The vitality of commercial streets by yasminayoussef

ARAB ACADEMY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MARITIME TRANSPORT College of Engineering and Technology Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design Department

TOWARDS A REFERENTIAL SET FOR THE VITALITY OF COMMERCIAL STREETS Case study: Al - Attarine Mosque Street, Alexandria, Egypt By YASMINA AHMED YOUSSEF A thesis submitted to AASTMT in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER'S OF SCIENCE in ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Supervisors Dr. Alaa Eldin Nagy Sarhaan

Dr. Rania Alsayed Abdelgalil

Associate professor

Architectural and Environmental Design Department College of Engineering and Technology Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport Alexandria

2017 yasminayoussef@adj.aast.edu

Abstract

Commercial streets are the city’s mirror, they reflect the city’s status in general and particularly the local quality of life. Vitality is the core quality that determines successful open spaces. Thus, vital commercial streets are one of the main indicators of a successful city. Deterioration of the vitality in Commercial Street leads to dull open spaces or chaotic ones resulting in loss of the Commercial Street’s role in offering a pleasant experience that attracts users. Alexandria is among the cities that face this problem. Historically, it was nominated as a pioneer city within the Mediterranean area for its successful urban spaces. Its present condition fails to satisfy many of its citizens. Thus, most of its citizens use other commercial venues instead of using its original commercial streets. This situation has influenced the economy of the city negatively and weakened peoples’ relationship with their physical environment. This is why the research at hand focuses on the vitality of commercial streets. Through highlighting different indicators- “concepts” of vitality- this research aims at concluding a referential set, which is suitable to be used for appraising the vitality state of commercial streets. Through the theoretical, analytical and empirical methods, the research has been developed to reach that aim. After concluding the referential set from the theoretical base, the research examines it on three vital commercial streets (Mariahhilfer Street, Las Ramblas, and Istiklal Street) to investigate which concepts are significant. Finally, the referential set is applied on Al Attarine Mosque Commercial Street in Alexandria, finding that Al Attarine Mosque Street falls short on several dimension that would lead it to noble state of vitality.

Keywords: urban open spaces – streets - commercial - vitality - Meta concepts - Alexandria.

Table of contents: Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………I Abstract………………………………………………………………..………………..II Table of contents……………………………………………………….……………….III List of figures………………………………………………………………..…………VI List of tables……………………………………………………………………………IX.. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

1.1

Commercial streets strategy. .................................................................................. 2

1.2

Research problem ................................................................................................... 2

1.3

Research Aim and Objectives ................................................................................ 2

1.4

Research Question .................................................................................................. 3

1.5

Research Scope ....................................................................................................... 3

1.6

Hypothesis .............................................................................................................. 3

1.7

Methodology .......................................................................................................... 3

1.8

Research Limitation ............................................................................................... 4

1.9

Research Structure .................................................................................................. 4

: The State of Vitality in Theory ................................................................................... 6 2.1

Vitality as an Emerging Term ................................................................................ 6

2.2

Measuring Vitality .................................................................................................. 9

2.3

Concepts for the State of Vitality ......................................................................... 10

2.4

Dimensions of Vitality ......................................................................................... 11

: Concepts for the state of Vitality .............................................................................. 14 3.1

Accessibility ......................................................................................................... 14

3.1.1

Accessibility as a Concept ............................................................................ 14

3.1.2

The Physical Dimension ............................................................................... 16

3.1.3

The Social Dimension: .................................................................................. 18

3.1.4

The Economic Dimension:............................................................................ 19

3.2

Diversity ............................................................................................................... 21

3.2.1

Diversity as a Concept .................................................................................. 21

3.2.2

The Physical Dimension ............................................................................... 22

3.2.3

The Social Dimension ................................................................................... 24

3.2.4

The Economic Dimension ............................................................................. 27

3.3

Legibility .............................................................................................................. 29

3.3.1

Legibility as a Concept.................................................................................. 29

3.3.2

The Physical Dimension ............................................................................... 31

3.3.3

The Social Dimension ................................................................................... 33

3.3.4

The Economic Dimension ............................................................................. 33

3.4

Safety .................................................................................................................... 34 iii

3.4.1

Safety as a Concept ....................................................................................... 34

3.4.2

The Physical Dimension ............................................................................... 35

3.4.3

The Social Dimension ................................................................................... 37

3.4.4

The Economic Dimension ............................................................................. 38

3.5

3.5.1

Comfort as a Concept .................................................................................... 39

3.5.2

The Physical Dimension ............................................................................... 41

3.5.3

The Social Dimension ................................................................................... 42

3.6

Aura as a Concept ......................................................................................... 43

3.6.2

The Physical Dimension: .............................................................................. 44

3.6.3

The Social Dimension ................................................................................... 46

3.6.4

The Economic Dimension ............................................................................. 46

Vitality in practice ....................................................................................................... 51 Mariahilfer Street, Vienna .................................................................................... 51

4.1.1

The state of vitality in Mariahilfer Street ...................................................... 52

4.1.2

Achieving the concepts for vitality ............................................................... 55

4.2

Las Ramblas Street, Barcelona ............................................................................. 62

4.2.1

The cycle of vitality in Las Ramblas............................................................. 62

4.2.2

Achieving the concepts for vitality ............................................................... 64

4.3

Aura ...................................................................................................................... 43

3.6.1

4.1

Comfort ................................................................................................................ 39

Istiklal Street, Istanbul ......................................................................................... 71

4.3.1

The cycle of vitality in Istiklal Street ............................................................ 72

4.3.2

Achieving the concepts for vitality ............................................................... 73

Al Attarine Mosque Commercial Street as a Case Study ........................................... 81 5.1

Context ................................................................................................................. 82

5.2

Methodology ........................................................................................................ 84

5.3

Al- Attarine Mosque street analysis ..................................................................... 88

5.3.1

Accessibility Meta concept ........................................................................... 88

5.3.2

Diversity Meta concept ................................................................................. 91

5.3.3

Legibility Meta concept ................................................................................ 97

5.3.4

Safety Meta concept ...................................................................................... 99

5.3.5

Comfort meta concept ................................................................................. 103

5.3.6

Aura Meta Concept ..................................................................................... 104

: Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................... 110 6.1

Vitality and the derived Meta concepts .............................................................. 110

6.2

Case study and Conclusion................................................................................. 112

6.3

Recommendations .............................................................................................. 114 iv

6.4

Further research .................................................................................................. 114

References ................................................................................................................. 115

Appendices ..................................................................................................................... i 8.1

Appendix 1: Vacant Shops Map, land Use Map ....................................................ii

8.2

Appendix 2: Interview Template and Results ...................................................... iii

8.3

APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire Template And Results ..........................................vii

Results of questionnaire ................................................................................................ viii 8.4

APPENDIX 4 : Pedestrian Tracing Map “Shadowing” .......................................vii

8.5

Appendix 5: Gate Method ....................................................................................vii

8.6

Appendix 6: illustration of indicators appraisal through three methods. .............. ix

List of figures: FIGURE 1-1, SHOWS THE RESEARCH STRUCTURE, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........................................................... 5 FIGURE 2-1, SHOWS THE DIFFERENT SYNONYMS OF VITALITY, SOURCE: (THESAURUS.COM, ACCESSED: 1.2017) ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 FIGURE 2-2: AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELY SEES, PARIS. SOURCE: JULESANDJULIE.COM ....................................... 7 FIGURE 2-3CHENGDU COMMERCIAL STREET SOURCE: SHUTTER.COM ................................................................ 7 FIGURE 2-4: SHOWS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FOOTFALL MEASUREMENT. SOURCE: HTTP://STEVEGALLOWAY.MYCOUNCILLOR.ORG.UK/TAG/FOOTFALL/ FOOTFALL CHART FOR PARLIAMENT COMMERCIAL STREET .............................................................................................................................. 9 FIGURE 2-5: SHOWS THE TYPES OF YIELD FACTOR. SOURCE: WWW.MORNINGSTAR.COM ................................. 10 FIGURE 2-6: SHOWS THE GENERAL IDEAS OF PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS. SOURCE: RESEARCHER.......................................................................................................................................... 13 FIGURE 3-1 SHOWS THE DIFFERENT THEORISTS WHO STUDIED ACCESSIBILITY ACROSS TIME IN RELATION TO VITALITY, SOURCE: RESEARCHER........................................................................................................... 15 FIGURE 3-2: SHOWS THE THREE MAIN CATEGORIES OF ACCESSIBILITY STUDIED IN LITERATURE. SOURCE: RESEARCHER.......................................................................................................................................... 17 FIGURE 3-3: SHOWS DIFFERENT THEORIES THAT STUDIED DIVERSITY IN RELATIONS TO VITALITY. SOURCE: RESEARCHER.......................................................................................................................................... 22 FIGURE 3-4: SHOWS DONGHU COMMERCIAL STREET IN WUHAN. SOURCE: HTTP://QING.3SHUI.COM/BLOG/13257.HTML .......................................................................................... 23 FIGURE 3-5: SHOWS DAZHALAN COMMERCIAL STREET IN BEIJING. SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.86ART.NET/SJ/PRINT. ASP?ARTICLEID=2959&PAGE=2 .................................................... 23 FIGURE 3-6SHOWS DIFFERENT THEORISTS’ STUDIES OF LEGIBILITY ACROSS TIME. SOURCE: RESEARCHER .... 29 FIGURE 3-7: SHOWS THE LAYERS OF CHARACTERISTICS THAT DIFFERENT THEORISTS USE TO DEFINE LEGIBILITY. SOURCE: RESEARCHER ....................................................................................................... 30 FIGURE 3-8: ILLUSTRATES DIFFERENT THEORISTS WHO STUDIED SAFETY ACROSS TIME. SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................................................................................................................................................... 35 FIGURE 3-9 SHOWS TYPES OF SAFETY. SOURCE: LAMBERT, 2005, P.44-45 ...................................................... 36 FIGURE 3-10: IILLUSTRATES DIFFERENT THEORISTS WHO STUDIED COMFORT. SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........... 40 FIGURE 3-11, ILLUSTRATES DIFFERENT THEORISTS WHO STUDIED AURA LINKED TO VITALITY ....................... 44 FIGURE 3-12, SHOWS A VITAL STREET IN MADRID, SPAIN, SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK/NEWS/ARTICLE-2184151/SHOWER-COLOUR-ARTIST-CREATESILLUSION-FLOATING-UMBRELLAS-VIVID-ART-INSTALLATION.HTML ...................................................... 45 FIGURE 3-13: ILLUSTRATES GENERAL IDEAS THAT SHAPE AURA. SOURCE: GEHL, 2004.................................. 47 FIGURE 3-14, SHOWS THE LINK BETWEEN THE SIX CONCEPTS AND VITALITY, SOURCE: RESEARCHER .............. 49 FIGURE 4-1 SHOWS MARIHILFER STREET IN 2015,S OURCE: LANDARCHS.COM ................................................ 52 FIGURE 4-2, SHOWS MARIHILFER STREET BEFORE DEVELOPMENT, SOURCE :WALK21 VIENNA.COM,ACCESSED 1.2016 .................................................................................................................................................... 53 FIGURE 4-3, SHOWS THE SCHEDULE OF THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE START TO THE END, SOURCE: STRABEN WIEN, 2015. ............................................................................................................................................ 54 FIGURE 4-4, SHOWS PARTICIPATION OF DIFFERENT STACKHODERS IN DEVELOPING THE STREETS, SOURCE: (STADT WIEN, 2015) .............................................................................................................................. 54 FIGURE 4-5,SHOWS MARIAHILFER ARIAL VIEW, SOURCE:ZAPPEE,2014 ........................................................... 55 FIGURE 4-6, SHOWS MARIHILFER STREET MAP, SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?P=119083017 ............................................... 56 FIGURE 4-7, SHOWS MARIHILF CATHEDRAL, SOURCE: ZAPPEE, 2014 ............................................................... 57 FIGURE 4-8, SHOWS THE DIFFERENT COMFORTABLE FURNITURE FOUND IN THE STREET, SOURCE: LANDARCH.COM ..................................................................................................................................... 59 FIGURE 4-9, SHOWS THE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS THE STREET PASSED THROUGH. SOURCE: (ZAPPEE, 2014). ... 60 FIGURE 4-10,SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF INDICATORS’ ACHIEVEMENT OF IN THE THREE DIMENSIONS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................................................................................................................ 61 FIGURE 4-11, SHOWS THE CITY OF BARCELONA MAP, SOURCE: MAPPING LAS RAMBLAS, 2007 ........................ 62 FIGURE 4-12,SHOWS THE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY INTENSITIES BY TIME SEQUENCE IN LE RAMBLA DAY, SOURCE: REHABILITATION DELA CALLE,2004 ........................................................................................ 63 FIGURE 4-13, SHOWS BOULEVARD AFTER DEVELOPMENT, SOURCE: MOULE & POLYZOIDES ........................... 63 FIGURE 4-15, SHOWS LAS RAMBLAS SECTION, SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.MPARCHITECTS.COM/SITE/THOUGHTS/LES-RAMBLES-LA-RAMBLA-CATALUNYABARCELONA ........................................................................................................................................... 66 FIGURE 4-16,SHOWS THE FIVE NODES IN LAS RAMBLAS STREET,SOURCE: (BOSSCHAERT, 2005)...................... 66

CONT. LIST OF FIGURE: FIGURE 4-17, SHOWS THE THREE DIFFERENT MORPHOLOGIES OF THE STREET, SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.MPARCHITECTS.COM/SITE/THOUGHTS/LES-RAMBLES-LA-RAMBLA-CATALUNYABARCELONA ........................................................................................................................................... 68 FIGURE 4-18,SHOWS THE USAGE AREAS OF LAR RAMBLASWHICH INDICATE THAT 650M2 OF TREES ARE USED IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE THERMAL COMFORT,SOURSE:MARSHALL,2004 ............................................... 69 FIGURE 4-19, SHOWS THE LATEST SECTION OF LAS RAMBLAS LE MAR, SOURCE: MARSHALL, 2004 ................. 69 FIGURE 4-20, SHOWS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF INDICATORS IN THE THREE DIMENSIONS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER 71 FIGURE 4-21, SHOWS THE DECREASE IN POPULATION IN BEYOĞLU, SOURCE: (YETISKUL, 2015) ..................... 72 FIGURE 4-22, SHOWS THE TOP TEN SHOPPING STREETS PROPERTY GROWTH,SOURCE: TURKEYPROPERTY.COM 73 FIGURE 4-23, SHOWS ISTIKLAL STRET, RIGHT BEFORE SITIUATION AND LEFT THE AFTER SITUATION, SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.ISTANBULTRAILS.COM/2008/11/HOW-ISTIKLAL-CADDESI-BECAME-ISTANBULSMOST-FAMOUS-AND-FASHIONABLE-STREET/ .......................................................................................... 73 FIGURE 4-24, SHOWS THE LOCATION OF ISTIKLAL STREET,SOURCE:GOOGLE EARTH ........................................ 74 FIGURE 4-25, SHOWS CONNECTIVITY OF THE STREET WITH OTHER CITY PARTS T, SOURCE:MANCIPALITY,2008 ............................................................................................................................................................... 75 FIGURE 4-26, SHOWS THE STATUS OF ISTIKLAL STREET, SOURCE: GETTYIMAGES.COM .................................... 76 FIGURE 4-27, SHOWS THE LANDMARKS THROUGH THE STREET.SOURCE:WAGNE,2013 .................................... 77 FIGURE 4-28,SHOWS ISTIKLAL'S INNER PERPENDICULAR STREETS,SOURCE:WAGNER,2013 .............................. 78 FIGURE 4-29,ILLUSTRATES THE ACHIEVMENT OF INDICATORS IN THE THREE DIMENSIONS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER .......................................................................................................................................... 80 FIGURE 5-1 SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF VACANT AND BUSY COMMERCIAL PROPERTY IN AL ATTARINE STREET. .................................................................................................................................................. 81 FIGURE 5-2, SHOWS AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE: HTTP://PHAROS.BU.EDU/ALEX/APT/................ 82 FIGURE 5-3, AL ATTARINE COMMERCIAL STREET, SOURCE: GOOGLE EARTH DEVELOPED BY RESEARCHER. .. 83 FIGURE 5-4, THE START OF AL ATTARINE MOSQUE COMMERCIAL STREET SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ................ 83 FIGURE 5-5, SHOWS THE GATE METHOD TABLE, SOURCE: GRAJEWSK ,1992 .................................................... 85 FIGURE 5-6, SHOWS GATE METHOD TECHNIQUE, SOURCE: GRAJEWSK, 1992. .................................................. 85 FIGURE 5-7 SHOWS THE FOUR GATES POINTED IN AL ATTARINE COMMERCIAL STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ............................................................................................................................................................... 86 FIGURE 5-8, SHOWS A SAMPLE OF THE PEDISTRIAN SHADOWING MAP DONE ON ALATTARINE MOSQUE STREET “AL ATTARINE MOSQUE GATE”, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ......................................................................... 86 FIGURE 5-9, SHOWS A SAMPLE OF PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING MAP "SOUK ALATTARINE ",SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................................................................................................................................................... 87 FIGURE 5-10, SHOWS AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET TRAFFIC CONJUNCTIONS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ......... 88 FIGURE 5-11, SHOWS MAIN AND SECONDARY STREETS IN AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ......................................................................................................................................... 88 FIGURE 5-12, SHOWS STREET SIDEWALK WIDTH VARIATION ACROSS THE STREET ........................................... 89 FIGURE 5-13, PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING MAP ILLUSTRATING THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE IN SECTOR 3, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. .................................................................................. 91 FIGURES 5-14, MAP SHOWING DIFFERENT BLOCK LENGTHS IN AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ......................................................................................................................................... 92 FIGURE 5-15 SHOWS A FINE BUILDING MASS IN AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE RESEARCHER. ........ 92 FIGURE 5-16 SHOWS MASSES’ HARMONY, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ................................................................... 92 FIGURE 5-17 SHOWS DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES IN AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE RESEARCHER .......................................................................................................................................... 94 FIGURE 5-18, SHOWS INTERVIEW FINDING ABOUT THE ECONOMIC SUCCESSFULNESS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER.. 95 FIGURE 5-19 PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING ILLUSTRATING THE MOVEMENTS IN SECTOR 3, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ............................................................................................................................................................... 96 FIGURE 5-20 PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING ILLUSTRATING MOVEMENTS IN SECTOR 2, SOURCE RESEARCHER. ...... 96 FIGURE 5-21 PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING MAPPING ILLUSTRATING THE MOVEMENT OF PEDESTRIAN IN SECTOR 1, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ........................................................................................................................... 96 FIGURE 5-22 SHOWS THE MAIN ELEMENTS ON AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET. .............................................. 98 FIGURE 5-23,SHOWS THE QUESTIONNAIRE ANSWERS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER .................................................. 98 FIGURE 5-24 SHOWS THE POOR CONDITION OF BUILDINGS IN SECTOR 3, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ................... 100 FIGURE 5-25 SHOWS PEDESTRIANS USING THE TRAFFIC ROAD INSTEAD OF THE SIDEWALK, SOURCE RESEARCHER. ....................................................................................................................................... 100 FIGURE 5-26,SHOWS THE ANSWERS OF QUESTIONNAIRE, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........................................... 100

vii

CONT. LIST OF FIGURE: FIGURE 5-27 SHOWS THE RESULTS OF THE GATE METHODS, SOURCE RESEARCHER. ....................................... 101 FIGURE 5-28, SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE FOUR GATES, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........................................ 101 FIGURE 5-29, SHOWS ONE OF THE ELEVATIONS FIGURE 5-30, SHOWS AL ATTARINE MOSQUE, SOURCE:RESEARCHER .......................................................................................................................... 105 FIGURE 5-31, SHOWS THE THREE STREET SECTIONS PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING MAP, SOURCE: RESEARCHER .. 106 FIGURE 5-32 ILLUSTRATES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SIX META CONCEPTS IN LAS RAMBLAS STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ......................................................................................................................... 108 FIGURE 5-33,ILLUSTRATES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SIX META CONCEPTS IN MARIAHILFER STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ....................................................................................................................................... 108 FIGURE 5-34,ILLUSTRATES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SIX META CONCEPTS IN ISTIKLAL STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ....................................................................................................................................... 109 FIGURE 5-35, ILLUSTRATES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE SIX META CONCEPTS IN AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ........................................................................................................... 109 FIGURE 8-1,SHOWS THE VACANT SHOPS MAP, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ................................................................ II FIGURE 8-2,SHOWS THE LAND USE MAP, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........................................................................ II FIGURE 8-3, SHOWS THE RESULTS OF THE PEDESTRIAN SHADOWING, SOURCE: RESEARCHER...........................VII

viii

List of tables: TABLE 2-1: ILLUSTRATE DIFFERENT THEORISTS AND HOW THEY LINKED META-CONCEPTS TO VITALITY. SOURCE: RESEARCHER .... 11 TABLE 3-1: SHOWS THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS OF ACCESSIBILITY. SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................................... 20 TABLE 3-2: SHOWS SOCIAL DISTANCES AND THEIR IMPACT. SOURCE: (CLEMENTSEN, 2015)............................................... 26 TABLE 3-3: SHOWS DIVERSITY INDICATORS. SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................................................................... 28 TABLE 3-4,SHOWS THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS OF LEGIBILITY ,SOURCE: RESEARCHER ...................................................... 33 TABLE 3-5,SHOWS THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS OF SAFETY AND COMFORT. SOURCE: RESEARCHER .................................... 38 TABLE 3-6, SHOWS THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS OF COMFORT. SOURCE: RESEARCHER .................................................... 42 TABLE 3-7, SHOWS THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS OF AURA, SOURCE: RESEARCHER............................................................ 47 TABLE 3-8, THE CONCLUDED INDICATORS, SOURCE: RESEARCHER................................................................................... 50 TABLE 4-1SHOWS DIFFERENT RANKING OF VIENNA WITH COMPARISON TO OTHER CITIES, SOURCE: ECONOMIST.COM). ............ 51 TABLE 4-2, SHOWS THE APPRAISAL OF THE REFERENTIAL SET IN MARIHILFER STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ........................... 61 TABLE 4-3, ILLUSTRATE THE APPRAISAL OF REFERENTIAL SET IN LAS RAMBLAS STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ......................... 70 TABLE 4-4, SHOWS THE APPRAISAL OF VITALITY REFERENTIAL SET IN ISTIKLAL STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER .......................... 79 TABLE 5-1, SHOWS METHODS USED TO APPRAISE ACCESSIBILITY AND THE FINDINGS, SOURCE RESEARCHER............................. 90 TABLE 5-2, SHOWS THE METHODS AND FINDINGS OF APPRAISAL, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ..................................................... 93 TABLE 5-3, SHOWS THE METHOD AND FINDING OF THE APPRAISAL OF LEGIBILITY, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ............................... 97 TABLE 5-4, SHOWS THE METHOD AND THE FINDING OF SAFETY APPRAISAL, SOURCE: RESEARCHER ...................................... 102 TABLE 5-5, SHOWS THE METHOD AND THE APPRAISAL OF COMFORT, SOURCE: RESEARCHER.............................................. 103 TABLE 5-6, SHOWS THE METHOD AND APPRAISAL OF THE AURA, SOURCE: RESEARCHER.................................................... 104 TABLE 5-7 SHOWS THE APPRAISAL OF THE STATE OF VITALITY OF AL ATTARINE MOSQUE STREET, SOURCE: RESEARCHER. ....... 107

