increasing service reliability and ridership.

120

sidewalk 3.50 3.50

11.00

3.50

sidewalk 3.50

BUS ONLY

AXONOMETRY Main intervention on the street.

â&#x2014;? action 01 on-street transit way

â&#x2014;? action 02 transit stop BUS ONLY

BUS STOP 7.20

The wide road section makes it possible to reduce the number of vehicular lanes and allocate one of them to bus only.

3.60

7.20

Transit stops are strategically located in proximity of junctions and key destinations, equipped with shelters and adequate shading.

BUS STOP

121

Strategy 04 Promoting sustainable transport and decreasing car ridership by implementing cycling lanes

Concentration of healthcare infrastructure.

Al Wasl Road is one of the key infrastructures of Dubai, running North-South for more than 20 Kilometer from Deira to Umm Suqeim. It is characterized by two lanes per direction, divided by a lush median, and service roads with parking and building access points on both sides.

â&#x2014;? main intervention reconfiguration of the service road to introduce cycling lanes There is ample space to make room for one-way cycle lanes on both sides of the road. The narrowing of the sidewalk would not create discomfort for the few pedestrians, while the cycle lanes would effectively promote cycling in the surrounding neighborhoods.

5,2 m 2,5 m 4,1 m 1,5 m 5.20

2.50

4.10

1.5

5,2 m 2,5 m 4,1 m 1,5 m

3.50

122

2.50 1 2.50

3.00

1.5

7,5 m 7.50

7,5 m

Proportion of the lanes.

4,8 m 4.80

4,8 m

7,3 m 7.30

7,3 m

7.30

1,5 m 4,6 m 2,5 m 1.5

4.60

2.50

1,5 m 4,6 m 2,5 m

1.5 3.00

2.50 1 2.00

5,2 m 5.20

5,2 m

7.50

4.80

3,5 m 2,5 m1 2,5 m 3 m 1,5 m

7,5 m

4,8 m

7,3 m

1,5 m 3 m 2,5 m 1 2 m 3,6 m

3.60

3,5 m 2,5 m1 2,5 m 3 m 1,5 m

7,5 m

4,8 m

7,3 m

1,5 m 3 m 2,5 m 1 2 m 3,6 m

AXONOMETRY Main intervention on the street.

● action 01 narrowing service road

● action 02 path marked for safety

● reference cycling facilities

BIKE ONLY

Source: https://www.forms-surfaces.com.

With the reduction of the vehicular lane, it is possible to have a 2 m bike lane, including a safety buffer, and keep a sidewalk of 3.5 meters.

Path marks are used to inform the cyclists and drivers of potential conflicts in correspondence of plots accesses.

Bicycle racks and related facilities are installed in the proximity of the cycle lanes in order to increase the usage and accessibility to the service.

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Strategy 05 Promote traffic calming measures and restricted vehicular areas if pedestrian activity is already in place Al Fahidi Street is a lively road with very active frontage in Bur Dubai. The density of dwellings, workplaces and services makes this area populated with people all day long, providing an environment that is de facto dominated by pedestrian activities while vehicles generally drive through the area at low speed. Through design, it would be possible to increase pedestrian safety and provide necessary connections and crossing points along the key routes.

Commerce area in Bur Dubai.

2.80

7.40

1.60

â&#x2014;? reference boston shared street Key central streets around the world are redesigned providing a flushed surface where pedestrians, cars and other vehicles share the same space. The vehicular lane is indicated through road marking and priority is generally given to pedestrians. This intervention has increased pedestrian activity is almost all cases while diminishing the number of accidents.

Source: https://bostondental.com/.

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AXONOMETRY Main intervention on the street.

● action 01 road redesign

● action 02 shared streets

● action 03 traffic calming measures

ZONE 30

2.30

2.50

3.20

3.70

By reducing vehicular lanes from two to one, it is possible to provide more space for pedestrians and for delivery vehicles.

A shared street promotes pedestrian activity and encourages vehicles to move with moderate speed.

By using appropriate road signs and bollards, pedestrian safety is increased.

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Systematica Established in 1989, Systematica is a transport planning and mobility engineering consultancy with its main office in Milan (Italy) and subsidiary offices in Beirut (Lebanon) and Mumbai (India). Systematica operates at multiple scales and provides a wide array of integrated consultancy services in the sectors of transport and urban planning, including national, urban and development scale transport planning, strategic advisory and due diligence for infrastructure investments, traffic analysis and management, mobility engineering in complex buildings and events venues with a special focus on pedestrian flows, parking design, vertical transportation, and application of advanced infomobility systems and technologies. Systematica is committed to its company statement and mission to deliver highly ethical and professional invest in Research and Development for seeking new approaches and solutions for the ever-changing issue of mobility and transport planning; put social inclusion on top priority, and; search for sound engineering solutions to support sustainable growth. www.systematica.net

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Transform Transport Transform Transport is a research unit focused on innovative mobility solutions. While mobility and transport related technologies are emerging with increasingly fast paced, Transform Transport explores how they can have positive impacts on our cities, neighborhood and buildings. Founded by Systematica, it grounds on 30 years of experience in the field of transport planning and mobility engineering, investigating the future of Milan and other cities worldwide. www.transformtransport.com

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Credits Dubai Street Atlas Walkable Cities of Tomorrow ISBN: 978-88-944179-1-3 Authors: Filippo Bazzoni, Rawad Choubassi, Anahita Rezaallah Team: Carla Beingolea, Filippo Bregola, Alessio PraticĂ˛, Dante Presicce A special thanks to all collaborators of Systematica who contributed to this book.

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