1 Introduction “If we can develop and design streets so that they are wonderful, fulfilling places to be — community-building places, attractive for all people — then we will have successfully designed about one-third of the city directly and will have had an immense impact on the rest.”(Allan Jacobs, 1995, p34) Streets all over the world are the places for pleasure and memories. Their functional and economical values are not their only strength. People are attracted to them because they want to be there, not because they have to be there. They are the private magic of every city. Simply, they reflect the city’s situation in general and the local quality of life in particular. The social life that extends through the streets is its deep meaning. As Cliff Moughtin states: “the street is something more than a simple pathway; it is a series of connected places, somewhere for staying in and not just for moving through” (Moughtin, 2003, p.138). Along a Commercial Street is the complete image of stores, restaurants, shopping malls, and public institutions. These spaces are arranged in linear order, following the direction of the street. They act like magnets that attract people to streets on a commercial basis. According to its environment that creates a special experience, it encourages its users to stay longer for entertainment. Commercial Streets are the place for citizens’ shopping and social activities, and public lives. Therefore, Commercial Streets have a great impact on people’s daily life and the economy of the city requiring much attention to their design. Despite the importance of commercial streets, they are not always designed to give a good experience. Thus, big amounts of commercial investments in cities are lost without achieving the main goal of their expenses. Some commercial streets are certainly more vital than others. Vitality is one of the requirements for the streets of any city, becoming more important with the development of the process of urbanization. Vitality is related generally to the presence of people in a space: the more human presence in an urban area, the more urban space would be busy and exciting. Thus, it is important to define the basic concepts that drive vitality in commercial streets to maintain a pleasant experience that attracts users.

1.1 Commercial streets strategy. Traditional Commercial Streets are predominantly residential districts that also include work, retail, cultural, and/or light industrial uses. The number and mix of goods and services provided reflect the character of the district itself and act as a focus for other activities and services in the community- social and recreational activities, schools, childcare and health services, with all mutually benefiting from proximity and providing the district with a stronger identity. They also affect the real estate in a directly proportional way. Our current traditional commercial streets fail to satisfy many of its users’ most urgent and basic needs. This research is concerned with studying the vitality of central town commercial streets due to its dominancy in the city’s urban spaces, its influence on people’s daily life, and its direct impact on the economical level.

1.2 Research problem The main problem of the research is the deterioration of the vitality of Commercial Streets, which leads to the inability of offering a pleasant experience that attracts users. As a result, users would prefer other commercial venues (shopping malls, e-commerce, etc.). Which in time, would result in losing the sense of belonging to the surrounding physical environment.

1.3 Research Aim and Objectives The main aim of this research is to appraise the state of vitality in commercial streets generally and in Al Attarine mosque Commercial Street, particularly. In order to reach this higher aim, four main objectives are demonstrated in (see Figure 1-1). •

The first objective; to study different theorist’s visions of vitality.

•

The second objective; to formulate the meaning of vitality in Commercial Street from the different theorist’s visions.

•

The third objective; to conclude a referential set, used as an appraisal tool.

•

The forth objective; to test the applicability of the concluded referential set.

1.4 Research Question The realization of the research problem raised main question which relates the problem to Alexandria’s context which is: What are the requisites for the vitality of a commercial street? and, How far is Al Attarine Mosque Street from the state of vitality?

1.5 Research Scope This research is concerned mainly with traditional commercial streets in terms of vitality. Thus, the commercial classification and data was done according to Steven Marshal’s road taxonomy. Indeed, vitality is a holistic paradigm that has several influential factors. Thus, this enhances the demand for accumulative research that focus on this paradigm. This research is concerned with studying the concepts that cater for vitality in the basic dimensions, while other factors that influence the state of vitality are stated as further work.

1.6 Hypothesis It is believed that it is difficult to have one optimum solution to solve street problems in all situations, but the research based on hypothesis to be proved by application; which is that the state of vitality can improve the performance of the commercial street and establish a balanced relationship between the economical role of the commercial street and its role of raising the quality of life.

1.7 Methodology The research uses empirical method on the case study to apply the concluded referential set and to answer the research question. To reach this, a theoretical review is the main base foundation of the research. This extensive literature review conclusion is used to formulate the referential set. An analytical study is used after the literature review to validate the referential set. The research is considered both quantitative and qualitative; most of its parts depend on both methods.

1.8 Research Limitation The main limitation was the lack of statistics of the different users of the street or economic statistics of the life cycle performance of the street. Secondly, despite the fact that the shop owners are very helpful, most of them refused to answer particular questions. These questions are related to government and shop management. However, some of them did. Thirdly, some of the referential set points could be appraised more accurately by using specific software that was not available for the researcher. On applying the referential set on real life, this should be addressed. Fourthly, some of the referential set points that relate to the psychological state of the users in the social dimension were not tackled in depth, due to the need of other specialties.

1.9 Research Structure The research is divided into two parts. Each part containing two chapters, in addition to one introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. The two parts are: “Vitality in Theory” and “Vitality in Practice” (Figure 1-1). Chapter one: highlights the research problem, aim, research question and the methodology used. "Vitality in Theory”; Chapter Two: Generally, highlights theorists’ studies of vitality in urban design, sociology and economy fields, formulates the meaning of vitality in commercial streets and extract the main six concepts behind achieving vitality. Chapter Three: specifically Studies each concept for the state of vitality in order to conclude indicators in physical, social and economic dimensions able to achieve each concept. “Vitality in practice”; Chapter four: Investigating the various concepts of vitality on ground (in practice) through analyzing three examples (Mariahilfer Street in Vienna, Las Ramblas Street in Barcelona and Istiklal Street in Istanbul) stated to be vital commercial streets. This chapter concludes that the concepts fit the practicality and are able to form the referential set. The concluded referential set consists of two axes. The horizontal axis consists of physical, social and economic dimensions. The vertical axis consists of the six Meta concepts. Chapters five: Applies the referential set on Al Attarine Commercial Street to appraise its state of vitality. This was done to achieve the aim of the research and answers the research question. Chapter six: Ending up with general conclusion and recommendations.

Figure 1-1, shows the research structure, source: researcher

2 : The State of Vitality in Theory This chapter explores the term “Vitality” in different fields, to conclude a clear definition of the state of Vitality in commercial streets and introduce the six concepts of such state, which is going to be roughly explained in the next chapter. The history of Vitality, its synonyms and the different ways of measuring Vitality in a commercial street will be explained in this chapter.

2.1 Vitality as an Emerging Term The word “Vitality” itself implies liveliness, energy, significance, vigorousness, success, excitement and animation (see Figure 2-1). Different writers use these synonyms in expressing Vitality in their studies (Lynch, 1960), (Jacobs, 1961), (R.Barker, 1968), (landry, 2006), (Rastegar, 2014), (D.Appleyard1981 ،), (D.Chapman, 2010), (Moughtin, 2003), (Marshall, 2005), (Continuance, 2013). The Dictionary meaning of Vitality is connoting such feelings as full of life and energy, exciting, animating and full of activity that is bright and colorful, bouncy, or springy (Hacker, 1828). The current study unpacks all these synonyms to define Vitality concerning its implementation in commercial streets.

Energetic Exciting

Vigorous Animating

Significant Zest

Healthy Lively

Active Busy

Figure 2-1, shows the different synonyms of Vitality, source: (thesaurus.com, accessed: 1.2017)

The roots of the term “Vitality” can be traced back to the 1960s, where it was first studied by Jacobs (1961) and Whyte (1960) in their search for new approaches of successful urban design. Consequently, the rise of vitality was the result of the boom in the field of urban design as a whole. Urban design’s magnificence in the 1960s attracted theorists’ interests to study it from different views in search for new approaches. This led to the introduction of several urban design paradigms such as healthy urban design and sustainable urban design. Vitality rose simultaneously with these paradigms. Not only did Vitality attract urban 6

designers and planners, but also the term attracted other theorists in various fields such as sociology and economy. Indeed, not all of them studied the term Vitality from the open spaces point view but a lot of studies concentrated on the relation between various dimensions of Vitality and open spaces specifically, which will be illustrated in the following section.

Despite the fact that the concept of Vitality gained its glory in 1960 which was followed by frequent studies by different theorists, there is an obvious lack in achieving Vitality in commercial streets especially in Alexandria. Vitality remains a questionable state that needs to be looked at from a different perspective. The reason is clearly the absence of a referential set that coordinates indicators stated by theorists in studying Vitality. The following section illustrates the meaning of Vitality that has been discussed in different fields by urban designers, sociologists and economists.

Davies (2003) focused on how the physical environment supports the function of a street in order to maintain its performance. He also stated that if the street is in a commercial sphere, its design should enable the kind of activity that takes place in that sphere. Not only did urban designers identify the importance of the physical dimension ( (Davies, A, & Le Mahieu, P, 2003). In the state of Vitality, but also behavioral theorists’ did so. Barker (1968) founded the concept of Behavior Setting that focuses on the study of everyday human behavior in relation to the physical aspect of a place. Behavior Setting examines the relationship between a physical environment (setting) and the patterns of behavior. It consists of a milieu (a particular layout of the environment), a standing pattern of behavior (a recurrent activity), and a synomorphy (a congruent relationship between the two). The

Figure 2-2: Avenue des Champs Ely sees, Paris. Source: julesandjulie.com

Figure 2-3Chengdu commercial street source: shutter.com

greater the congruent relationship between the particular layout of the environment and the activity, the better the Behavior Setting is able to afford human behaviors and needs that lead to a successful life within the open space. Hence, for urban designers, Vitality is described as the degree to which the form of the physical environment supports the functions, activities and capabilities of human beings.

For sociologists, vital streets need to absorb people in all situations to gather and have activities without any difficulty (Rastegar, 2014). Maslow (1954) also agreed that The Street in addition to being a physical element in the city is also a social fact. A ‘better’ street is an all-important one and so the street address becomes a symbol of self-esteem. In Montgomery’s definition (1998), Vitality refers to the number of people in and around the street (pedestrian flow) across different times of day and night. According to Chapman (2010), Vitality is the mobility dynamism for city streets that can be defined by the amount of activity (necessary, optional and social) held in a certain place. Hence the meaning of a vital street may be the result of the number of people engaged in various activities.

For economists, the high level of engagement between residences in livable streets increases commercial interests. In other words, the social life in commercial streets makes it more viable for business and economic prosperity. Balsas (2004) says that even if an urban area is alive, it cannot continue its state of Vitality unless it attracts new investments. Only the ceremonial and historical values of the city center remain, if the economic relation between customer and supplier is not established. Shaffer and Summers (1988)

offered an

institutional economics view on Vitality, defining it as ‘the capacity of a local social system to generate income and employment to maintain, if not improve its relative economic position.’ This definition equates Vitality and economic development.

Referring to the theorists who studied Vitality in the three dimensions, Vitality in commercial streets is the affordance of a physical commercial environment to attract and supports pedestrians’ activities accompanied by providing investments and economic growth.

2.2 Measuring Vitality As the UK Department of the Environment put it in 1992, there are two techniques that can measure Vitality. Firstly, the measure known as footfall or pedestrian flow (see Figure 2-4), which involves counting people passing a particular point at a particular time (D.Chapman, 2010). When undertaken at different locations (Floater, 2014) and over a period of time, this measure contributes along with Montgomery’s (1998) view to reach the potential of Vitality of a place. Montgomery points out that the social dimension has priority; focusing on people using the street at different times as well as the different types of users.

The second technique is the commercial yield factor (see Figure 2-5). For anyone considering investing in a commercial property, the main question is what return on investment will this property yield? Yield is an important way of measuring the economic dimension of a street. Chapman (2010) considers it a good way of measuring Vitality in commercial streets because it indicates the profitability that makes it an attraction to investors.

Figure 2-4: Shows an example of the footfall measurement. Source: http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/tag/footfall/ Footfall chart for Parliament Commercial Street

Figure 2-5: Shows the types of yield factor. Source: www.morningstar.com

Despite that the two techniques were stated by different theorists (Montgomery, 1998), (D.Chapman, 2010), still neither of them provides a wholly satisfying measure of Vitality. The footfall indicator may indicate crowdedness instead of Vitality. It could be that the physical environment does support the presence of pedestrians and they are only there for necessary activities and not social and optional ones. As for the yield indicator, other theorists stated that it does not clearly indicate the successfulness of dimensions especially the social one as it only spots the light on commercial activities. Yield also is not an indication that fully measures the economic dimension as it is calculated as a percentage of the property’s cost or market value, annual income and running costs. It does not take into account how much the property increases in value over time (landry, 2006).To sum it up, neither one of these indicators provides a wholly satisfying measure of Vitality

2.3 Concepts for the State of Vitality Theorists who studied Vitality specifically in the fields of urban design, sociology and economy linked it to certain concepts or hypothetical notions that are necessary for deduction. In achieving the goal of the art of city-making, which is to create more livable places, several theorists literally linked Vitality to certain concepts (Moughtin, 2003), (Gans, 1994), (Marshall, 2005), (D.Appleyard, 1981), (Jacobs, 1961), while others stated it between the lines in their studies (Gehl, 1987), (Lynch, 1984). This illustrates the necessity of the presence of those concepts in order to build the whole state of Vitality. In order to deduce these meta-concepts, the referential set must be extracted from a big number of literature and theoretical studies.

Six meta-concepts were deduced from theoretical references (see Table 2-1). Each concept was studied by theorists in order to deduce indicators that can be used for recognizing the presence of such concept. Table 2-1: Illustrate different theorists and how they linked meta-concepts to Vitality. Source: Researcher CONCEPT ACCESSIBILITY

EXAMPLE “Building vital places and pathways for people, they need them to be accessible. When they are not, we are excluding people from participating in the social or economic activity that is going on in that space.”

DIVERSITY

“Streets and their sidewalks should experience a “crossuse” of activity related to a range of different purposes.”

LEGIBILITY

“A street that can be organized in a coherent and recognizable pattern, helps to create a simple image in pedestrians’ minds, encourages them to walk and find their destination quickly.”

SAFETY

“When people say that a city, or a part of it, is dangerous or is a jungle what they mean primarily is that they do not feel safe on the sidewalks.”

COMFORT

“The street environment needs to afford various activities and standing patterns of behavior that may potentially occur on the street within its comfortable context.”

AURA

“To make a place animate and full of life, it is neither about development nor about it being made perfectly, it will be achieved when the place has its aura to be unique for people.”

THEORITICAL BASE Evans(2009) Floater (2014) Appleyard(1981) Jacobs(1960) Geurs and vanwee (2004) Moghtin(1984) Jacobs (1961) Steven Vertovec (2007) Florida (2002) Sassen(1999) Montgomery (1998) (Fainstein, 2005). Landry,(2006) Tuan (1977) Lynch (1960) Gehl (1987) O’neill (1991) Kolody(2002) Evans(1984) (Canter, 1975) Marshall (1996) Moughtin(1984) Jacobs(1960) Maslow(1943) Stelee (1973) Nikolopuolla(2003) Landry(2006) Chapman(2006) Moughtin(1984) Montgomery(1998) Landry (2006) (Bolter,2004) Chapman 2006

2.4 Dimensions of Vitality Landry (2006) , (Jacobs, 1993), (Sherman, 1988), (Evans, 2009) stated that the existence of Vitality can be easily recognized when taking into account indicators of the physical, social and economic dimensions together. From this point of view, the hypothesis of this study states that if a referential set has been coordinated between indicators of the three dimensions, then Vitality can be recognized and assessed. Jacobs stated that "planners, architects and businessmen must work at cross-purposes to the city in ways that deaden all local flavor and Vitality".

Landry (2006) also stated that "Vitality is measured by assessing a range of factors across the economic, social, cultural and environmental spheres". For Jacobs (1961), the quality of the physical environment is the key for true Vitality. Landry (2006) recognized that physical solutions by themselves will not solve social and economic problems but they will guarantee community stability. By physically altering an object or setting, the change of affordances of a place happens (Lang, 1987), (Justin Dillon, Mark Rickinson, Kelly Teamey, 2006).This explains C. Moghtin’s view of the importance of the physical dimension especially in the ground floor of buildings, for catering to Vitality. He stated that “It is the ground floors of the buildings in a town that act as the zone of social and commercial exchange generating the activity which makes streets both safe and lively” (Moughtin, 2003). For Gehl (1989), he emphasizes the importance of the social dimension that is concerned with how people interact and engage with their environment and the places in which they live in and how they get around. The dimension most studied by theorists in the state of Vitality is the economic dimension. Most economists stated that if it is successful, this means all other dimensions are successful too, because this dimension is the product of the physical and social ones (Booz, 2008).

Hence, theorists in urban design, sociology and economy studied dimensions that influence the state of Vitality. A physically built environment consists mainly of physical spatial elements and configurations made by humans to make it easy on users to understand, use and enjoy doing activity in a street (Trt, 2005). Social dimensions are all sorts of urban activities that take place in main streets. They consist mainly of the interaction between people, making streets not just for passage, but for meeting, trading, hawking, busking, public speaking and pillorying. The economical dimension guarantees investments to spread prosperity and sustain quality (see Figure 2-6).

Physical Dimension

Social Dimension

Spatial Elements and Configuration

User Interaction

Economic Dimension Investments Business

Performance Number of Users Function

Audibility

Figure 2-6: Shows the general ideas of physical, social and economic dimensions. Source: Researcher

Chapter conclusion: The noticeability of Vitality was the result of the boom of the urban design field. In the 60s, urban design’s magnificence attracted theorists’ interests to study it from different views searching for new approaches. Not only did Vitality attract urban designers and planners, but also the term attracted other theorists in various fields such as sociology and economy.

For urban designers, Vitality is described as the degree to which the form of physical environment supports the functions, activities and capabilities of human beings. For sociologists, vital streets need to absorb people in all situations, to gather and have activities without any difficulty which shows in their engagement in social and optional activities. For economists, Vitality is the capacity of a local social system to generate income and employment. Hence, Vitality in commercial streets is the affordance of the physical environment to attract, supports pedestrians’ activities accompanied by providing investments and economic growth. Measuring Vitality was studied by theorists. They were able to find two ways to indicate it; footfall and yield factor. Still neither of these indicators provides a fully satisfying measure for Vitality. Thus, the two measures can only recognize the presence of the state.

Theorists who studied Vitality specifically in the three fields; urban design, sociology and economy link it to six concepts. The six concepts are necessary for achieving Vitality, where assessing a range of indicators across the economic, social, and environmental dimensions in each concept can achieve the state of Vitality. Six concepts will be discussed roughly in the next chapter. 13

3 : Concepts for the state of Vitality This chapter has three purposes. Firstly, it demonstrates the link between each concept and Vitality. Secondly, the chapter investigates the pioneer writers who studied the concepts across time. Thirdly, through different theorists’ visions, it defines the indicators in physical, social and economic dimensions that achieve each concept. The appraisal of the state of Vitality theoretically through the indicators of Accessibility, Diversity, Legibility, Safety, Comfort and Aura, namely the concepts of Vitality will be explained in this chapter.

3.1 Accessibility 3.1.1 Accessibility as a Concept In the 1950s, Accessibility was studied in terms of vehicle movement. So it was transportation activity that was mainly considered (Evans, 2009), which overlooked Accessibility in favor of car mobility and ignored its true meaning. As such design focused on cars and their movement which led to unpleasant, chaotic streets. Consequently, a new paradigm shift was required to link Accessibility to its original meaning and the peoplecentered approach rather than the car-centered approach appeared (Floater, 2014). How people reach activities and their targets in urban spaces was the essence of the new approach. This shift took place in the mid-60s. As a result, two sides of Accessibility in urban design emerged. Accessibility linked to the public transportation system is the first side while the focus, on pedestrians and their ability to reach their destinations in relation to distance, time and cost was the second side (Floater, 2014). As mentioned in section 2.12.1, Vitality originates from pedestrians’ life in the street, which is considered to be the first reason for Accessibility’s link to Vitality. The pedestrian-centered approach’s body of literature links Accessibility to a street’s Vitality, whereas the easier pedestrians reach their targets in pleasant public spaces, including commercial streets, the more pedestrians will be present in the public space (Bentley, 1985), (D.Appleyard, 1981), (Gehl, 1989), (Hansen, 1959) and (Evans, 2009). Designing a street on the basis of the ability to reach targets within a reasonable time, distance and cost to pedestrians will also increase their feeling of street confidence, thus sustain life in the street. As stated by Jacobs (1961), the vital state of streets is achieved when a well-designed open space is animated by people. 14

Figure 3-1 shows the different theorists who studied accessibility across time in relation to vitality, Source: researcher.

Gabe, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s Urban Studies Department and the cofounder of Pittsburgh’s Accessibility Association, viewed Accessibility in terms of equal access and offering chances to pedestrians to reach their targets in open spaces. He stated: “I think we all share the goal that everyone in the city should have full independence and a full range of possibilities and choices available to them. When we build places and pathways for people, they need to be accessible. When they are not, we are excluding people from participating in the social or economic activity that is going on in that space” (Leyzerovsky, 2014) (www.pps.org/blog/planning-for-people-not-cars-why-accessibility-matters-for-all/, accessed 10/31/16).

Several theorists studied Accessibility from different perspectives. Accessibility was a goal for planners, sociologists, and economists. Each theorist or group of theorists focused on a dimension of Accessibility, physical, social or economic. Despite this, they all shared the same aim, which is increasing the feeling of confidence that pedestrian feels as well as the easiness by which they can reach a street. This will be discussed fully in the next subsections. In general terms, in urban design, Accessibility refers to the design of facilities that accommodate people while reaching their goals in a commercial street (Karst T. Geurs, 2004), (Millington, 2007), (Nakamura, 2016), (Leyzerovsky, 2014), (Whyte, 1960) and 15

(Floater, 2014). In the field of sociology, Accessibility refers to different peoples’ ability to use services and opportunities. In the field of economy, Accessibility refers to goods’, services’, and destinations’ relative ease of reach (Florida, 2002).

Hence, this research studies Accessibility in terms of a people-centered approach; their ability to reach desired goods, services, activities, and destinations. The following will relate the different dimensions to the state of Vitality as discussed in the literature by prominent urban design theorists, it will show that the easier people reach their targets in the commercial street, the more it is able to cater to Vitality.

3.1.2 The Physical Dimension As mentioned in the previous section (3.1.1), the physical dimension of Accessibility is concerned with the design of the street. When the built environment gives the opportunity to people to reach their targets without obstacles, then, it achieves its role in catering to the state of Vitality (Nakamura, 2016), (Floater, 2014), (Iwasawa, 2015), (Leyzerovsky, 2014), (UN-HABITAT, 2013).

The physical dimension of streets, including the commercial street, was the most studied dimension since the 19th century. This can be attributed to two main reasons. Firstly, the importance of the surrounding built environment in organizing peoples’ lives in public spaces and secondly, the factor of time. Consequently, the indicators of the physical dimension across the six concepts are more (in number) than those of the social or the economic dimensions.

The physical dimension of Accessibility can be grouped into three categories, as studied by theorists and shown in (Figure 3-2). The first category is the study of sidewalks, since they are what pedestrians use to reach their target within the street. The second category is what is attached to sidewalks such as the surrounding buildings. While the third category involves the movement of people in the street and what makes them reach their goals faster or not reach them at all.

First Category "Surroundings"

Second Category "Pedestrian Mobility"

Connectivity

Distance

Third Category "Sidewalks" Width Pavement

Permeability

Time

Block Lengh

Effort

Obstacles Crossings

Figure 3-2: Shows the three main categories of Accessibility studied in literature. Source: Researcher

Specifically, Bentley (1985) and Evans (2009) stated the importance of permeable spaces and connectivity in Accessibility, where distance measures, called the connectivity indicator, are the simplest class of Accessibility. Connectivity is defined as the degree to which two places or points on the same surface are connected. As for the permeable indicator, most theorists stated the importance of giving multiple ways to reach individual targets. Stephen Marshall (2005) found that the concepts of “connectivity” and “permeability” are totally different indicators of Accessibility but their presence in the street is a must for a streets' successfulness. As defined by Marshall, “connectivity” refers only to the number of connections to and from a particular place, but “permeability” refers to the quality of those connections. A highly permeable space has many short links, numerous intersections, and minimal dead-ends. As connectivity increases, travel distances decrease and route options increase, allowing more direct travel between destinations, creating a more accessible animated street (Marshall, 2005).

Geurs and Van Wee (2004) focused on the pedestrian mobility component as the main indicator of Accessibility’s physical dimension. Having defined nodes across the street is a main need for Accessibility. They guarantee the recharging of pedestrians’ ability, to continue their journey through the street. Geurs and Van Wee (2004) also described the time and effort required to reach a certain destination. Finding that, the more reasonable time and effort are needed, the more the commercial street is accessible. Jorge & Patxi J. Lamiquiz (2015) mentioned the importance of defining lanes and the presence of signs across the street to guide what Geurs and Van Wee found, namely pedestrian mobility. The aim of their work was to raise the individual's confidence in using the street. Not only did Jacobs (1961) emphasize and develop what Whyte stated concerning sidewalks, but she also took 17

a broader look at the relation between block length and the sidewalk's ‘ballet’. She emphasized the role of the small block length indicator in facilitating movement. Jacobs also emphasized the role of sidewalks in not being obstacles, they may either encourage or discourage access and walking through the streets. Whyte (1960) was interested in sidewalks’ “ballet” of Accessibility; he defined the importance of sidewalks’ width and pavement in making the street more animated. Whyte stated that “in almost all U.S. cities, the bulk of the right-of-way is given to the roadway for vehicles, the least to the sidewalk for pedestrians...just suppose that Americans were to extend their walking radius by only a few hundred feet, the result could be an emancipation... Instead Of being sequestered for the storage of vehicles, prime space would be released for positive activities” (Whyte, 1960, p. 201).

3.1.3 The Social Dimension: Studies of the social dimension followed one main aim, which is as stated by Bradbury (2007), the right of equitable access for all. Giving the right to all people to access the street was the aim studied by theorists in different methods. This aim was firstly emphasized by Bradbury, then Tomlinson and Millington (2007) who identified that disrupting a community, when not everyone can move freely so only a certain group of people reaches the street, is one of the main reasons of ‘community severance’. It has a long-term social impact, creating a more sustained form of disconnectedness between certain people and the areas close by. A disconnectedness or contentedness of users in urban spaces determines its level of successfulness. Creating more accessible urban spaces needs attention to the social dimension which is considered to be the link between these spaces and the people using them (R.Barker, 1968) and (Gibson, 1979). From this point of view, (Bradbury, 2007) stated that the right to equitable access is about empowering people to exercise their basic human rights to the fullest.

Handy and Niemeier (1997) studied interrelated issues that must be considered to understand Accessibility, pointing to the value of disaggregation. Socio-economic disaggregation considers the differences between different segments of the population and makes measurements according to socio-economic factors (e.g. income, gender or age). The equity basis, access for all, is the design approach that should be followed to achieve 18

success in Accessibility's social dimension. It generally refers to the differences between individuals in costs and benefits derived from the activities distributed in the street. In other words, the term corresponds to fairness.

An interesting difference pointed out by (Geurs, 2001) is the difference between horizontal equity and vertical equity. Horizontal equity requires that those of similar status (i.e. of equal resources, needs, and abilities) to be treated in the same way. Vertical equity requires that those with less ability (physical or socio-economic), be treated favorably relative to those with greater ability. Banister pointed that vertical equity is also split up into physical, social and economic equities (Banister, 1998). In particular, physical equity focuses on the distribution of activities in the space. Social equity focuses on the different abilities and needs for Accessibility (i.e. of different groups stratified by age, gender, educational level or disabilities). Economic equity focuses on economic differences between individuals.

Hence, the level of access is related to Vitality when the resources found in the commercial street have the potential for social interaction with different families and individuals with their different needs and capabilities.

3.1.4 The Economic Dimension: In the economic field, Accessibility changes choices to opportunities. In the body of literature, opportunities are studied either from the perspective of users and how they easily access them, or from the perspective of the workforces and how easily they can access goods. The gravity measure of the Accessibility theory is probably the most popular. Devised by Hansen (1959) and D. Appleyard (1981), they studied Accessibility in terms of sectors and their relation to each other and how opportunities are distributed between them. Having done so, they came up with three indicators. The first is that the number of opportunities must be distributed evenly between different sectors (i.e. that you cannot have more opportunities in one sector than in others in the same street); opportunities sequence. The second indicator is the attractiveness of the opportunities (i.e. you cannot have attractive opportunities in one sector and leave other sectors with less attractive ones). The third indicator is that these opportunities are distributed in a way that they can be seen easily by people.

Dim.

Table 3-1: Shows the concluded indicators of Accessibility. Source: Researcher

Accessibility Concept

Availability is the second theory studied by the economist Geurs ( 2001) of different opportunities to

Connectivity Smaller Block Length

satisfy different individuals’ needs which

makes

the

economic

Physical Dimension

dimension in the commercial street Permeable Spaces Nodes

vital.

other

words,

the

opportunities needed by women differ from those needed by men,

Mobility Distance Reasonable Sidewalk Width

needs of children, to play, vary differently from older people. These different opportunities should be

The Presence of Informative and Directional Signs

available in a vital commercial street.

Sidewalk Pavement

the Diversity concept, however as

This indicator is directly related to

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

stated also by Geurs ( 2001), it strongly relates to how easy these Equitable Access to People

goods and services can reach their vendors.

The Ease of reaching Opportunities

The Sequence of Opportunities

opportunities and where they are

Services and Goods’ Accessibility to Vendors

conclusion,

the

kind

located, their quality and cost, the connectivity between people,

all

together

them and cater

successfulness in the economic dimension(see Table 3-1). Despite that the availability of social and economic opportunities for individuals (or groups of individuals) has been used, as a measurement tool for the existence of Accessibility, the physical dimension is the head contributor in the Accessibility concept. The organization and planning of these opportunities in the commercial street generate the social and economic dimensions.

3.2 Diversity 3.2.1 Diversity as a Concept The better a city mingles a diversity of uses and users in its streets every day, the more its people are lively, thus giving back grace and delight to their community instead of vacuity (Jacobs, 1961). If people are the focus of a vital commercial street, then the street must satisfy peoples’ different aspirations. Consequently, a vital commercial street is capable of giving a variety of choices. Studying different literature revealed that Diversity is considered a cornerstone of Vitality. This was emphasized literally by different theorists. For example, Jacobs (1961) gave Diversity a priority in defining the Vitality of urban areas in her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”. In other words, for Jacobs, Diversity is Vitality. This is the reason this research refers to Jacobs’ seven books as a main reference in studying Diversity and its three dimensions (physical, social and economic).

In studying Diversity, it was either portrayed as a quality to be accomplished in urban spaces or a factor among other factors to achieve successful qualities in such spaces (see Figure 3-3). It has a variety of meanings in literature. Among urban designers, it refers to the fine grain of a street’s quality and its various physical choices on the street level. Among planners, it may mean zoning and mixed uses. In sociology, it is the base of heterogeneity (FAINSTEIN, 2005). And in the economic field, it is the variety of profitable sectors among the street (Booz, 2008).

Despite the concrete role of Diversity in catering to Vitality, the link between the dimensions of Diversity and Vitality varies. Literature shows that the importance of the social and economic dimensions is stronger than the physical one. Despite that, Jacobs (1961) stated that the physical dimension of Diversity has the causal role in producing the other dimensions, which means that the significance of the physical dimension is not in its presence but in its capability of producing social and economic diversity.

Physical, social and economic Diversity determine whether the status of a street is chaotic or dull. If there is too much Diversity, the street is chaotic, if too little then it is dull. However, if Diversity is balanced, then the street is vital.

Figure 3-3: Shows different theories that studied Diversity in relations to Vitality. Source: Researcher

3.2.2 The Physical Dimension Jacobs (1961) and Sung (2015) explained that a vital urban life can be found in the continuity of a streetscape filled with pedestrians at all times of the day. This means that urban Vitality will not be possible if pedestrians’ activity is restrained to a single purpose during a certain time of the day. Rather, streets and their sidewalks should experience a “cross-use” of activities related to a range of different purposes. User’s experience of the architectural design in an urban space is not a static experience (Tuan, 1977). ‘Physical Diversity’ as mentioned in section 2.4 refers to urban physical elements. Literature divides the diverse physical indicators to indicators related to the edge of the street (building type, style, age) and other indicators related to streetscape (softscape and hardscape) offering a variety of chances to allow a pleasant experience for people in open spaces. On the other hand, if spaces combine the collage of old and new buildings as well as different styles, different shapes, appearances, colors and materials lack a unit datum, this 22

leads the street far from Diversity and more into dis-order. Many large and colorful commercial advertisements on building façades block the original shape of those buildings see (Figure 3-5). The combination of buildings from different ages, styles and elements reveal the Diversity of street façades and street patterns. If they are not combined organically or managed well, the disorder they create is still a problem. Consequently, Diversity is the concrete base of Vitality, however too much of it will lead to disorder, which marks the base for chaotic space. “To order space is to give it meaning” (Isamu Noguchi, 1988, p13).

Hence, reaching Diversity through physical dimension needs indicators that balance the commercial street, defining the space and giving people their right to choices that satisfy their aspirations.

Figure 3-4: Shows Donghu Commercial Street in Wuhan. Source: http://qing.3shui.com/blog/13257.html

Figure 3-5: Shows Dazhalan Commercial Street in Beijing. Source: http://www.86art.net/sj/Print. asp?ArticleID=2959&Page=2

3.2.3 The Social Dimension ‘Social Diversity’ refers to the ability of street spaces to accommodate a mixture of people of different ages, family types and socio-economic statuses. As stated by Sennett “differences are an overwhelming sociological fact of cities” (Sennett, 1992, p. 129). Sociologists built on Jacobs’ theories adding a social value expressed in four indicators that shape the successfulness of social Diversity, which are equity, proximity, balanced privacy and heterogeneity (Etherington, 1997), (Sennett, 1992), (Clementsen, 2015), (Lofland, 1973) and (Tuan, 1977).

Firstly, the equity indicator, as stated in section 3.1.3, equity is a common indicator of Accessibility as well as Diversity. Offering the ease of access to all users and allowing them to reach their targets is the meaning of equity in Accessibility but offering multiple chances to accommodate different users is the meaning of equity in Diversity. Giving equal chances to users by means of multiple spaces to satisfy their different socio-economic statuses will add to the street’s Diversity. Moreover, if the space is not designed to give the equal chance to different people, open spaces, especially commercial streets, will be closed to only one type of users. For some theorists, controlling chances to favor certain people is a must. Many planners have been obsessed with controlling how, when and which people use public as well as private spaces. Meanwhile, ordinary people continue to find creative ways of appropriating spaces and creating places, despite planning, to fulfill their desires as well as their needs. On the other hand, many theorists, such as Sandercock (2003) and Young (1990), emphasized that a diverse open space must give equal rights to city space, allowing ‘the pleasures of anonymity’ (i.e. that individuals are not labeled by age, gender, etc... and are all considered the same). This vision is stated to be more related to Vitality. The physical environment which can satisfy more users is considered to be more vital (Lang, 1987), (Jacobs, 1993) and (D.Appleyard, 1981).

Secondly, heterogeneity of users, meaning the presence of a variety of individuals in an urban space and how this affects how people experience that space and their own behavior in it. In other words, the chance that physical spaces are used for different activities by different users, increases Vitality of these spaces and gives them a multipurpose use. Clementsen’s (2015) argument was influenced by interviews with regular people who said that seeing what other people did in open spaces felt easier for them to do. This argument makes planners put into consideration both Clementsen’s (2015) vision as well as Isamu 24

Noguchi’s (1988) that stated that offering too much in a space led to chaotic spaces and not diverse ones. This leads the need for balanced designed spaces offering order as well as Diversity. Clementsen (2015) stated that “you can experience great social distance towards other users of an urban space and because of that find it interesting to watch them from a distance. I suggest, that heterogeneity can be viewed as a motivating social distance since it has a positive influence on the individual’s experience and behavior in urban spaces.”

The third indicator of social Diversity is proximity (Etherington, 1997); which refers to the diverse people, individuals find in urban spaces. When focusing on the social distance indicator, it is concerned with the relation between the individual and other people. The term social distance is used to imply the individual visual experience when navigating in urban spaces on the basis of differences between individuals in the same space. Sennett (1992) characterized the relation between people as defined by proximity/distance and he focused on an ideal type of (proximity/distance) between strangers, while Bourdieu (1985) distinguished between different types of people. The following paragraph will relate.

Sennett (1996) underlines that streets are uncomfortable places to be in since they let individuals be physically close to people of different social backgrounds. His hypothesis is that a valuable outcome is achieved when people experience social distance towards others in streets. Then, they have the choice to adjust even if they feel uncomfortable as opposed to only encountering people similar to themselves. Bourdieu (1985) mainly described the types of people in society, stating that every society is hierarchized and that the possession of capital by individuals defines their specific position in the hierarchy. Based on this position, social distance towards other people in society is experienced. In other words, people will not be happy when they are in close proximity to others of different social statuses. (See Table 3-2).

Table 3-2: Shows social distances and their impact. Source: (Clementsen, 2015)

Type of social Motivating distance

Restricting

Emotional Impact

Behavioral Impact

Spatial Impact

Time Impact

Strangers

Multiculturalist

Social status

Deviant behavior

In Table 3-2, four different types of social distance were introduced by Clementson (2015) as well as their respective impact on the individual’s experience and behavior in urban spaces. As illustrated, deviant behavior has several impacts, where all the above- mentioned impacts influence the individual by the mere presence of people of deviant behavior.

The fourth indicator is sociability while maintaining privacy. The experience of being with other people in urban spaces is described as positive when a person is not actually being forced to contact others. It can be said that the physical space is considered less inviting if there are no people in it. In a study done by the Department of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen about what makes people feel sociable in any place, 98 % of the answers were that people tend to use the space when they are not pushed to be sociable but at the same time they find others in it (Clementsen, 2015). This emphasizes Jacobs’ words (1961) that privacy is a key characteristic of life in streets. In other words, the anonymity of urban life enables the individual to keep information to himself and to control who gains access to his personal information, which is a valued attribute for urbanites no matter their social status. Also, Louis Wirth described social diversity as an essential characteristic of the modern city while privacy remains a challenge in social interactions (Clementsen, 2015).

3.2.4 The Economic Dimension A review of the literature related specifically to commercial activities, revealed that there is no standard definition or classification system for commercial shops such as types of shops or types of locations. However, the distinction made by Holton (1985) showed briefly how shops can be in balance within the space according to their type of use, their classification and sequence in the urban space per daily needs which is the third perspective, Diversity versus chaos. This should all be done while emphasizing that the three main types of goods; convenience goods, shopping goods, and specialty goods should be available on the commercial street. His point is that one type of shop will perform differently depending on its location in relation to both other types of shops and local demand and thereby also the appeal of the goods it offers to clients will vary. This can relate to the need in commercial streets (Teller, 2008) and (Drezner, 2008) to offer the most frequently needed type of goods in a location that attracts users. If pedestrians find a diverse type of goods located within the sequence in a commercial street, then the street will be vital to different users. The economic dimension of Diversity in this research mentions three different perspectives from eight theorists and will be stated respectively from the wider perspective to the most specific one. The first perspective belongs to Richard Florida and Sassen who found a reconciliation between the values of economic growth and social diversity: “Diversity and creativity work together to power innovation and economic growth” (Florida, 2002). A sustainable economy enhances a nation’s standard of living by creating wealth and jobs, encouraging the development of new knowledge and technology and helping to ensure a stable political climate (Sassen, 2012). Another contribution made by (Booz, 2008) who studied the opposite of what Florida (2002) did, is evaluating the economic diversity of the poor. He discussed that it is linked to “low productivity and competitiveness”. Productivity is directly related to competitiveness, the lower the productivity, the more the product costs, and the less competitive that product can be in the marketplace. To achieve better productivity, the commercial street must offer a variety of commercial choices in each field of activity. Booz also clarified the importance of labor and capital productivity as they are considered the main measures of economic development. It appears that poor economic diversification that relies on a single economic sector tends to have an unfavorable effect on the productivity and competitiveness of the other lagging sectors.

Table 3-3: Shows Diversity indicators. Source: Researcher

Physical Dimensions

Dim.

The second perspective comes from the Jacobean theory that intersects with the Diversity Concept

first perspective in the point about how

Building Mass Variety

having a diverse economy based on a wide

Block Length Variety

range of profitable sectors, not just a few,

Mixed Land Use

has long been thought to play a key role in

Building Age Variety

a vital economy (Jacobs, 1961).

Building Architectural Styles Variety

Economic diversification can reduce a

Different Streetscape Types

nation’s economic volatility and increase

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

the real performance of its activities (booz, Heterogeneity

2008). In the 1960s’ book “The Death and

Proximity

Life of Great American Cities”, Jacobs

Privacy Different Values of Commercial Property Variety of Profitable Sectors

pointed out the positive societal outcomes of designing cityscapes that fostered both economic and social diversity (Jacobs (1961).

The

theory

Jacobean

Variety of Commercial Activities

externalities was published at a later date

Different Choices of Commercial Activities

and ideas in urban economics, especially

Variety of Labor Force

and is founded on Jane Jacobs’ reflections

as expressed in her later books (Jacobs, 1985, 1970). In these books, she argues that the sheer number and variety in the

division of labor creates a higher inherent capacity in urban economies to develop a wider range of goods and services (Jacobs, 1970). Lambert (2005) added to Jacobs’ theory and gave the economic dimension of Diversity a clear measure, which is a variety of building types with different property values (Lambert, 2005).

3.3 Legibility 3.3.1 Legibility as a Concept Legibility is the ability of street patterns to be perceived and understood so pedestrians can find their way through a readable street pattern and urban components (Bentley, 1985), (Rapoport, 1990) and (Ghadimkhani, 2011). Bell et al stated that “Legibility is the degree of distinctiveness that enables the viewer to understand or categorize the contents of a scene- the greater the legibility the greater the preference” (Bell, 2004, p. 45). The majority of studies confirm Lynch’s (1960) theory of the importance of Legibility, despite that the term was taken from the title of an earlier article by psychologist (Tolman, 1948). Each of these theorists defined it differently though (see Figure 3-6). Lynch (1960) described a legible environment as a place that can be organized in a coherent and recognizable pattern that helps to create a simple image in pedestrians’ minds and encourages them to walk and find their destination quickly. As for Tolman (1948), Legibility comes from the brain through learning about how desires and needs can be satisfied in places.

Much evidence has been collected indicating that the physical characteristics of an urban environment have the exclusive potential to affect the acquisition by users of environmental

Figure 3-6Shows different theorists’ studies of Legibility across time. Source: Researcher

spatial knowledge. Lynch (1984) stated that the physical characteristics of the environment have the priority when figuring out legible spaces. Visual sensations of color, motion, smell, touch and sound, etc... are all cues that reinforce Legibility. Even physiologists who studied the “Behavioral Settings' Theory” such as Canter (1977), Barker (1968) and Gibson (1979) emphasized the people-environment dimension’s role namely: the physical dimension. This view postulates that physical surroundings immediately influence spatial cognition and spatial representation which illustrates the reason for making the physical dimension’s indicators the main ones for Legibility (Kosslyn, 1978), (Rapoport, 1990), (Kaplan, 1998), (Kaplan, 1989), (L, (Cullen, 1961), (Canter, 1977), ( (Weisman, 1981), (Neil, 1991) and (shokouhi, 2003).

(Lawson, 2001) and (Gifford, 2007) analyzed urban layouts, their analysis led to certain characteristics of a legible space. Thus, Legibility

Readablity

becomes synonymous with readability, imaginability, Imaginability

illustrated in Figure 3-7. It is important to consider, before reading the following paragraphs that those five

Legibility

meaningfulness, wayfinding and clues within spaces, as

Meaningfulness

characteristics have two main roles; they shape Legibility and their presence influences the state of

Clue

Vitality. This will be illustrated in the following paragraphs.

Wayfinding

Figure 3-7: Shows the layers of characteristics that different theorists use to define Legibility. Source: Researcher

Further studies added the next two characteristics. Being Meaningful is what the place stands for or represents, it is a hidden character of the street and the deep sense that reflects its importance (Lawson, 2001). Kaplan (1998) also emphasized that individuals interact with the physical environment through its relation to the quantity of information that they receive from it and store throughout their daily lives. Various space events help an observer to interpret the inner meaning of all constructed shots within that space. It is people’s assumption of what a street can offer them should they walk deeper into it. This last characteristic was introduced by Kaplan (1998). According to Chapman, it is not about being too simple, it is about giving small clues by different methods (such as cores of visibility, etc...) to pedestrians to maintain the spatial image of the street. This image enables route configuration; determining the distance and direction between an origin and a destination in commercial streets (D.Chapman, 2010). 30

More recent studies by Gifford (2007) suggest that scenes with more mystery attract pedestrians to use the street several times. One of the most widely studied theories in Environmental Psychology is Rachel and Stephen Kaplan’s (1989) Coherence Model. The Theory postulates that people will have two basic needs in environments: to understand and to explore. Moreover, these needs might refer to what is immediately perceptible or might refer to what might be perceptible if one moved to another location. To Herzog and Leverich (2003), the scenarios that Legibility raised makes pedestrians understand the choices that a street offers. Donald Appleyard (1973) noted that “spatial knowledge is both concrete and abstract, schematic but disjointed, sometimes conventional and sometimes imaginative, also idiosyncratic and pluralistic. It results from shapeless, complex, fragmented, inaccurate nature of cities” (Appleyard, 1973).

Hence, if people read, recognize and understand the meaning of a street, in addition to making them believe that the street still carries much to explore, pedestrians will use the space consciously.

3.3.2 The Physical Dimension The physical dimension will discuss the indicators that afford the characteristics of readability, image, and way finding, since the meaningfulness characteristic will be discussed in section3.6; Aura concept. Five indicators were studied by theorists that influence the understanding of a street and achieve prosperity to the physical environment. These indicators are cores of visibility, continuity, order, distribution of zones of activity, clear beginning and end and simplicity.

In the late 90s, with the Bristol Legible City Initiative. The City Council of Bristol, England prepared one of the first comprehensive and integrated strategies to improve the visual experience of a city’s open space (Kelly, 2001). The City ID Design Studio developed a specific expertise in this field taking further commissions from other English cities. Many other local authorities, following the example of Bristol, commissioned special studies and projects to improve the Legibility of the City form and help citizens and tourists find their way easily, encouraging people to walk and use public transport. Their strategies contained the formerly stated indicators, which emphasize their practicality. The next paragraphs will discuss each indicator’s role and meaning according to different theorists. 31

Firstly, cores of visibility, in other words, landmarks and references; their role is to attract pedestrians to a certain direction, to create a memorable, familiar image in pedestrians’ minds, and thus help them to realize where they are or whether they are in the right direction or not (kolody, 2002). It was stated that people do not always choose the shortest path when they travel. Instead, visitors may refer to landmarks (Graham, 2003). “One of the more alarming experiences is to become lost and confused in an unfamiliar city. It is important that urban areas have a recognizable structure and that different districts have identifiable features” (D.Chapman, 2010).

The second indicator is continuity, another indicator that has an effect on urban streets. When there is a continuation in street salient elements, this increases its readability. Also, this continuity, when it happens across connected streets, produces a better image of the street. The visibility of spatial elements at the point of intersection of different streets help to fortify the continuity of salient elements. The third indicator is order. Creating regularity can be done by changing pathway configuration to achieve a more regular form and to decrease irregularity. However, creating an extremely regular layout should be prohibited to avoid monotony. A kind of order can be created in the layout by successively ordering spatial elements in different scales. This change can be harmonized with the change of scale of urban spaces making the readability of the layout more feasible. The fourth indicator is creating simple forms, where in some parts of the pathway configuration, creating simple and geometric forms would create a pattern that might be better retained in the mind of users.

The fifth indicator is a clear beginning and end. One of the ways of making a commercial street more legible is to define a clear point of reference where it starts and another where it ends, respecting the distribution of adjacent streets in the area. A legible commercial street should end at or pass by the main cores of visibility. The importance of a street having a clear beginning and end is associated with it better getting recollected in users’ mental maps.

3.3.3 The Social Dimension

Social Readability is a method of using spatial knowledge appropriately after acquiring it and processing it in the mind. Bentley (1985) suggested that if spaces are understood by users, then they will be more vivacious which contributes to Lynch’s (1960) vision of Legibility. Being imaginable depends on the ability of a space to form a mental image after the user reads it, which is the second characteristic used to define Legibility. Consequentially, making spaces not confusing, easy to read the public and the private able to enhance mental images, especially in commercial streets, helps users focus on finding their needs. At this point, the way finding occurs. As such, people will be directed to find their destinations and their whereabouts (Antoniades, 1993). Wiseman (1981) pointed to the third characteristic stating it this way, “the degree of facility with which finding one's way is possible in a legible built environment” (Weisman, 1981). Table 3-4,shows the concluded indicators of legibility ,source: researcher

Dim

3.3.4 The Economic Dimension Legibility Concept

configuration of a commercial street affects Creating Continuity

Physical Dimension

Distribution of zones of activity in the

the flow of pedestrian movement through the

Clear Beginning and End

layout. Areas with a high density of

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

movement stay in the mind of users. In other

Creating Order

interconnect with the major zones of activity

Creating Simple Forms in Some Parts of the Pathway Configuration Rich Building Details

words, areas of big social gatherings that

stay in the mind because of the presence of people as well as the activity itself. Reconsidering

the

Diversity

and

Accessibility indicators would help to

Social Dimension

Social Readability

Economical Dimension

redefine the distribution of pedestrian

Distribution of Zones of Activity

movement in certain parts.

3.4 Safety 3.4.1 Safety as a Concept Safety is a network that uses high levels of surveillance and measures to ensure people feel safe at all times. Safety is considered the base of any successful open space. Its presence guarantees that other good attributes can take place. Barbara Becker, a German-American designer, emphasized the link between Safety and Vitality stating: “Planners have historically been at the forefront of designing places and standards that ensure safety while bolstering vitality and a sense of community” (Becker, 1973). Her words were emphasized by urban design and sociology theorists who studied Vitality. The next paragraphs present six clues of different theorists stating the relevance between Vitality and Safety. According to Lishan (2014), Safety is a substantial need in commercial streets where its absence prevents the occurrence of a vivid street life and keeps the street far from achieving higher standards. For Gehl (1987), the relevance between Safety and Vitality is found in accomplishing different types of activities around the clock, even at night. Maheta (2006) studied commercial streets concluding that five characteristics should be found to increase its desirability stating that “desirable neighborhood commercial streets would be the ones that provide a sense of safety, a sense of belonging, environmental comfort, a sense of control over the environment and sensory pleasure”. As Jacobs (1961, p. 30) writes, “When people say that a city, or a part of it, is dangerous or is a jungle, what they mean primarily is that they do not feel safe on the sidewalks.” By referring to this statement, she stresses the importance of streets and sidewalks to the unplanned interaction of strangers and the role these interactions play in maintaining safe urban areas. It is argued that a well-used street is a safe street. Not only did Jacobs show the importance of achieving Safety on sidewalks (see section 2.4), but she also stated the link between Safety and Diversity (see section 2.5). In establishing the hierarchy of human needs, Maslow (1954) identified physiological needs, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization, and cognitive and aesthetic needs in the built

Figure 3-8: Illustrates different theorists who studied Safety across time. Source: Researcher

environment. Similarly, Steele (1973) suggested six purposes of the built environment that influence the functioning of individuals or groups: shelter and security, social contact, symbolic identification, task instrumentality, pleasure, and growth. Hence, Safety is considered the base that other concepts of Vitality lie upon, its presence directly affects the state of Vitality and helps it in achieving higher standards and its absence makes the commercial street a deserted open space. This was emphasized by many theorists pointing out that Safety can be classified into actual safety and perceived safety. Actual safety will be studied in the physical dimension as it refers to the physical spatial elements that make pedestrians feel safe while perceived safety will be studied in the social dimension. The economical dimension is concerned with Safety in terms of different stakeholders’ needs to feel safe so that they can invest in a commercial street.

3.4.2 The Physical Dimension Actual safety depends on safe physical properties in urban spaces. Sidewalks must maintain certain indicators in order to safely lodge activities and stimulate life in commercial streets. Street crossings, sidewalk pattern, visibility, building maintenance, shop personalization, 35

street connections and speed of motor vehicles are all elements of actual safety which will be elaborated in the following paragraphs (Lambert, 2005), (Kolody, 2002), (Ghadimkhani, 2011), (Perkins, 1993) and (Perkins ,1986). Street crossings is the first indicator in Safety. Being short, safe and visible, crossings that connect two sides of a street physically and perceptually ensure the security of pedestrians (LA-Walkability Checklist, 2008, p.13, 17). Sidewalk pattern is the second indicator. Continuity of the sidewalk pattern is an essential feature of a well-designed pedestrian system that enhances Safety. It enables pedestrians, especially those with physical disabilities, to move safely along the street. The modifications on the physical pattern of sidewalks aim to remove all interruptions on the paths and therefore encourage pedestrians to walk. When sidewalks contain different street elements, the coordination between street furniture, buildings, trees and other landscape features achieves Safety. Nevertheless, sidewalks must work safely to regulate the relation between people and vehicles (Kolody, 2002). The third indicator, namely, visibility is the ability of pedestrians to visualize their surrounding scene in the public space. This relates to two important physical elements in public spaces. Firstly, the importance of Figure 3-9 shows types of Safety. Source: Lambert, 2005, p.44-45

lighting; different types of lighting that are appropriate for commercial use and pedestrians’ movement through

the street. Secondly, the distance a driver needs to see ahead to stop safely. The obstructions in the street must be reduced, trees and landscape allow visual penetration, consequently improve awareness of and visibility between motor vehicles and pedestrians (B Swinny, 2010). According to the current British Minister of Transportation, R. Goodwill, building maintenance is essential especially for old buildings where people get the feeling of a safe pleasant history instead of a scary one (transport, 2014). Traffic regulating indicators deal with slowing the speed of motor vehicles which works with the visibility indicator in order to increase active safety as well as connectivity. This creates a safer street (see section 2.4) which reduces walking distances and offers more route choices along streets. Perkins (1993) found that the personalization of shops makes a commercial street’s environment appear safer, as does the presence of street lights and other street elements (Perkins, 1993). 36

3.4.3 The Social Dimension Perceived safety means the protection of pedestrians from the feeling of danger in the street. It is different from actual safety. Whereas, the street crossing’s width and its coordination with other physical elements is the concern of actual safety, what makes people anxious when they cross the street is related to perceptual safety (Evans, 2009). According to Evans (2009) to allow pedestrians to perceive Safety, a street must achieve actual safety indicators first. In other words, perceived safety is the consequence of actual safety. However, Jacobs noted two indicators that add an extension to perceived safety. These two indicators are found in person-person relations. They are eyes on the street and liability. Jacobs was not the only one to emphasize them, other theorists also did. Firstly the eyes on the street indicator, for Jacobs and other writers (Gehl, 1987), (Gibson, 1979), (Lynch, 1984), (Lang, 1987) and (Montgomery, 1998), this indicator is the main reason people feel safe and secure in streets, despite being among complete strangers. The more people there are in the street, the safer they feel. Their “eyes on the street” provide informal surveillance of the urban environment. For residents to move safely through the streets, other people need to be present, contributing to an atmosphere of Safety. “That the sight of people still attracts other people is something that city planners and city architectural designers seem to find incomprehensible. They operate on the premise that city people seek the sight of emptiness, obvious order and quiet. Nothing could be less true. The presences of great numbers of people gathered together in cities should not only be frankly accepted as a physical fact, they should also be enjoyed as an asset and their presence celebrated...” (Jacobs, 1961). The second indicator is liability. Jacobs stated that public responsibility for one another must be found even between strangers. “This is something everyone knows: a well-used city street is bound to be a safe street. A deserted city street is bound to be unsafe, people must take a modicum of public responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other in order to enhance safety” (Jacobs, 1961).

Table 3-5,shows the concluded indicators of Safety and Comfort. Source: Researcher

3.4.4 The Economic Dimension Dim.

Safety Concept

The economical dimension of Safety is different from its other dimensions since its

Street Intersections

origin is investments and the economical yield. Economists stated a new synonym for a

Physical dimensions

Street Crossings Speed of Motor Vehicles

non-profitable street called “slow street”. Their point is that the street must be used mainly by pedestrians and that this will

Sidewalk Pattern Coordination Between Street Elements Respect of Sidewalk Space

directly affect the social dimension and consequently yield more. On the other hand, they stated that this cannot be accomplished without economic indicators.

Shop Personalization

investors of different scale to safely direct their businesses to a certain commercial

Social dimension

The following four indicators motivate

Eyes on the Street Liability

profit theory of investments which is, as John

Economic dimension

Visibility Building Maintenance

Governmental Support The Stability of City Laws and Regulations Clear Ownership of Commercial Property Vendors’ Communication Skills

M. Keynes and Irving Fisher argued, that

Flourishment of Opportunities

value is equal to zero and that there are

street. The investors’ role is to satisfy the

investments are not made until the present value of expected future revenues is equal to the opportunity cost. This means that investments are made when the net present

expectations of generating a stream of future cash flow (Frank J. Convery, 2015) .

The first indicator is city coordination. This happens when the city’s government encourages and recommends investments in a street resulting in physical and/or emotional yields. At this point, different traders and investors keep an eye on the said commercial street. The second indicator is when investors have clear ownership documentation that states their duties towards and rights of the property in the commercial street. Safety for investors is about knowing where they are going to invest and making it worthwhile. The 38

third indicator is the connectivity between vendors and buyers. The indicator here deals with being sure that what the vendor offers is what the tender user wants. In other words, vendors search for the yield behind investing in a certain commercial street and this cannot be obvious without finding need for their product/service. The last indicator is knowledge of city law, which makes investors more informed about the criteria the city defines so that the investment can take place (Frank J. Convery, 2015).

3.5 Comfort 3.5.1 Comfort as a Concept Many Theorists such as (R.Barker, 1968), (Gibson, 1979), (D.Appleyard, 1981), (Gehl, 1987), (Cullen, 1961), (Jacobs, 1961), (Rapoport, 1990) and (Lang, 1979) emphasized the importance of achieving a comfortable place in order to maintain activities. “The street environment needs to afford various activities and standing patterns of behavior that may potentially occur on the street within its comfortable context” (Gehl, 1987). Comfort in outdoor urban spaces has highlighted certain issues that demonstrated that although microclimatic parameters strongly influence thermal sensation, they cannot fully account for a complete achievement of Comfort. There are two types of Comfort, by achieving both of them, a full sense of Comfort is reached. In other words, the state of Vitality demands the achievement of a sense of physical as well as psychological comfort for users. Each type of Comfort requires the implementation of certain indicators in the environment. Indeed, all the previous concepts transmit a sense of comfort through which the user feels the whole state of Vitality. Some theorists argued that beyond offering protection from the sun, wind, and rain, providing a physiologically suitable setting is also an important issue. Whereas, the psychological adaptation seems to become increasingly important, one of the primary objectives of environmental design in the urban context is the creation of urban blocks with comfortable open spaces. In 1974, Koenigsberger wrote the book “Manual of Tropical Housing and Building: Climatic Design”, discussing the relation between physical comfort and urban design introducing the theory of Climatic Design to regulate activities in open spaces (Koenigsberger, 1974). Environmental comfort through protection from the natural elements and the provision of 39

shelter is the most basic human need and marks the primary role of the built environment (Maslow, 1954) and (Steele, 1973). Environmental conditions in public spaces and around buildings, such as microclimate (sunlight, shelter, air movement around buildings and lighting) play a vital role in creating a time interval that has an important impact on Vitality. Visiting a place in the summer differs from visiting it in the winter which is also different in the spring and autumn. Considering these environmental conditions increases the attractiveness of the commercial street (D.Chapman, 2010), (CHAPMAN, 1996), (Jacobs, 1961), (Lynch, 1960), (Gehl, 1987), (Lang, 1979) and (Montgomery, 1998). Microclimatic parameters are of central importance to the activities that are carried out in t he area and to a great extent, determine its use. Thus, the richness of the microclimatic cha racteristics in outdoor urban spaces and Comfort directly impact Vitality of the commercia l street (Marialena Nikolopoulou, 2003).

Figure 3-10: Iillustrates different theorists who studied Comfort. Source: Researcher

3.5.2 The Physical Dimension In a recent study of 20 towns and cities in Europe, Hass-Klau (1999) found that social activities occurred in places that had spirt of each season. Sunlight has been found to be a major attraction in the use of open public spaces (Liebermann, 1984) and (Mehta, 2006). However, Whyte’s (1980) study of plazas in New York City showed that while sunlight was an important factor in the spring, people sought shade provided by trees, awnings, canopies, and overhangs during the warmer summer months. Similarly, Zacharias et al. (2001) found that in Montreal’s public open spaces at temperatures above 20° Celsius, people preferred to move to areas under the shade. Common platforms have been developed for the analysis of open spaces in the urban environment, combining the physical elements of the environment (microclimate, thermal, visual and audible comfort and urban morphology). The physical aspects include adaptation to the local microclimate, as determined by the surrounding physical environment. Materials of the urban environment (building materials, shading devices and vegetation) play an important role in modifying microclimate and thermal comfort conditions. Their surface temperatures influence thermal balance and provide Comfort through radiant exchange, which is dominant in poorly ventilated environments. The most common condition in urban spaces at the pedestrian level is the consideration of the wind environment which is difficult to foresee and control because it is influenced by a number of factors, such as ‘Urban Morphology’ which is the three-dimensional form of a group of buildings and the spaces they create. Research at the Martin Centre in Cambridge has shown that by using the innovative application of image processing techniques and three-dimensional urban textures, connections can be made at a simplified level between urban form and microclimatic characteristics. Sound environment is an essential aspect of the physical comfort of urban open public spaces (Justin Dillon, 2006). Designing a good acoustic environment is not only an important physical aspect but also a social, psychological and physiological one that should be considered. Soundscape and acoustic comfort studies focus on the relationships between ear, human being, sound environment and society. It is also important to consider the interaction between sonic environment and microclimate conditions (Marialena Nikolopoulou, 2003). 41

Table 3-6, Shows the concluded indicators of Comfort. Source: Researcher

A successful open space is often associated Dim.

Comfort Concept

with a positive visual experience which

Urban Morphology Study

marks visual comfort in peoples’ minds. Several factors can contribute to this

Microclimatic Adaptation

satisfaction

e.g.:

unobstructed

views

physical dimensions

towards the landscape or surrounding The Spirit of Each Season

buildings, nice vegetation, spectacular façades and well-designed urban furniture. All these factors are related to aesthetics

Visual Comfort

and are therefore sources of “visual pleasure” and “visual comfort” which have

Acoustic Comfort

been addressed using a more technical

Vegetation

approach borrowed from lighting design studies. “Visual comfort” and “adequate

Shelter

luminance levels” are qualities that result from an open space design that is well

Social dimension

Esteem

Economic dimension

adapted to daytime natural light and also

Governmental Support The Stability of City Laws and Regulations Clear Ownership of Commercial Property Vendors’ Communication Skills

night-time visual comfort provided by public lighting (yahia, 2013).

Esteem

Flourishment of Opportunities

3.5.3

The Social Dimension

The revival of interest in the quality of urb an open spaces is linked to the emerging n eeds of people to enhance social life sustai ned by a comfortable physical environmen t. While humans are known to sometimes f unction in very challenging environmental conditions, the satisfaction of basic physio

logical needs including environmental comfort, precedes the accomplishment of higher ord er needs such as belonging, esteem, cognitive and aesthetic needs that achieve psychologi cal comfort (Maslow, 1954), (peter moonen, 2012) and (yahia, 2013). The economic dimension of comfort is maintained due to the presence of the same indicators of the economic dimension of safety. 42

3.6 Aura 3.6.1 Aura as a Concept “I like the fact that people can hang around here and socialize and not just be a customer. It is a meeting area, a destination. Everybody comes here. It attracts [people from] all wal ks of life, all races, working class, families, ........ It has its own unique aura.” these words were said in Mehta’s (2006) survey of commercial streets. Aura is the significance that a place holds for its users (Bolter, 2003). The state of Vitality cannot be achieved without having a unique environment. So, if users are not aware of the significance of a place, they will not experience aura and thus Vitality. Publisher Rachelle Levitt said that to make a place animate and full of life, it is not about how it has been developed nor about it being perfectly made, it happens when the place has something unique to give to people. As such, (stevens, 2009) in order to maintain a meaningful life in open spaces, it must have something unique to offer that is not offered in any other place. For Chapman (2010), an attractive place is an attraction to pedestrians, he also added the need to make an environment attractive through its physical, social and economic dimensions especially in commercial places where the availability of goods is not enough to maintain street Vitality. So, if there is another street that affords the same goods and services, liveliness in this street will decrease. However, if this street has its unique characteristics, then it will still attract users. Hence, Aura is the idea of getting users to choose a street over another one that offers the same goods and services. This uniqueness has two meanings according to the dimension it describes. Firstly, in the physical dimension, to urban designers, it means there is a visual attractiveness to the place. In the social dimension, to sociologists, it is the sense of connection between an individual and an object or a place where increasing a person’s understandings can increase the Aura of the object or place for that person. In the economical dimension, the uniqueness is in the goods offered and marketing attractiveness. Hence, Aura is the accomplishment of at least one of the indicators in each dimension to ensure the validity of the physical, social and economic uniqueness.

3.6.2 The Physical Dimension: “Since almost anyone can afford to hang a reproduction of a painting like the Mona Lisa on their wall, why do millions bother to travel long distances to Paris to visit the Louvre in person and crowd around Da Vinci’s painting? Clearly it is important to these visitors to be in the physical presence of the painting. There is “something” about being near the real thing. This something is the Mona Lisa’s

“aura"”

(Blair

MacIntyre, 2004). Figure 3-11, illustrates different theorists who studied Aura linked to vitality

Walter Benjamin introduced the concept of Aura in the early

20th century to describe the effect of traditional art objects or places on the viewer. Benjamin argued that that uniqueness or Aura is the reason for this link, which is a common view of many theorists (Gibson, 1979), (Lynch, 1960), (Gehl, 1987), (D.Chapman, 2010), (R.Barker, 1968) and (Lang, 1987). Four theorists studied the indicators that provide uniqueness to the physical environment (Eraydın, 2007), (Gehl, 1987), (Hutchison, 2008) and (J. Davis,2014), the following paragraphs will illustrate their vision. Firstly, Eraydin (2007) stated that the attractiveness of an urban environment is related to Gestalt’s rules which were also recognized by Wertheimer. Eraydin realized that the succession of flashing lights is seen as the motion of one light. Then, he transformed these flashes into a series of drawings with simple lines moving horizontally and vertically. Later on, this thought was further advanced by Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. Wertheimer

believed that components of wholeness do not stand alone, but together. Thus, Gestalt did not survey each part separately, but paid attention to the meaning of the whole (Eraydın, 2007). As a psychologist, Gestalt’s perception of attractiveness of an environment was that it happens in an unconscious way. Even though a good composition of urban elements is a subjective issue, it is possible to use Gestalt’s principles, namely the “Factors of Coherence”, to understand

whether

something

perceive is attractive or not. These factors

are

proximity,

closure,

continuity,

similarity,

closeness,

Figure 3-12, shows a vital street in Madrid, Spain, source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2184151/Shower-colour-Artist-creates-illusion-floatingumbrellas-vivid-art-installation.html

and

orientation (Eraydın, 2007). Secondly, Gehl (2000) highlighted the significance of a pleasant elevation and streetscape surrounding elevations in the formation of an urban street landscape. It makes a street interesting and people enjoy standing close to it. He thus lists five points of what a boring street-facing elevation looks like; big units nearly without doors, little variation of function, closed and negative façades, monotonous façades and lack of details. A pleasant urban streetscape can be established by creating an attractive façade especially on the streetfacing elevation of the ground floor which can be achieved by using positive exteriors and interesting details such as doors, bright windows and small-scale decorations. Thirdly, Hutchison (2008) discussed that each place is unique in its architectural character, which was developed throughout time. Hutchison argued that in order to make the street unique, its history and identity must be seen in its physical environment. He also emphasized Lynch’s vision of the selection process. The city’s open spaces must manipulate their past through old building selection (i.e. selecting which old buildings to keep and which to demolish and replace). This establishes a dialogue between old and new which constructs the city’s urban identity through the use of memory. This has been used as a strategy for 45

many cities such as Berlin, Germany and how its public open spaces use the memory of the Wall of Berlin to make its open spaces unique and give something which cannot be afforded by other cities. Fourthly, a welcoming physical environment, as stated by Davis (2003), with unique streets that are welcoming and interesting encourage more people to walk in them. This happens when different amenities are found in commercial streets. As such Mehta (2006) stated that such amenities are the reason for the presence of informal social activities in a commercial street.

3.6.3 The Social Dimension Personal significance refers to the individual associations that the place or object may have for a particular user. Aura describes the psychological response of one individual to that object or place. From that point of view, the cooperation between people is a unique feature that makes this response easier. It is in the atmosphere of a place and the connection felt by people together. A positive sense of people cooperation is fundamental to a richer and more fulfilling environment. Both Maslow (1954) and Steele (1973) recognize the need for this sense in order to make the open space share a symbolic identification. Also, the emotional attachment is required to achieve a sense of community in a public open space and to define its users as a community rather than just a group of people (McMillan, 1986). It is suggested that associations with people, places, and events contribute to a sense of familiarity and belonging (Mehta, 2006). Place Attachment” indicator lies within the realm of environmental meaning and association. Meaning is associated with the perceptual and the psychological aspects of environmental experience and within this realm, “Place Attachment’ is viewed as a form of connection or bonding between a person and the setting (Hidalgo, 2001), (Moore, 1994). Thus, Hidalgo and Hernandez (2001) describe it as the desire to maintain closeness to the object of attachment that generates a special feeling towards that particular place

3.6.4 The Economic Dimension Theorists divide the process of affording uniqueness to the goods and services that the street offer in two ways. The first one is by considering the new products that must follow certain processes to ensure their uniqueness. The second way is the process that must be followed to maintain the uniqueness of an existing product. These two ways will be discussed in the 46

following two paragraphs.

Table 3-7, shows the concluded indicators of aura, source: researcher

It is estimated that it takes 50 new creative ideas to generate a successful one that finally reaches the commercial market. successfulness

The the

opportunity is its ability to Figure 3-13: Illustrates general ideas that shape Aura. Source: Gehl, 2004

deliver unique benefits and

Dim .

innovative ideas, which is called the “Product Mortality Rate”. The Aura concept

physical dimension

Meaningful Place

significant difference from other places, which is the opposite of

Welcoming Built Environment

Aura. A seven-step development process is needed to increase

Pleasant Streetscapes Pleasant Elevations Attractive Retails

Economic dimension social dimension

greatest failure factor is the lack of

chances of uniqueness of a new product. They are innovative ideas, screening,

concept

business People significance

prototype

development, marketing testing and

Attachment

analysis,

testing,

commercialization.

These

steps guarantee the uniqueness of the products and the demand for

Creativity and Future Visions

their availability in the commercial street. The second process is

Occasional Events

followed by existing products. This

Ceremonies

process is the promotion which

Product Uniqueness

refers

techniques

for 47

communicating information about the products offered in the street. One of the main techniques is advertising the product’s benefits and uniqueness. As stated by theorists, occasional events and ceremonies are considered a good opportunity for businesses to advertise and attract buyers’ attention to use the street and buy the goods or make use of the services it offers.

Chapter Conclusion: Vitality in theory was linked to six concepts: Accessibility, Diversity, Safety, Legibility, Comfort and Aura. These concepts were found to be necessary for deducing the state of Vitality. This link was stated either directly or in directly in previous researches. For example, Jacobs (1961) pointed directly towards the Diversity concept to recognize Vitality in streets, while she referred to Safety indirectly by stating one of its indicators “eyes on the street”. Indeed, each one of these concepts was stated directly by one or more theorists while others stated them indirectly or pointed to one of their indicators. Throughout time, theorists studied Vitality by building on each other’s visions and giving the state more illustration. In other words, the state of Vitality is recognized through layers that were crystalized by different theorists’ visions. For example, not only did Jacobs (1961) relate Diversity to Vitality, but she also emphasized Whyte’s (1960) vision of the importance of Accessibility by integrating both Diversity and Accessibility in order to cater to the state of Vitality. This clarifies the direct relation between the six concepts which means that achieving one concept affects other concepts of the state of Vitality. The difference between Vitality and urban design approaches that achieved success is in the scope of Vitality. This was clarified through the various fields involved in studying it. Consequently, there is a demand for each field and its study in order to maintain this state. This demand is expressed through indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions of a commercial street. Each of the six concepts can be seen through its physical, social and economic indicators. In other words, the indicators guarantee the existence of the concepts. Despite that the concepts were linked to Vitality from the 1960s until the beginning of the 21st century, it is still questionable whether the indicators are convenient until the present time and whether they are up to date. The six concepts were found to have approximately the same importance in theory which requires their implementation together. This appears in the timeline for the appearance of Vitality and its concepts. The need for 48

concepts to cater to Vitality demanded their study which explains their respective appearance after the appearance of the term itself. This point needs to be examined in practice and will be discussed in the next part of the research “Vitality in practice”. The following chapter will be limited to the study of Vitality in the practical field in order to confirm the theory concluded in the referential set.

Figure 3-14, shows the link between the six concepts and vitality, source: researcher

Table 3-8, the concluded indicators, source: researcher

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

Physical Dimension

Perquisi te Dimensi ons

Concepts of Vitality Accessibility

Diversity

Legibility

Safety

Comfort

Aura

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Urban morphology study

Meanigfull place

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Microclimatic adaptation

Welcoming built environment

Permeable spaces

Mixed Land use

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

Speed of motor vehicles

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

Pleasant streetscapes

Nodes

Building age Varity

Creating order

Sidewalk pattern

Building masses' materials suitability

Pleasant elevations

Mobility distance

Building architectural styles Varity

Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

Coordination between street elements

Visual comfort

Attractive retails

lanes definition

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk reverence

Acoustic comfort

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Visibility

Vegetation

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Shelter and other

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization Heterogeneity

Equitable access to people

social readability

Proximity

Eyes on the street

Belonging

street's people significance

Liability

Esteem

attachment

Privacy Opportunities ease of reach

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities sequence Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Governmental support

Creativity and future visions

Variety of profitable sectors

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Variety of commercial activity

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Different choices of commercial activity

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Variety of labor

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Opportunities flourishing

4 Vitality in practice This chapter analysis three commercial streets. It aims to examine the appliance of the six concepts developed in chapter two and three. If achieving the state of vitality requires the implementation of the six concepts together or the existence of some may achieve the same result will be discussed in this chapter. Two steps were used to analyze the three examples. Firstly, illustrates the reasons for being in the state of vitality. Secondly, determines the concepts each street followed to cater the state of vitality through the indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions of the street.

4.1 Mariahilfer Street, Vienna According to the international ranking (https://www.imercer.com), Vienna is the most livable city in the world in 2016, as in the past years; it ranks at the top of a leading international comparative study on the quality of living in different cities, and scores highly in many other rankings (See table 4.1). Table 4-1shows different ranking of Vienna with comparison to other cities, source: economist.com).

According to the UN-HABITAT report (2015), Vienna is the world’s most prosperous city, this due to the balance between built-up areas (35.6%),green spaces (45.5%),bodies of water (4.6%) and streets(14.3%). Also the “innovation Cities Global index” counts the Austrian capital among the world’s most innovative cities accomplished by strong economy and high quality of living . focusing on successful commercial streets of Vienna. According to zappee (2014) Mariahilfer street is the busiest commercial street in Vienna. The following section will investigate the reasons and the concepts used to maintain the state of vitality in Mariahilfer Street.

4.1.1 The state of vitality in Mariahilfer Street As stated by the city council of Vienna’s s report (Lukacsy, 2015), pedestrians can find Activities in Mariahilfer at various times from morning to late evening on weekdays and weekends. People enjoy shopping and doing activities at morning also a good urban design of street let the social life serves as night-time meeting place for Vienna. The footfall on the street is between 25,000 – 40,000 pedestrians per day (Stadt Wien, 2015). According to Municipal department 28, the street forms the new heart of the city. Mariahilfer Street is an important factor of the economy (Stadt Wien, 2015) see figure 4.1.More than a billion turnover in retail sector, commercial activities held in this street where Lots of small and medium-sized enterprises are found, About 9000 employees in retail sector, gastronomy, service enterprises. Activities in Mariahilfer street successfully represents street’s vitality and helps to support the vitality of the city overall (Stadt Wien, 2015). A lot of people engaged in optional and social forms of activities, besides the primary activity of acquiring goods and services; people go shopping to meet and spend time with their friends, to look around and people-watch (Stadt Wien, 2015).

Figure 4-1 shows Marihilfer street in 2015,s ource: landarchs.com

The roots of the state of vitality in the Marihilfer Street can be traced back to 50s; the pedestrians’ use and satisfaction were at its pick. At 1996 the passers-by-frequency has risen sharply in the street, The capacity limits for pedestrians have been reached, the pavements were overcrowded, Motor vehicles claimed large areas of the street even though the majority of visitors are using public transport for coming(see Figure 4-2).The street of Marihilfer transformed from the state of vitality to chaotic (Zappe, 2014). A redesign is necessary to 52

support the life in the street and ensure the commercial interests. This was the decision of the government of Vienna.

The design aims to provide maximum space for pedestrians and cyclists but which at the same modestly gives way to the bus and local traffic (Stadt Wien, 2015). An urban master plan formulates the targets and objectives for the future development and structure of a given city quarter in terms of an integrative overall plan. Through a general theme, it presents a vision for the new city quarter and begins with its urban design. The method for implementing the plan requires the evaluation by experts and interest groups, all citizens can view any land use and development plan and comment on it (Stadt Wien, 2015). In order to accomplish the equitable use of public street space by all pedestrians. It calls for its efficient design and organization as well as for mutual consideration and respect instead of regulations and barriers (see Figure 4-3).

Figure 4-2, shows marihilfer street before development, source :walk21 vienna.com,accessed 1.2016

Figure 4-3, shows the schedule of the development from the start to the end, source: straben wien, 2015.

In August 2015 the longest shared space of Europe see Figure 4-3, the Mariahilfer Street in Vienna was officially opened. The redevelopment of the 1.4-kilometer long street took eleven months start to finish. In those months the street was made more vital with pedestrian friendly use through different visions of different stakeholders see Figure 4‑4. Hence, the implementation of the state of vitality was the result of an agreement of urban designers, sociologists, economists in the city council and people using the street. The strategies that shaped the success of the street will be analyzed in the next section.

Figure 4-4, shows participation of different stackhoders in developing the streets, source: (Stadt Wien, 2015)

4.1.2 Achieving the concepts for vitality 4.1.2.1 Accessibility Concept Concerning

the

physical

dimension

accessibility, Widening the sidewalk which means more space in front of the shops lanes definition successfully attracted pedestrians , New loading zone concept, fewer traffic signs, standard loading hours were the main tools for achieving

accessibility.

The

physical

dimension of accessibility considered most indicators in the referential set see Figure 4-10, the social dimension considered fully in the development plan (straben wien, 2015). Mariahilfer street connects the Imperial Palace Hofburg in the Inner City (Innere Stadt) with (West Train Station) were mostly used for cars a larger space that was wasted not only for Figure 4-5,shows Mariahilfer arial view, source:zappee,2014

moving cars but in particular also for parking cars. Apart from occupying scarce public

space, slowing down and removing these cars also made it possible to create great commercial places to sit and made it much easier and safer for people to cross the street (see Figure 4-6), thereby adding positive economic effects as well see (straben wien, 2015). Concerning the social dimension, a good urban design led to 40,000 pedestrians per day 63%, 6000 – 16,000 cars per day 29%, 1000 to 3000 bicycles per day 8%, Choice of transport mode for getting to Mariahilfer Street made it easier for all social levels to access Mariahilfer Commercial Street. 65 % underground, train, bus, tram, 13.8 % pedestrians, 3 % bicycle, 1 % motorcycle and 8%car, a good physical environment that followed urban design strategies aiming easier use and accessing for all the street. Concerning the economic dimension, the opportunities of the street are located in linear organization or central around the nodes of the street to be easily seen and accessed by users. As stated before, the goods are easily access the street due to the determination of loading and service time.

Figure 4-6, shows Marihilfer street map, source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=119083017

4.1.2.2 Diversity Concept Mariahilfer Commercial Street does not followed the indicators of the physical and social dimensions of diversity fully, which contributes with Jacobs (1960) and other writers about the importance of diversity implementation. The design of the street allows different users to use the street. The Mariahilfer Street considered being very rich in the physical dimension, where it includes very subtle guiding lines for the different user groups also the surrounding physical environment have diverse architectural details, masses variety and streetscape (Stadt Wien, 2015). This way the social dimension of the street became a mixed zone where everyone intuitively had his or her own space. On the other hand, according to zappee (2014), despite being accessible for all people but to the Mariahilfer still face a problem in its economic dimension, which is the commercial property is limited to a specific group. The commercial properties are limited to large investors and excluding other profitable sectors. According to Vienna’s city council, the street offers different choices of commercial activities and variety of labors. indicators in the economic dimension of diversity were not fully considered. The limitation of profitable sectors influences badly the heterogeneity of the street. Hence, it is not necessary to follow all the indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions of each concept where vital commercial streets do not follow all the indicators but most of them. 4.1.2.3 Legibility Concept According to zappee (2014), Vienna ‘s council highly concerned with making it easier to pedestrians to walk, this was maintained through increasing the readability and understanding of the surrounding built environment. This was done by the enhancing the physical dimension to be easily understood. Vienna’s first map of pedestrian routes, as well as a smart phone app, was available from spring 2015 to achieve the wayfinding. A better 56

understanding method was implemented by modular ordered spaces and more flexible division of space between the individual businesses, New furniture (4 water table fountains, 5 outdoor lounge areas, 82 new seats and benches, 24 new tree seats) the specially designed modular furniture, visitors have opportunities to meet without having to order anything also letting children learn from their environment and allowing more free zones (Lukacsy, 2015). The main core of visibility in the street is Marihilf cathedral. Other cores are distributed to attract users and increase their movement understanding. Concerning the social dimension, due to the limitation of the commercial properties to large investors, the social readability is established as high socio economic status of the pedestrians in the street. According to straben wien, the absence of commercial activities distribution negatively impacts the street legibility. Hence, the considerations of the physical and social indicators of legibility were fully considered while the economic dimension was not considered.

Figure 4-7, shows Marihilf cathedral, source: zappee, 2014

4.1.2.4 Safety Concept The certainty of traveling safely as a pedestrian as well as the feeling of being perfectly safe in public space contribute enormously to enhance the attractiveness of walking. Vienna applied strategies on Mariahilfer Street to support safety. These strategies depends on “Ethics”: human life and health are paramount; they take priority over mobility. 57

Vienna maintains safety concept by rising a community motto which is responsibility chain: The providers, professional organizations and professional users are responsible for the safety of the system (Zappe, 2014). The users have the responsibility to follow rules and regulations. If the road users fail to follow rules and regulations, the responsibility falls back on the providers of the system. The Safety philosophy that Vienna transmitted through its public open spaces which is” humans make errors”; road transport systems and roads were developed to decrease the opportunity for error and the harm done when errors occur, to guarantee the safety of all citizens and each of the participants should be ready to change to achieve safety. The city pursues the long-term objective of reducing the victims killed on Vienna’s streets to zero the physical dimension of safety was considered fully specially by affording smart lighting: 111 new energy-efficient lights (reduction of energy consumption by 80%) Attractive pavement surface: about 420.000 new slabs, 5 street-crossing aids for people with impaired vision, users can use the street without any interruption. Concerning the social dimension, the presence of people increase the perceived safety. Concerning the economic dimension, the city of Vienna had a clear role to maintain the safety of investors. The government supported vendors, formulated clear ownership of the commercial properties to enhance the investors’ safety. Hence, Marihilfer Street achieved a safe physical, social and economic dimension through general higher strategies put by the city council (Zappe, 2014). 4.1.2.5 Comfort Concept Comfort’s two fields; thermal comfort and psychological comfort were implemented in the street. Firstly, the thermal comfort, the furniture was designed in such a manner that the different elements can be placed close to one another, creating sheltered areas in the street see Figure 4-10. But an absence of any studies related to the microclimatic analysis of the street has been found which neglected a strong side that helps in figuring comfort (Zappe, 2014). Indeed the psychological comfort is important; the change done to Mariahilfer was to provide a full satisfaction of users. A Survey that reflects what users want revealed that the People want a level free road. Concerning the physical dimension, a well-designed wide walkway is the main indicator to be achieved for a comfortable street. The pavement and the different modules are made from Austrian granite and the furniture’s seating of Cumaru wood. Colorful trees are placed in large planters, adding an extra layer to the existing high- crowned trees, giving the street a more intimate character. The newly developed meeting areas create comfortable zones in the busy shopping street. This 58

increase the pedestrians’ belonging to the street and their esteem; the social dimension. A relaxed atmosphere was created in which visitors can both shop as well as take a good rest after a busy day. Less noise on Mariahilfer Straße because of the establishment of pedestrian, precinct and of encounter zones. Water and air for the trees (Tree pits are covered by a water-permeable, resin-bonded protective layer). Hence, comfort can be figured psychologically, but there is a less concern to the thermal comfort especially in winter where the use of the street as a meeting point considered to be difficult.

Figure 4-8, shows the different comfortable furniture found in the street, source: landarch.com

4.1.2.6 Aura Concept The uniqueness of the street came from several elements in the place itself; the physical dimension, linking these elements to people’s mind and feelings increased the street’s significance; social dimension. Beginning from the history of the street (see Figure 4-9). Firstly, the roman roads of the area developed around the year 1000, which came to be known as Mariahilf;"Mary's help" (Zappe, 2014). From early time Mariahilfer Street was a successful shopping street; economic dimension. Also, it is a residential street, so it contains rich architectural buildings and carries a unique significance to people living on this street. Not only for its architectural richness and shopping property, but also for a well urban design based on people participation shaping their own place, overlapping the past features of the street with a present physical environment (see Figure 4-9). To achieve the concept of the street belongs to everyone, more creativity should be found (Zappe, 2014). Hence, the first visit to the Mariahilfer Street the aura is extracted mostly from the historical buildings found there, despite the lack of creativity. But for the people who lives and works there, the street carries its own significance related to pedestrian’s mind and feelings as a reason of participation in the developing and passing through the sequence themselves.

Figure 4-9, shows the different situations the street passed through. Source: (zappee, 2014).

Table 4-2, shows the appraisal of the referential set in Marihilfer street, source: researcher

Perquisite Dimensions

Meta - Concepts of Vitality Accessibility

Diversity

Safety

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Comfort

Nodes

Urban morphology study

Building age Varity

Creating order

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk pattern Building masses' materials suitability Pleasant elevations

Sidewalk reverence

Vegetation

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Shelter and other

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization

Economic Dimension

Heterogeneity

social readability

Proximity

Attractive retails

Acoustic comfort

Visibility

Social Dimension

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Equitable access to people

meanigfull place

Microclimatic adaptationWelcoming built environment

Mobility distance Building architectural Creating simple stylesforms Varityin some parts of the Coordination pathway configuration between street elements Visual comfort

lanes definition

Aura

Mixed Land use Distribution of “Cores of Visibility” Speed of motor vehicles Varity of Environmental conditions spirit Pleasant streetscapes

Permeable spaces

Physical Dimension

Legibility

Eyes on the street

Belonging

street's people significance

Liability

Esteem

attachment

Privacy Opportunities ease of reach

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities sequence

Variety of profitable sectors

Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Variety of commercial activity Different choices of commercial activity

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Governmental support

Creativity and future visions

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Variety of labor

Opportunities flourishing

Mariahilfer street chart 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 accessiility diversity

legibility

safety

physical dimension

social dimension

comfort

aura

economic dimension

Figure 4-10,shows the percentage of indicators’ achievement of in the three dimensions, source: researcher

4.2 Las Ramblas Street, Barcelona Barcelona is a Mediterranean city; back to 18th century, it faced economic problems. In 1859 the city of Barcelona initiated a competition for the urban expansion of Barcelona to develop its economy. It was won by Antonio Rovira, his plan provided the city in the past and still continues to provide high quality of living and refined balance between public space and private property. Several key strategies were followed in order to, accomplish higher aim which is wider open spaces; 37% for roads and plaza, 20m wide streets instead of 3m. Also, the grid was nondiscriminatory among the city. Among them, buffering the one block shift in grid from the Passeig de Gracia to the Rambla (Bosschaert, 2005). This eventually turned into the current heart of the city (see Figure 4-11).

Despite that the relation with the sea remained thin, le Rambla is a strong connection between the harbor and the Figure 4-11, shows the city of Barcelona map, source: mapping las ramblas, 2007

inner city. las Ramblas is a commercial urban street designed in order to provide

benefits in terms of traffic calming, economic development, stormwater management, parking, heat island effect, and aesthetics called as the emotional hub of the city (Bosschaert, 2005).

4.2.1 The cycle of vitality in Las Ramblas A wide boulevard in the 80s was constructed, in order to increase pedestrian activity and the economic situation. By removing the center turning lane, decreasing the road to one lane in each direction, creating a wide, tree‐filled, multi‐purpose space in the center and restore some of the street’s downtown character las Ramblas turned to be a pedestrian boulevard (BICE, 2014). Barcelona’s city council was concerned with serving social interaction and communication in public spaces; by other words, public open spaces are meant to strengthen day to day social relations, as well as to function and stands for special events such as district festivals. This message is found in las Ramblas were 25,000 people animating the street day and night (see Figure 4-16). At night, the whole place lights up and a European street scene at its best. Entertainers such as mimes or musicians surround the street and Artists sell their 62

beautiful watercolor paintings, pottery, and carvings. There is a lively and large food market along the promenade where people go to the various culinary pleasures and chefs from all over the local area go to buy their ingredients for the restaurants, which offers variety (see figure 13) (Jafni, 2010).

Figure 4-12,shows the commercial activity intensities by time sequence in le rambla day, source: rehabilitation dela calle,2004

las Ramblas ends at the port where a statue of Christopher Columbus is found. Many people actually climb the monument to get an amazing view of Barcelona and the ocean. There is a variety of social and optional activities happening with the commercial activity. It is pretty hard to get bored at such vital and colorful place (BICE, 2014). The following section will investigate the Meta concepts of vitality in las Ramblas street.

Figure 4-13, shows boulevard after development, source: Moule & Polyzoides

4.2.2 Achieving the concepts for vitality 4.2.2.1 Accessibility Concept Concerning its physical dimension, Las Ramblas is nearly 1.2 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea at Maremagnum and the Columbus Monument to the heart of Barcelona at Plaza de Catalunya (see Figure 4-14). With shortened crosswalks and slower vehicular speeds, the street achieved most the physical indicators (Bosschaert, 2005). The street depends mainly on the nodes that make it easier to access the street and positively impacts legibility. The middle boulevard is on average, 40 to 60 feet wide, Sidewalks are less than 10 feet wide, encouraging walking in the center to decrease the mobility distance. The total width of las Ramblas from building face to building face is 20 m (bice, 2014). Cars are restricted to narrow lanes on either side of the promenade, plus a lane for parking and deliveries. Pedestrian traffic rules in this area, and the blocks are made for easy walking. The subway runs down the entire street with three stations opening up to Las Ramblas and all three running along the green line. Las ramblas is actually connected to main areas of Barcelona (Bosschaert, 2005)

Figure 4-14, SHOWS LAS RAMBLAS MAP, SOURCE: http://www.mparchitects.com

According to Bosschaert, the permeable spaces are blocked due to the street vendors. Also,the absence of directional signs negatively influence the ease of reach across the street.Streets that meet Las Ramblas connect to important districts and destinations such as art and cultural institutions. Las Ramblas is a street that has six sections with six nodes, each with a different flavor and permeable spaces see Figure 4-16.Concerning the social dimension, La Rambla is a very central and ancient pedestrian public space, which has a very strong relationship with its central neighbors, and it has a good accessibility like having metro, bus stations. This increase the equitable access to people. It is also near to the port. Also, Las Ramblas gives all the civil transportation opportunities like permitting cars, motorcycles, bikes, and having pedestrian transportation (BICE, 2014). Concerning its economic dimension, despite the opportunities through the street are in sequence to attract users till the end of the street but according to Bice (2014), the opportunities are not fully 64

seen by pedestrians. According to bosschaert(2005), vendors face problems in acessing their goods to the street due to the high footfaal during the ay and the blocae of the secoundry streets. 4.2.2.2 Diversity Concept las Ramblas is a diverse commercial street, where its physical, social and economic environment supports the success of diversity. The physical environment offers a variety of buildings with different functions; shops, markets, and cultural institutions along the artful street create an attractive and diverse experience for pedestrians. According Biccheart (2005), Buildings are 5-7 stories with limited architecture style “Catalan gothic architecture”. The street buildings do not contain modern architecture that adds the sense of various eras. It is lined with kiosks selling everything in the middle boulevard. Different streetscapes are found correlated with the building masses (BICE, 2014). Hence, las Ramblas Street considered most the physical indicators of diversity, as well as its social and economic dimension; a diverse range of goods and opportunities for all people. Concerning the social dimension, According to Bice (2014), the street offers choices for all people socio-economic status. This achieve the heterogeneity, proximity and privacy indicators. Concerning the economic dimension, a diverse commercial activity, choices for people and labors are present but the limitation of properties areas restrict the values of commercial properties. 4.2.2.3 Legibility Concept Concerning its physical dimension, the street is designed in a readable way to be used by pedestrians easily (see Figure 4-15). Six nodes divide the street through different reference points to be perceived and understood by pedestrians (see Figure 4-16). The street has a rich cultural heritage that increases the pedestrians’ perception of the street and let children learn and refresh adult's memory (BICE, 2014). Las Ramblas’ promenade gives pedestrians precedence. It is wide enough to be lined on either side with seating for restaurants, kiosks, and more, while still allowing for hundreds of people to enjoy. Las Ramblas six sections has a different cores of visibility, name, message, and purpose. The six sections assembled in a simple form to create order and meaning to pedestrians. From north to south, these sections are La Rambla de Canaletes: The northernmost Ramblas is named for the 19th century Canaleta fountain at this location.

Figure 4-15, shows las Ramblas section, source:http://www.mparchitects.com/site/thoughts/lesrambles-la-rambla-catalunya-barcelona

Figure 4-16,shows the five nodes in las ramblas street,source: (Bosschaert, 2005)

las Rambla dels Estudis: This section of La Rambla is named after the 16th-century university that was originally found there. Though the building was demolished in 1843, several important buildings remain such as theaters, churches, and palaces, some of which are housed in historically significant buildings.

La Rambla de las Flores (La Rambla de Sant Josep): La Rambla de las Flores is named for its many owner stalls which are joined by kiosks selling all kinds of books, magazines, and newspapers 24 hours a day. At the end of this part of La Rambla is a small square, the Plaça de la Boqueria, which has a mosaic by Joan Miró. La Rambla del Centre (La Rambla dels Caputxins): This section was the first part of La Rambla to be converted into a promenade 66

for people to meet friends in the morning (Bosschaert, 2005). La Rambla de Santa Monica: This last section of La Rambla before reaching the waterfront begins with Plaça del Teatre, named after one of the oldest theaters in the city. La Rambla de Mar: This newest Ramblas was added as part of Barcelona’s reform to open the city to the sea. Its monument to Christopher Columbus which allows views of the port and the city and its wooden walkway allows both residents and visitors to enjoy the sea and to be connected to Barcelona’s history. Hence, the street is easily read and understood by users. Concerning the social dimension, due to the equal chance for all, the social readability is figured as a public space for all (Bosschaert, 2005). According to Marshal (2004), the division of the street and the distribution of the commercial activities through these sections increase the street’s understanding; economic dimension.

4.2.2.4 Safety Concept According to Marshal (2004), las Ramblas face a problem in the actual safety. There is a dark underside to the late-night revelry and a growing number of residents are complaining. Some hoteliers complain that violent crime and robberies are on the increase; liability. Marshall (2004) also argues that the street’s success makes it a magnet for both the good and the bad. The street needs further development to maintain its vitality and economic growth; It is a very lively street that changes hour by hour and gives opportunities to all people especially tourists where its safety influence strongly on the city overall. Despite that affording the physical indicators that maintain safety as Lighting and pavement, sidewalk pattern, crossings, street intersections, the problem is found and influenced the commercial interest in the street (Bosschaert, 2005), (BICE, 2014) and (Marshall, 2004).The problem in the actual safety influenced the perceived safety in the social dimension; despite the street’s footfall is high but the responsibility of helping others negatively affect safety concept. Due to the governmental support, the city formulated a new strategies to solve safety problem. Concerning the economic dimension, the clear ownership, vendors communication skills positively affect investors and costumers. According to Bosschaert (2005), the low rhythm of shops flourishing is the result of touristic user’s frequency; the type of users attend the street are always changing.

4.2.2.5 Comfort Concept Concerning the psychological comfort, the amenities and comfort of the place are found as result of having a pedestrian prioritized street and the harmony between street widths, building height, landscaping and intensity of usage create a pleasant pedestrian experience in the physical dimension. Concerning the thermal comfort, the creation of a cooler outdoor space that could also be built to manage and recycle storm water. The pavement wave pattern that have been used for Las Ramblas open space is designed for rain water flow and avoid from drainage, The pavement at La Rambla de Mar is wooden type because it allows the visitors to enjoy the sea while Landscaping along the pedestrian zone have a natural canopy by using big trees that can give a shade to users. The Ramblas was the first public place of which there is a record to be planted with trees. In 1702 and 1703, 280 poplars trees were planted (BICE, 2014) (see Figure 4-18). Concerning the social dimension, the street has a relax atmosphere through the three different morphology. This increase pedestrians belonging to it. According to Marshall, (2004), the esteem is not fully figured by all pedestrians in the street due to negative impact of safety on the self-confidence for the street users’ (see Figure 4-17).

Figure 4-17, shows the three different morphologies of the street, source:http://www.mparchitects.com/site/th oughts/les-rambles-la-rambla-catalunyabarcelona

Figure 4-18,shows the usage areas of lar ramblaswhich indicate that 650m2 of trees are used in order to increase the thermal comfort,sourse:marshall,2004

4.2.2.6 AURA concept Concerning the physical dimension, Las Ramblas is located in an ancient area considered as an antique hub; has a good architectural value, having continuity with the facades of the old buildings. The street is full of history and character; a deep cultural meaning as having churches, ancient buildings, and old market places as Boqueria Market, dating back hundreds of years. The buildings, paths, vegetation, and details are proportioned so that pedestrians have pleasant spaces to interact in (BICE, 2014). Las Rambla is an open public space in which people are using the passage with various activities. It is a very historical,

unique

physical

environment that developed by Cerdà, following the fashion of most other European cities, lined with large trees planted to provide shade in the city, with a tree every eight meters. Trees Figure 4-19, shows the latest section of las ramblas le mar, source: Marshall, 2004

are probably the type of greenery that makes its presence most felt in the

lives of the people of Barcelona. They grow all over the city and their presence gives public spaces touches of seasonal color and rhythm. This increased the attachment to the place and the significance of people of the street; social dimension. Also the location of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain; it runs through the middle of the city and connects it to the sea see. Las Ramblas stands as a historical path that always developed to be adapted for new requirements of open spaces and commercial needs (BICE, 2014). Because of its social quality, people call it the “emotional hub” of the city. The planting in it of lines of leafy trees of different species, Street performers are the major creative features of Barcelona where it is considered to be the main decoration. Concerning the economic 69

dimension, the existence of ceremonies, occasional events increase the uniqueness of the street. On the other hand, there is an absence of a unique product only found in las ramblas. Hence, the aura of las Ramblas accomplished by following most the indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions with creativity (Marshall, 2005). This contributes with landry (2006), stating that the uniqueness of the commercial street gained from creativity. Table 4-3, illustrate the appraisal of referential set in las Ramblas street, source: researcher

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

Physical Dimension

Perquisite Dimensions

Meta - Concepts of Vitality Accessibility

Diversity

Legibility

Safety

Comfort

Aura

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Urban morphology study

Meanigfull place

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Microclimatic adaptation

Welcoming built environment

Permeable spaces

Mixed Land use

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

Speed of motor vehicles

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

Pleasant streetscapes

Nodes

Building age Varity

Creating order

Sidewalk pattern

Building masses' materials suitability

Pleasant elevations

Mobility distance

Building architectural styles Varity

Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

Coordination between street elements

Visual comfort

Attractive retails

lanes definition

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk reverence

Acoustic comfort

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Visibility

Vegetation

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Shelter and other

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization Heterogeneity

Equitable access to people

social readability

Proximity

Eyes on the street

Belonging

Liability

Esteem

street's people significance attachment

Privacy Opportunities ease of reach

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities sequence

Variety of profitable sectors

Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Variety of commercial activity Different choices of commercial activity Variety of labor

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Governmental support

Creativity and future visions

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Opportunities flourishing

120

Las ramblas street 100 80 60 40 20 0 accessibility

diversity

physical dimension

legibility

safety

social dimension

comfort

aura

economic dimension

Figure 4-20, shows the achievement of indicators in the three dimensions, source: researcher

4.3 Istiklal Street, Istanbul In 1980s economic and social spatial structure followed the neoliberal urban policies in Turkey. Urban redevelopment has been increased, and it became a priority for the city to meet market-driven demands in urban land and property markets. The 2000s have witnessed a dramatic shift in restructuring the city's economy and urban environment by developing larger, more expensive and more symbolic projects (Yetiskul, 2015). The following paragraph will illustrate the influence of this policy on Beyoglu district where Istiklal Street found. From 1950 to 1960, the population of Beyoğlu decreased rapidly and it has not changed significantly since the 1960s to 1990 (See Figure 4-21). Beyoğlu, which once was the reflection of the Western culture, has begun to answer the need of cheap residence of the rural people who immigrated to Istanbul, therefore important changes have been witnessed both in the social structure and the physical spatial structure (Wagner, 2013).Various strategies have been taken in order to revive the decaying neighborhoods of the historical center. Among these strategies, the establishment of the Association of Beautification. The association of beautification speacified plans for development. These plans are the Preservation of Beyoğlu in 1985, the organization of socio-cultural activities, the

preparation of the preservation plan in 1986, the widening of Tarlabaş ı Avenue in 1988, the pedestrian nation of Istiklal Avenue in 1990 (Wagner, 2013).

Figure 4-21, shows the decrease in population in Beyoğlu, source: (Yetiskul, 2015)

4.3.1 The cycle of vitality in Istiklal Street International real estate consultancy firm explains “Istanbul is expanding at a faster rate than other Turkish centers, which is why rents have increased so much”. Investors are looking to buy Istanbul property especially in Istiklal street despite prices rising very sharply over the last decade demand just isn’t slowing, making Istanbul one of the world’s best options for investment and rental property. This also was emphasized by the Turkish property expert Cameron Deggin who stated that ordinary residents working in the city, and international investors both find investing in Istiklal street will yield economic success now and then (propertyturkey.com,accessed.1.2017). Istiklal Street is the most audible avenues in Istanbul visited by nearly 50,000 people/day, 90% of Istanbul visitors go to Istiklal Street. This street is located in the historic Beyoğlu (Pera) district (see Figure 4-212). It is an elegant pedestrian street, 1.4 kilometers long, was completely pedestrianized during early 1990s as a result of The conception of wellorganized street networks, public squares, streets facades, and architectures as well as infrastructure and communication systems were driven by a political goal to change Istanbul to a modern European civilized city that could equal Paris or London in that time (Tugal 2008).

Figure 4-22, shows the top ten shopping streets property growth,source: turkeyproperty.com

4.3.2 Achieving the concepts for vitality According to Wagner (2013), Istiklal Street is being a dense and busy commercial street. Commercial interests are highly found (see). An interview was done by Lund University in 2010 to people passing by Istiklal Street in order to study the successfulness of the street the answers provided high performance in the social dimension of the street (Önder, 2013). One of the passengers stated that “Istiklal became alive through the people who go thier. These streets gain their identity through their frequent visitors. People create these places through own stories” (Kıratlı, 2010).

Figure 4-23, shows istiklal stret, right before sitiuation and left the after situation, source:http://www.istanbultrails.com/2008/11/how-istiklal-caddesi-became-istanbuls-mostfamous-and-fashionable-street/

4.3.2.1 Accessibility Concept According to Stéphane Tonnelat, a successful

public

accessibility

space

communicate

where

its

parts

together. The aim of the pedestrianization of Istiklal Street was to facilitate personal movement. As result, Istiklal street became an axis of the city that connects the

perpendicular

streets

the

neighborhood and provides an alternative for

moving

through

the

street;

permeability (see Figure 4-24) (Wagner, 2013). Also, The Street follows the rails of the old tram between Tunnel (old funicular)

and

Taksim

Square

Figure 4-24, shows the location of istiklal street,source:google earth

and

connects with a variety of different places with particular uses. Also, the physical dimension of the street allowed reasonable sidewalk for pedestrians, four nodes for the three sectors of the street. This decreased the mobility distance by users, time and effort. After a few years of the development, the street performance decreased and transformed to chaotic, in order to give Istiklal Street another chance, the government opened Tarlabasi Boulevard (see Figure 4-25), which is parallel to Istiklal Street on the north side. This had the act of supporting trade in Istiklal Street and giving people easier access to it. Successfully reshaped the streets vitality; the area was booming (Wagner, 2013). Concerning the social dimension, The creations of a homogeneous surface that promote interaction between pedestrian flows are found as result of affording different goods with various quality and prices; satisfaction of user’s around the street raised the audibility of the street as a whole. Thus, the performance of the street as a public space is successful, promotes social interaction and economic dimension through organizing and connecting different opportunities in the street without restrictions.

Figure 4-25, shows connectivity of the street with other city parts t, source:mancipality,2008

4.3.2.2 Diversity Concept Istiklal Street is physically diverse; the avenue is surrounded by late Ottoman era buildings that were designed with the Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Renaissance Revival, Beaux-Arts, and Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. There is an Absence of new buildings that stimulate the street’s modernity. The architecture work of tukish and European architects are rehabilitated; today a lot of universities, schools, hotels and retails are still situated along istiklal adding a diverse prestigious theme to the street’s physical environment (Wagner, 2013). Concerning social dimension, the street offers privacy, proximity (see Figure 4-26) but the heterogeneity is not established (Wagner, 2013). Concerning economic dimension, despite the street has variety of labor, and offer different choices of commercial activities but limiting the property values and profitable sectors negatively influence the diversity in the street.

Figure 4-26, shows the status of Istiklal street, source: gettyimages.com

4.3.2.3 Legibility Concept A survey was done by the tunnel at (2010), concerning Istiklal street social life. The finding revealed that more than 50% of the answers stated that Istiklal Street represented the city image in people’s mind. Istiklal Street physical environment sustain both the readability and the mysterious themes of legibility. Successful readable environment established through clear starts and ends, for every section of the street there is a clear historical landmark (see Figure 4-267); the beginning is from the Tunnel Square and the ending is Taksim Square in Beyoğlu. Along the street, there are other two landmarks. The Ağa Mosque, Galatasaray Square (Wagner, 2013). The street offers both the simple ordered form and having a rich building details that increase the readability of the street. Concerning the social dimension, Istiklal Avenue is a place that users can never feel bored through and can easily read the street’s social situation. Every visit adds a lot by giving deep meanings through the architectural physical environment and social life. It is full of meanings that serve different pedestrians' needs. Concerning the economic dimension, the street do not offer a clear distribution of activities; spaces for gathering allowing different activities are not distributed through all the street and found in taksim square only.

Figure 4-27, shows the landmarks through the street.source:wagne,2013

4.3.2.4 Safety Concept Concerning the physical dimension, the street has a clear sidewalk pattern the coordinate with other street elements, the maintenance of the building and the presence of different types of lighting increased the perceived safety. Concerning the social dimension, As result of the strong supported Commercial activity in Istiklal Street with a wide choices, the street is always busy and safe ‘eyes on the street”. As stated by pedestrians in Istiklal Street, it feels both alive with everybody and alone. On Istiklal Street, public and private spheres are fused in a significant way. The pedestalization of the street and the presence of the tram lane accomplished the road safety indicator. Concerning the economic dimension, the government always support investors and formulated a clear strict laws to decrease properties conflicts. Also, the vendors are highly skilled and the window shopping is considered by them their magnet to attract users. Hence, the street is safe through its three dimensions (Wagner, 2013). 4.3.2.5 Comfort Concept Istiklal Street that runs almost parallel to Tarlabaş ı Boulevard (south) another relevant aspect worth pointing out is the dedication along Istiklal Street. There, the adjacent streets 77

get even narrower and the open spaces smaller, suggesting comfortable surroundings see Figure 28). Concerning the physical dimension, according to tunnel research (2010), the street is visually comfortable and offers a variety of environmental spirit during the four seasons. On the other hand, the street do not contain sufficient shelter and greenery zones. Concerning the social dimension, despite that people feel their belonging to the street but the self confidence is not established due to the absence comfortable amenities across the street.

Figure 4-28,shows istiklal's inner perpendicular streets,source:wagner,2013

4.3.2.6 Aura Concept Istiklal is a unique pedestrian street in Beyoğlu, its aura came from the availability of physical, social and economic indicators. Its physical dimension represents part of the history with the Nostalgic Tramway between Taksim and Tunnel squares as a structural element in terms of transportation and also to reinforce the strong vocation of this pedestrian street. As stated before in section 4.4.4, this street is a vital area for commercial activities; at the same time, it is the central point of interaction between the old city and modern Istanbul. Socially unique by giving the sense of place which links people to Istiklal street; During the Ottoman period, the avenue was called Cadde-I Kebir (Grand Avenue) and was a popular spot for Ottoman intellectuals, also becoming a center for European foreigners and the local Italian and French Levantines who referred to it as Grande Rue de Pera. When 78

19th-century travelers referred to Constantinople they were mentioning the Grande Rue Pera and its half-European, half-Asian culture. With the declaration of the Republic on October 29, 1923, the avenue ‘s name was changed to Istiklal (Independence) for commemorating the triumph at the Turkish War of Independence. Concerning the economic dimension, the ceremonies and the economical variations, comparative commercial environment made significance for both pedestrians and investors. Table 4-4, shows the appraisal of vitality referential set in istiklal street, source: researcher

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

Physical Dimension

Perquisite Dimensions

Meta - Concepts of Vitality Accessibility

Diversity

Legibility

Safety

Comfort

Aura

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Urban morphology study

meanigfull place

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Microclimatic adaptation

Welcoming built environment

Permeable spaces

Mixed Land use

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

Speed of motor vehicles

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

Pleasant streetscapes

Nodes

Building age Varity

Creating order

Sidewalk pattern

Building masses' materials suitability

Pleasant elevations

Mobility distance

Building architectural styles Varity

Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

Coordination between street elements

Visual comfort

Attractive retails

lanes definition

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk reverence

Acoustic comfort

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Visibility

Vegetation

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Shelter and other

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization Heterogeneity

Equitable access to people

social readability

Proximity

Eyes on the street

Belonging

Liability

Esteem

street's people significance attachment

Privacy Opportunities ease of reach

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities sequence

Variety of profitable sectors

Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Variety of commercial activity Different choices of commercial activity Variety of labor

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Governmental support

Creativity and future visions

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Opportunities flourishing

Istiklal street 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 accessibility

diversity

physical dimension

legibility

safety

social dimension

comfort

aura

economic dimension

Figure 4-29,illustrates the achievment of indicators in the three dimensions, source: researcher

Chapter Conclusion: Despite that, the three examples are in a different context but the referential set got through their strength and weak indicators. In general terms, the analytical examples illustrate four points. Firstly, the six concepts are found in the three examples. From this point, this research considered these six concepts as “Meta concepts for vitality”. Secondly, the three examples achieved most of the indicators of each concept which prove the need for achieving indicators of the referential set. Thirdly, affording participation of pedestrians in the process of achievement of vitality increase the successfulness probability. This was emphasized through Marihilfer street example; the small percentage of people objected the development in the street, while many others participated and encouraged the idea .which guarantee the increase of investments and social life in the street. Consequently, the development interested different stakeholders; pedestrians, investors, and government. Fourthly, in order to maintain the life cycle of vitality, a continuous revise of the referential set should be considered through time. This is concluded from problem-solving strategies that the examples followed. For example, Istiklal street after its development at the beginning of 19th century the footfall increased to be chaos which led to difficulty in reaching pedestrians’ targets, the committee of beautification in turkey at late 19th century proceed to handle the problem by developing a parallel street adjoined to Istiklal in order to keep the high footfall and offering them more chances.

5 Al Attarine Mosque Commercial Street as a Case Study This chapter sets out to appraise Al Attarine Commercial Street in Alexandria, adopting a problem-oriented approach to identify the major problems that led to the current deterioration in the street’s state of vitality. The street’s problems were initially identified through the increase number of unused commercial properties. As surveyed, 20% of the commercial property located on the street are closed (see Figure 5-1) (see Appendix 1). AL Attarine mosque commercial street

Vacant property

Busy property

Figure 5-1 shows the percentage of vacant and busy commercial property in Al Attarine Street.

The purpose of this case study is to provide a practical tool that can be used to develop Al Attarine Street into a qualified built environment capable of accommodating and ushering in various people pursuing different activities and making the commercial interests more viable. Ultimately, that would significantly cater to the street’s state of vitality, which can positively contribute to the economy of the city.

In a diverse cosmopolitan city like Alexandria, Al Attarine Mosque Street was chosen due to its remarkable physical, social and economic dimensions. Its roots actually go back to the early 19th century. Located at Al Attarine district, the street was founded by foreigners, mainly Greeks (Morris, 1911) (see Figure 5-2). The early inhabitants of the street highly appreciated the art and the authenticity of Alexandria itself, which is integrated altogether within the district they populated embracing a cosmopolitan nature. Since the early establishment of the street, it served as a bustling commercial center (Atef, 2008). 81

5.1 Context Al Attarine Street extends for as long as 1.2 km, with a width of 12-15 m. It is actually an urban scale commercial street located within a short distance from the Roman amphitheater. The physical configuration of the street formulated the division of the street into three sectors (see Figure 5-4).The first sector runs from Saint Catherine Square and ends with an intersection with Foad Street. The second sector runs from the intersection of Foad Street and ends with Ismail Mehana Street, which is the continuation of Omar Tossoun Street. The third sector runs from Ismail Mehana Street and ends with Sherif Street, whereby the public tram-train passes through the street. As well as nine secondary streets pass through the street, 5 narrow

streets

and

pedestrian alleys. The street is also connected with an inner square called le piazza, Figure 5-2, shows Al Attarine Mosque Street, source: http://pharos.bu.edu/Alex/apt/

which has been serving many activities since the

early establishment of the street (see Figure 5-4). However, the commercial function of the street altered over time as the type of shops on the street witnessed a major change, from mainly selling spices and clothes to selling antiques, textile, lighting fixtures and other commercial products (Atef, 2008). The street features a department store, known as Hanu department store, which is considered one of the historical landmarks of Alexandria. Al Attarine Street is also a tourist destination; whereby the street achieved high favorability due to its unique commercial products in 82

general (Morris, 1911). Based on the conducted survey and stated by Morris (1911); Al Attarine street contains historical old buildings with rich architectural styles that were built during different eras, especially Al Attarine Mosque.

Figure 5-3, Al Attarine Commercial Street, source: Google earth developed by researcher.

Figure 5-4, the start of Al Attarine Mosque Commercial Street source: researcher.

5.2 Methodology To appraise the Meta concepts and indicators, three methods combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used as follows; questionnaire, interviews, observation (gate method, survey and pedestrian tracking) (see Appendix 6). Each method covered several indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions of the Meta-concepts. The following paragraphs will attempt to carefully define the specifics of each method.

Firstly, the questionnaire tool limited to visitors, was carried out individually. The sample size was 350 people, calculated as a percentage from the footfall number. The footfall was estimated at 16,000 using the observation gate method which will be explained in the following paragraph. The questionnaire was calculated using an online calculator (surveysystem, 1982) with 95% confidence level and a +_ 5 margin of error. The questionnaire was divided into three sections, containing both open and closed questions providing qualitative and quantitative data (see Appendix 3). The first section concerned brief questions and personal details, followed by the second section concerned with the social dimension of the vitality of the street. The third section concerned with the main reason for using the street. The questionnaire was designed to take between 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and the analysis will give a summary of the answers obtained.

Secondly, as for the owners of the commercial properties, 5o interviews were carried out to cover the three sectors of the street. The interviews investigated the economic dimension of the street due to the limited availability of data. Thus, they were semi structured, its questions were longer and tend to be more opened questions. The interviews were used to also corroborate the questionnaire findings (see Appendix 2).

Thirdly, the observation was conducted using three techniques. First, the Survey technique, which mainly aims to appraise the physical dimension of the Meta-concepts in the referential set documented such analysis in the form of maps, highlighting the strength and weakness points of the street’s physical dimension. The second technique is the gate method (see Appendix 5), a spatial observing technique that allows researchers to collect data that can be represented graphically and statistically through observing people moving into and out of the street. This method is applied by locating certain gates through the street. According to Gehl (1984) these gates are selected every 500 meters. However, in this study; 84

four gates are selected due to the physical spatial environment so as to cover the beginning and the end of each street sector (see Figure 5-7). After locating the gates, an imaginary line (see Figure 5-6,Figure 5-5) is drawn across the street, counting people that cross this line within a certain interval of time (15 min) in each gate .The counts are multiplied up to calculate the rate per hour (Grajewski, 1992). The gate method was carried out between five different time intervals; from 8 am - 10 am (morning rush-hour), 10 am - 12 noon (midmorning period), 12 noon - 2 pm (lunch-time peak), 2 pm - 4 pm (mid-afternoon period) and 4 pm - 6 pm (evening rush-hour) (see Appendix 5). The observation was carried out during the period extending from 1-5-2016 to 15-5-2016 .This technique mainly investigated the indicators of the physical dimension. As Grajewsk (1992, p2) stated ‘We observe in order to see how much we can learn about the environment without taking account of people’s intentions. If you ask each individual in the City about their pattern of movement, he or she is likely to give you an answer in terms of purposes of journeys. However, because cities are very large, dense and well-populated, the purposes of individuals moving about the urban landscape do Figure 5-6, shows gate method technique, source: Grajewsk, 1992.

not constitute the sum-total of activity contained within. Their collective activity gives rise to a pattern

movement independent

use

and

that

the

intentions of individuals. In this kind of situation, if you observe what goes on you

can

retrieve

something of the objective Figure 5-5, shows the gate method table, source: Grajewsk ,1992

properties of the built environment”.

Figure 5-7 shows the four gates pointed in Al Attarine Commercial Street, source: researcher.

The third technique used in this observation method is the pedestrian shadowing technique, which is a type of behavioral mapping. Behavioral mapping can be described as a systematic observation research that tracks behavior over space and time. The study and analysis of human Figure 5-8, shows a sample of the pedistrian shadowing map done on Alattarine mosque street “Al Attarine mosque gate”, source: researcher

behavior provides appropriate, relevant,

and richer view of human needs when it comes to the use of space, form, and artifacts, more than the traditionally intuitive visual-aesthetic approach does. 86

The tracking may focus on a place or be based on movements of individuals, also known as place-centered and person or individual-centered mapping. This research utilizes a person-centered method which requires close monitoring of participant to track their movements and behavior. Other six types of behavioral mapping can also be found, yet the difference between each type lies in the technique used to extract the information (Norma, 1993). This research uses the shadowing technique (see appendix 4). The shadowing technique is applied by monitoring 100 pedestrians across the four gates of the street. Within every time interval, 20 shadowing are done, monitoring 5 pedestrians in each section (see Figure 5-7). This method investigates indicators in the physical and social dimensions. The pedestrians shadowing carried

out

was on

Saturday because of the high footfall on that specific day of the week. A trial day was executed before the shadowing day to test the process. This method

was

also

executed after the application of all the other methods used to figure out most of the Figure 5-9, shows a sample of pedestrian shadowing map "souk Alattarine ",source: researcher

physical

and

social dimensions of the street.

The rest of the chapter is dedicated to the analysis of Al-Attarine street board on the referential set. Key conclusions to each concept is subsequently derived (see appendix 6).

5.3 Al- Attarine Mosque street analysis 5.3.1 Accessibility Meta concept In order to appraise the accessibility Meta concept, three methods were used (see Appendix 6); observation, interview and questionnaire, and simulation. The following sections will illustrate the results of the indicators in the physical, social and economic dimensions. 5.3.1.1 Physical dimension Al Attarine Mosque Street is well connected with the streets of the city. It is connected to the three main streets, Foad street, Ismail Mehana and Sherif. The street is also connected

eleven

secondary

streets (saint Catherine Street, Adib, Askouf, Sero Stries, Elgohary, Haret Halab, Ali Laythy, Sidi Makdesy, Elsamani, Elwedad and Shebin el Kom streets). Small Figure 5-10, shows Al Attarine mosque street traffic conjunctions, source: researcher.

length

blocks

form

the

morphology of the street (see Figure

Figure 5-11, shows main and secondary streets in Al Attarine Mosque Street, source: researcher.

5-10,Figure 5-11); the maximum block length found is 130m, meanwhile the minimum is 12 m. The majority of the blocks on the street range between 15m and 30 m. Ten pedestrian alleys pass through the street, yet those alleys are blocked various services, cars and street vendors. Thus, such blockage negatively impacts street’s permeability. As mentioned earlier, Al Attarine Mosque Street is divided to three sectors, where each sector has a clearcut beginning and an end. Nodes are formed through the start of each Division. Despite the presence of nodes, they serve as traffic conjunction points instead of meeting places. Consequently, nodes increase the difficulty of being reached by pedestrians. Based on the pedestrian shadowing; the inability of pedestrians to reach all three sectors adds difficulty to the mobility distance. This is clearly shown through the absence of pedestrians moving from one sector to another, then returning to the first sector. Such decrease in mobility distance results from the absence of successful nodes. According to Gehl (1984), a successful node is a meeting stop that contains services

Figure 5-12, shows street sidewalk width variation across the street

capable of increasing the travel time. Thus, we can deduce that the nodes available at Al Attarine Mosque Street negatively impact the commercial function of the street. Despite the fact that Al Attarine Mosque Street has a defined sidewalk, it still proves to be insufficient. The sidewalk width on each side varies between 1.5m at Saint Cathrine node to 0.6m at Sherif Street node (see Figure 5-10). Such variation in the width of the

sidewalk favors cars more than pedestrians, Table 5-1, shows methods used to appraise accessibility and the findings, source researcher

since cars can maintain one parking lane at both sides of the street and two traffic lane that

DIM

ACCESSIBILITY

METHOD accommodates

Connectivity

two cars. Such unreasonable

sidewalk negatively impacts the commercial activities of the street, as well as the

Smaller block length

pedestrian’s mobility the of crowds combined with the absence of regular maintenance worsen the state of the sidewalk pavement.

Physical Dimension

Permeable spaces

Not only does the state of the sidewalk makes Nodes

it difficult for pedestrians to reach their

Mobility distance

targets, but also the absence of informative signs negatively affects the physical

Lanes definition

dimension of accessibility (see Figure 5-12). Reasonable sidewalks width

Thus, when it comes to the physical dimension of the street, the main problem of accessibility lies in the fact that the sidewalk

Informative and directional signs Presence

that does not offer sufficient space for pedestrians in terms of mobility and ability to

Sidewalks pavement

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

perform desired activities. 5.3.1.2 Social dimension

Equitable access to people

Based on the interview, shadowing and the gate method, the street is easily accessible to

Opportunities ease of reach

different people from various socio-economic statues (see section 5.3.2.2.).

Opportunities sequence

5.3.1.3 Economic dimension Ease of Services and goods accessibility

Based on the questionnaire, over 65% of the street’s users identify a location on the street

Observation Physical observe

Gate method

Interview and questionnaire

by asking people; meanwhile only 33% find it easy to reach their destinations on their

Shadowing

Interview

Questionnaire

own (see Figure 5-13). Thus, we can

conclude that the opportunities available on Al Attarine Street are not easily reachable as 90

well as reflects negatively on legibility. Based on the gate method, there is a second main access gate to the street, which is the intersection with Foad Street. Opportunities directly linked to the second gate are more accessible than other opportunities present on the street. As the sequence of opportunities sequence along the street are not structured to sustain the presence of pedestrian, it negatively impacts the street’s economic situation. Based on the interview, 80% of all interviewees confirmed that goods are easily delivered to their retail shops through secondary and narrow alleys connected to Al Attarine Mosque Street.

Un seen commercial opportunities on Al Attarine commercial street

Figure 5-13, pedestrian shadowing map illustrating the opportunities that are not easily accessible in sector 3, source: researcher.

5.3.2 Diversity Meta concept In order to appraise the diversity between both, the observation and the questionnaire method, the interview method was used (see Table 5-2). The following sections will reveal the findings of the three dimensions.

5.3.2.1 Physical dimension 1

50m

30m

110m

15m

50m

67m

17m

22m

12m

36m

70m

15m

18m

55m

130m

30m

25m

26m

Figures 5-14, map showing different block lengths in Al Attarine Mosque Street, source: researcher. The buildings on Al Attrine mosque Street are mainly fine masses; with heights ranging between 16m to 24m and varying in block length and width (See Figure 5-15). Maximum block length found is 130m and minimum block length is 12m. According to Atif (2008),

Figure 5-15 shows a fine building mass in Al Attarine Mosque Figure 5-16 shows masses’ harmony, source: researcher. Street, source researcher.

most buildings on Al Attarine Street were

Table 5-2, shows the methods and findings of appraisal, source: researcher

DIM

Diversity

built by Greeks. Most buildings preserve Method

Grecian ornaments and an absence of different architectural styles (see Figure

Building masses variety

5-16). Despite the fact that Al Attarine Mosque

Block length variety

Physical Dimension

architecture,

contains

new

and

rich

Grecian

different

age

buildings are not also found. As indicated in Mixed Land use

section 5.3.1, the streetscape suffers from bad

Building age Varity

5.3.2.2

and

general

Social dimension

Attarine Mosque Street does not offer equal

Different Streetscape types

chances for meeting the needs of different people. This is clearly revealed through the

Heterogeneity

Social Dimension

maintenance

unattractiveness.

Building architectural styles Variety

contradiction between the answers obtained via the interview and the questionnaire.

Proximity

Despite the fact that 93% of tradesmen Privacy

replied by saying that different users frequent

Different chances of commercial property value

Economic Dimension

Street

Attarine

Mosque

Street,

according to the pedestrian shadowing, users mainly use their cars instead of walking.

Variety of profitable sectors

Also, based on the questionnaire, only 15%

Variety of commercial activity

engage in social and optional activities

Different choices of commercial activity

consistent with Sandercock (2003), if the

rather than necessary activities. This is

space is not designed to give equal chances for different people, then open spaces,

Variety of labor

especially commercial streets, will be limited to necessary activities. Based on the Observation Physical observe

Gate method

Interview and questionnaire

questionnaire, 80% of users do not obtain a sense privacy in the space and 85% do not

Shadowing

Interview

Questionnaire

feel the presence of different people in the

street. 93

Thus, the heterogeneity of the space is not configured due to the insufficiency of different chances that attract users with Different needs. Using the measure of gender and educational level to find variations in visitors,it was found that 93% of tradesmen stated that different users frequent Al Attarine Mosque Street. In addition, 70% of all interviewees illustrated the presence of tourist visitors. Not only did the interview confirm the ability of different users to reach the street, but that was also further supported by the questionnaire sample. 50% of the sample reached the street using public transportation, 24% by private cars and 26% by foot. The questionnaire’s sample comprises 60% women and 40% men, with different educational statuses of 46% achieving higher education, 40% with basic education and an uneducated percentage of 14% .

Figure 5-17 shows different commercial activities in Al Attarine Mosque Street, source researcher

Home needs Textile Offices furniture and accessorize Lighting fixtures Antiques Specialized utilities furniture 94

5.3.2.3 Economic dimension Commercial properties of Al Attarine Mosque Street follow the old rental law strategy; which limits the chances for investments. Also, the absence of retail shops with large areas limit the profitable sectors to small businesses. Based on the interview, 95% of tradesmen have one commercial store, which explains the absence of and large profitable sectors and brands in the street. Each of the street’s sectors contains two or more commercial activities; sector one is mainly dedicated to textiles and houseware, sector two is concerned with antiques and lighting fixtures, and sector three focuses on furniture and clothes. The street suffers from an absence in restaurants and any entertainment activities. Only one café located in sector 2 can found in the street (see Figure 5-21). Despite the fact that the street offers a variety of commercial activities, the choice of every commercial activity is influenced by the performance of the sector as a whole. Sector one, for instance, offers various choices that meet the needs of different users, thus retail windows attract different users. However, a decrease in the choices offered by the other two sectors, especially sector 3, as mapped by the pedestrian shadowing method (see Figure 5-21,Figure 5-20and Figure 5-19).this resulted an unsuccessfulness in the economic dimension of Al Attarine commercial street (see Figure 5-18).

Is el attareen street still considered as a successful commercial street ?

90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%

85.00%

15.00%

yes

Figure 5-18, shows interview finding about the economic successfulness, source: researcher

Figure 5-21 pedestrian shadowing mapping illustrating the movement of pedestrian in sector 1, source: researcher.

Figure 5-20 pedestrian shadowing illustrating movements in sector 2, source researcher.

Figure 5-19 pedestrian shadowing illustrating the movements in sector 3, source: researcher.

5.3.3 Legibility Meta concept In order to appraise the legibility between both, the observation and the questionnaire method, the interview method was used (see Table 5-3). The following sections will reveal the findings of the three dimensions.

DIM

Table 5-3, shows the method and finding of the appraisal of legibility, source: researcher

LEGIBILITY

METHOD

5.3.3.1 Physical dimension Creating continuity

Physical dimension

Al Attarine Mosque Street is divided Clear beginning and end

into

three

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

continually link the sectors of the

Creating order

5 and 6) are not visibly seen easily

contains

sectors. salient

Each elements

sector that

street together. However, elements (3,

(see Figure5-13). Based on the gate Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

method, people do not frequently pass through element 7 (see Figure 5-22). Despite the fact that the street ends at

Rich building details

element 2, this element connects

Social dimension

several streets as well (Noubar, Elqaeed Gohar, Abu Eldardaa, Elaskaf, Social readability

and Ismail Shalaby). As indicated before in section 5.3.1 . The buildings

Economical dimension

of the street follow a specific order and their simple form is maintained

Distribution of Zones of Activity

across the street. As shown in Figure 5-16, the buildings on Al Attarine

Interview questionnaire

Observation

and

Street have rich details. Due to the regulations of the street, most buildings

Physical observe

Gate method

Shadowing

Interview

Questionnaire

have a height of 17m. Thus, readability

and an understanding of the street depends only on element 4. This may also be traced back

to the location, height, architectural richness and the link between the element and the street’s name; Al Attarine Mosque. Hence, The coherence of the street is weak.

Based on the questionnaire, the first images that come to the minds of users when they think of the street are the salient elements located in the street. 40% recalled element 4, 20% referred to element 5, no one mentioned elements 1, 2, 3 and 7, 10% mentioned element 6. Also, 5% though of the historical tram line that passes through the street, 15% recalled certain people on the street, while a percentage of 8% had no recollections of street(see figure 5.23). Thus, element 4 proves to be stronger than any other part or element of the street, including the street’s beginning, end and other salient elements( see figure 5.22).

Element 1 Element 2 Al manshya Saint square Catharine square

Element 3 Saint Catherine school

Element 4 Alattarine mosque

Element 5 Suok al attarine

Element 6 La piazza

Element 7 The tramline

Figure 5-22 shows the main elements on Al Attarine Mosque Street.

What is the first thing you remember about elattrine mosque street?

50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% historical tramline

people

nothing

element 4

element 5

element 6

Figure 5-23,shows the questionnaire answers, source: researcher

5.3.3.2 Social dimension The social readability of Al attarine mosque street’s three sectors vary. Sector 1 and sector 2 are considered better than three. Sector three suffers from deterioration in its physical environment and this influenced the residence living there. Also, the undefined type of commercial activity in this sector influenced the socio-economic status there. 5.3.3.3 Economic dimension There is an absence of any recreational zones in the street. As stated in section 5.4.3 the street commercial activities are distributed in the street but the absence of zones that facilitate the presence of other activities rather than necessary one negatively influence the understanding of the street.

5.3.4 Safety Meta concept In order to appraise the safety between both, the observation and the questionnaire method, the interview method was used (see Table 5-4). The following sections will reveal the findings of the three dimensions. 5.3.4.1 Physical dimension Al Attraine Mosque Street passes through 4 main intersections (Saint Cathrine Street, Foad street, Ismail Mehana and Shereif Street). Based on the gate method, the three intersections witness daily accidents due to the disregard of signs by both passers and vehicles. Not only do the street’s intersections cause problems, but also the absence of street crossing along the 1.2 km of Al Attarine Mosque Street decreases the chances of actual safety. While the speed of motor vehicles is controlled by virtue of the heavy traffic on street (see Figure 5-25), the absence of traffic regulating methods negatively impacts the pedestrian’s safety at low traffic periods. As stated before in section 5.3.1, the sidewalk suffers from an insufficient width that is incapable of accommodating the movements and different activities of pedestrians. The width of the sidewalk width coupled with the absence of streets coordination elements cause the pedestrians to disregard the sidewalk altogether . While the street possesses rich architecture, the condition of the buildings suffers from remarkable deterioration, especially sector 3 (see Figure 5-24). Also, the absence of working lighting fixtures negatively influences visibility.

Based on the observation, the shops on Al Attarine Mosque Street possess strong personalization. Each shop on the street has its own character, especially the shops located in sector 2. Yet, the actual built environment does not contribute to the actual safety of the street.

Figure 5-25 shows pedestrians using the traffic road instead of the sidewalk, source researcher.

Figure 5-24 shows the poor condition of buildings in sector 3, source: researcher.

5.3.4.2 Social dimension Based on the gate method (see Figure 5-27,Figure 5-28), Al Attarine Mosque Street possesses a high footfall compared to the examples. “Eyes on the street” indicator is strongly achieved which corresponds with the questionnaire’s findings; 70.8% perceive the safety of the street to be high due to being surrounded by people who actually care about their safety (see figure 5-26). 80

do the presence of people who cares about your safety ,makes you feel safe?

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES

do not agree

Figure 5-26,shows the answers of questionnaire, source: researcher

100

Gate method 30

FOOTFALL *1000

0 gate1 ( hannoux )

gate2 ( masjed el attareen )

gate3 (ismail mhanna)

gate4 (shreif street )

Sunday

10.24

9.544

12.66

5.512

Monday

8.68

19.56

14.58

tusday

12.92

15.84

15.52

7.6

Wednesday

15.92

11.6

4.53

Thursday

9.16

Friday

9.64

12.64

9.16

7.44

Saturday

21.52

28.28

17.46

16.04

Figure 5-27 shows the results of the gate methods, source researcher.

Gate2

Gate3 Gate 1

Gate4

Figure 5-28, shows the location of the four gates, source: researcher

101

5.3.4.3 Economic dimension Table 5-4, shows the method and the finding of safety appraisal, source: researcher

Based on the interview, 85% of the answers confirmed that there is clear

physical dimensions

Dim

Safety-meta method concept Streets intersection Street crossings Speed of motor vehicles Sidewalk pattern Coordination between street elements Sidewalk reverence Visibility

ownership of the commercial property and

Building maintenance

communication skills, 22.8% stated that the

most of the tradesmen on the street are in fact aware of the city law and regulations. However, the answers also revealed that the government neither negatively nor positively influence the commercial movement on the street. Thus, the implementation of the city law and regulations is not strongly applied. Based on the questionnaire, 64% of the users agreed that the vendors possess very good vendors’ skills are fair, while 13.4%

economic dimension

social dimensi on

Shops personalization

Gate method

different vendors of the street.

Eyes on the street

Based on the observation, the shops on the

Liability Governmental support City's law and regulations stability Clear ownership of commercial property Vendors communication skills Opportunities flourishing Interview questionnaire

Observation Physical observe

witnessed weak communication skills from

Shadowing

Interview

street are not flourishing particularly sector (2 and 3) due to the type of commercial activity as stated in section 5.3.3.

and

Questionnaire

102

5.3.5 Comfort meta concept In order to appraise the legibility between both, the observation and the questionnaire method was used (see Table 5-5). The following sections will reveal the findings of the three dimensions Table 5-5, shows the method and the appraisal of comfort, source: researcher

dim

Comfort as a meta conceptmethod 5.3.5.1

Physical Dimension

Urban morphology study When asked about the feeling of

physical dim

Microclimatic adaptation

microclimate experienced on the

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

street, 83% of the users indicated

Building masses' materials suitability

comfortable on the street and that

that

they

feel

physically

the surrounding climate does not

Visual comfort

really conflict with their comfort. Concerning

Acoustic comfort

morphology,

Vegetation

the the

street shift

orientation at sectors two and three offer a feeling of warmth and

Shelter and other

comfort. Based on the physical

social dim

observation of the street, there is Belonging

an absence of sheltered zones except for commercial shops, also

Esteem

the absence of greenery and Interview questionnaire

Observation

and

vegetation across the street deprive users fr om the feeling of seasonal spirt. Visual

Physical observe

Gate method

Shadowing

Interview

Questionnaire

and acoustical

Comfort is not established as the result of over traffic.

5.3.5.2 Social Dimension 87% of pedestrians feel the sense of belonging to Al Attarine Mosque Street as result of the significance of its residence and workers. On the other hand, the unsafe aspects combined with the poor physical environment led to a general feeling of discomfort, especially at sector three. Whereby 71 % of the people feel physiologically uncomfortable and only 16 103

% feel comfortable. Hence, “esteem” can not be provided in a place do not offer comfortable settings. The economic dimension of comfort is maintained due to the presence of the same indicators of the economic dimension of safety.

5.3.6 Aura Meta Concept In order to appraise the safety between both, the observation and the questionnaire method, the interview method was used (see Table 5-6). The following sections will reveal the findings of the three dimensions. Table 5-6, shows the method and appraisal of the aura, source: researcher

Physical dimension

Dim

Aura meta concept meaningful place Welcoming built environment Pleasant streetscapes

Social dimension

5.3.6.1 Physical Dimension Despite

the

fact

that

the

buildings on Al Attarine Mosque Street suffer from a state of deterioration,

Pleasant elevations Attractive retails

Economic dimension

method

76.2%

the

questionnaire’s answers confirm the uniqueness of the street. Meanwhile, 23.8% state that

Street's people significance

there is another similar street like

Attachment

comparing it to Grecian streets

Creativity and future visions

and Italian streets. Also, based

Occasional events

sample confirmed that the street

Ceremonies

Al Attarine Mosque

Street,

on the questionnaire, 70% of the

holds precious memories for them.

Product uniqueness

Indeed, the masses of buildings

on Al Attarine Mosque Street reflect the rich history of the place, as well as the alteration in the commercial activity of the street, from selling apothecary to selling antiques. Thus the building’s elevations and retails (see Figure 5-29, Figure 5-29) are still pleasant in spite of the obvious deterioration of the state of buildings, especially buildings in the third sector, as well as the absence of different attractive streetscapes in the three sectors . Based on the questionnaire analysis carried out at Al Attarine Street; 82% of the street’s visitors are 104

there for the purpose of passing by. Only 13 % of the visitors were there for social activities, and 0.05% for optional activities. 5.3.6.2

Social Dimension

Based on both, the questionnaire and the interview, there is a special link between the street itself and its users. 70% of the answers of the questionnaire’s sample and 80 % of the interviewees confirmed that the street holds special memories for them. Based on the questionnaire, Al Attarine Mosque Street gains its significance mainly from the people living and working on the street. 5.3.6.3 Economic dimension. Based on the interview, an absence in the future visions, occasional events and ceremonies that attract users to the commercial window was revealed. 65% of interviewees stated that there is a coordination between different shops; which is their only knowledge about utilizing creativity in trade to control prices and ensure the uniqueness of the products. Based on the pedestrian shadowing, the retails found in sector 1 are more attractive than the other two sectors (see Figure 5-31). As stated in section 5.3.3, the street gains its significance firstly from the people and secondly from the prices and choices of products.

Figure 5-29, shows one of the elevations source:researcher

Figure 5-30, shows Al Attarine mosque,

In alattrine mosque street, source: researcher

105

Figure 5-31, shows the three street sections pedestrian shadowing map, source: researcher

106

Table 5-7 shows the appraisal of the state of vitality of Al Attarine Mosque Street, source: researcher.

Economic Dimension

Social Dimension

Physical Dimension

Perquisite Dimensions

Meta - Concepts of Vitality Accessibility

Diversity

Legibility

Safety

Comfort

Aura

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Urban morphology study

meanigfull place

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Microclimatic adaptation

Welcoming built environment

Permeable spaces

Mixed Land use

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

Speed of motor vehicles

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

Pleasant streetscapes

Nodes

Building age Varity

Creating order

Sidewalk pattern

Building masses' materials suitability

Pleasant elevations

Mobility distance

Building architectural styles Varity

Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

Coordination between street elements

Visual comfort

Attractive retails

lanes definition

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk reverence

Acoustic comfort

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Visibility

Vegetation

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Shelter and other

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization Heterogeneity

Equitable access to people

social readability

Proximity

Eyes on the street

Belonging

Liability

Esteem

street's people significance attachment

Privacy Opportunities ease of reach

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities sequence

Variety of profitable sectors

Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Variety of commercial activity Different choices of commercial activity Variety of labor

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Governmental support

Creativity and future visions

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Opportunities flourishing

107

Chapter Conclusion: The following charts will illustrate a comparative analysis of the achieved concepts in the three examples and Al Attarine mosque commercial street. Accesssibility 100

las ramblas

80 aura

Diversity

40 20 0

comfort

Legibility

Safety Figure 5-32 illustrates the achievement of the six Meta concepts in Las Ramblas Street, source: researcher.

Accesssibility 100

Marihilfer street

80 aura

Diversity

40 20 0

comfort

Legibility

Safety

Figure 5-33,illustrates the achievement of the six Meta concepts in Mariahilfer street, source: researcher.

108

Accesssibility 100

istiklal street

80 aura

Diversity

40 20 0

comfort

Legibility

Safety Figure 5-34,illustrates the achievement of the six Meta concepts in Istiklal Street, source: researcher.

Accesssibility 50 Al Attarine Mosque street 40 aura

Diversity

20 10 0

comfort

Legibility

Safety Figure 5-35, illustrates the achievement of the six Meta concepts in Al Attarine Mosque Street, source: researcher.

In general, all the concepts score low comparing to the examples cases (Figure 5-32, Figure 5-33, Figure 5-34, Figure 5-35), diversity and legibility are higher than other concepts followed by aura, accessibility and comfort, the lowest achieved concept is safety. Showing that the street holds much potentials but is in need of interventions to reach the notable state of vitality(see Table 2-1). 109

6 : Conclusions and Recommendations Streets all over the world are a source of pleasure. Commercial streets specifically act as magnets that attract people. They have a direct impact on people’s daily life as well as the economy of the city. They symbolize the city over all. Vitality is the core quality of city streets. As advocated by prominent urban theorists, some commercial streets are certainly more vital than others. The research’s main problem is the deterioration of Vitality in commercial streets and having them transformed into chaotic or dull open spaces. This lead to the use of other commercial venues instead of the traditional commercial street. Alexandria faces this problem. Despite, its historic leadership of successful open spaces, its existing situation does not satisfy its citizens.

It is believed that if designers are able to point out the problems that decrease Vitality in commercial streets, then boosting it will be easier. To this end, literature review and analytical were carried out to reach an appraisal tool for the state of Vitality in commercial streets and its application demonstrated in the case study. Through theoretical, analytical and empirical methods, the research has been developed to reach its aim.

6.1 Vitality and the derived Meta concepts The Prominence of Vitality was the result of the boom of the urban design field during the 1960s. Not only did Vitality attract urban designers and planners, but also the term attracted other theorists in sociology and economy. In urban design, Vitality is described as the degree to which the form of the physical environment supports the functions, activities and capabilities of human beings. In sociology, vital streets need to absorb people in all situations and to engage them in different activities without difficulty. The footfall measure is used by sociologists to recognize Vitality. In economy, Vitality is the capacity of a local social system to generate income, employment and to improve its economic position. The yield factor is used by economists to recognize Vitality but not measure it since it is not very accurate. This research formulates an accumulative meaning for the Vitality of commercial streets, which is the affordance of the physical environment to attract and support pedestrians’ activities accompanied by providing investments and economic growth.

110

Theorists who studied Vitality through its different dimensions linked Vitality to intricate concepts. The research arrived at six concepts frequently repeated by theorists through different eras in their study of Vitality. Also, they referred to Vitality either explicitly or implicitly, it became clearer through the analytical examples that all six concepts must be achieved at different high levels, to reach a notable state of vitality. The research hence considered these six concepts as the meta-concepts of Vitality. As they all imperative to reach the state of vitality, they are: accessibility diversity, legibility, safety, comfort and aura. Coordinating each concept's indicators in physical, social and economic dimensions shaped the referential set for Vitality. The referential set is two axials. It consists horizontally from the six concepts and vertically from the three dimension. Accessibility

Diversity

Meta Concepts Legibility Safety

Comfort

Aura

Economic

Social

Physical

Dimensions

Figure 6-1,Shows the skeleton of the referential set

The referential set was tested on three examples; Mariahilfer Strasse in Vienna, Las Ramblas Street in Barcelona and Istiklal Street in Turkey. The six meta-concepts were found together in the three examples, however, they are in different contexts and morphology and their cycle of Vitality is different from each other. This confirms the necessity of the six meta-concepts together to cater for the state of Vitality. The three examples achieved a minimum of 80% for the referential set indicators. Through these three analytical examples, three general notes must be taken into consideration, namely that the coherence of the street’s sectors strongly affects the state of Vitality and that to maintain the state of Vitality, a continuous review of the referential set must be made throughout time. Also, the appraisal must be achieved through a pedestrian centered approach. 111

6.2 Case study and Conclusion •

The referential set was applied as an appraisal tool for Vitality on one of the commercial streets in Alexandria, Al Attarine Mosque Street. According to morphology, Al Attarine Mosque Street is divided into three sectors. The first sector starts with Saint Catherine Street and ends with Fouad Street, the second sector starts with Alattrine Mosque Street and ends with Ismail Mehana Street, the third sector starts with Ismail Mehana Street and ends with Sherif Street. The performance of the Street’s sectors in terms of physical, social and economic dimensions is variable. It starts weak at sector three then ends stronger at sector one. The incoherence of the street as a single entity negatively impacts Vitality.

•

The Street has a high footfall compared to the previously stated examples, on average 16,000 /day. This was gained from the strong connectivity it has with other city streets, but the Street's physical environment is not attractive to the passersby and does not involve pedestrians in different activities. Thus, the count of people in commercial streets does not give an accurate figure of the state of Vitality.

•

There is a lack of recreational zones such as restaurants and other spaces that provide social activities in Al Attarine Mosque Street. This decreases the time people spend in the Street.

•

The owners of the commercial properties are the most powerful starters and drivers of development. This is due to three reasons. Firstly, they are highly skilled. Secondly, despite their dissatisfaction about the economic situation of the Street, they are emotionally attached to it. Thirdly, they have the knowledge of the Street’s strong and weak points but they lack creativity and problem solving skills. The development of the street must start by its economic dimension followed by the physical dimension.

•

Despite all the above issues, the Street affords the six meta-concepts, but the indicators are not highly established.

112

•

According to the Accessibility meta-concept, the Street is strongly connected to the City’s main streets and its blocks are small in length, however the permeable spaces are blocked. The absence of nodes that recharge pedestrians, insufficient sidewalk width and deterioration of sidewalk pavement negatively affect the Accessibility meta-concept. Moreover, the opportunities cannot be easily seen and accessed through the Street.

•

According to the Diversity meta-concept, the Street has a rich architecture, a variety of land uses, but it does not offer a variety of streetscapes and buildings of different ages. It also does not have a variety of profitable sectors or commercial activities. Its commercial activities depend mostly on special goods; the local demand for these activities is infrequent. Moreover, the heterogeneity, proximity and privacy in the Street are not found.

•

According to the Legibility meta-concept, the Street has main salient elements, it is organized in easy to understand sectors and the zones of activity are clearly distributed throughout it. However, it is only recognized through one salient element which is Alattrine Mosque and the Street representation is not very clear.

•

According to the Safety meta-concept, pedestrians cannot use the sidewalks continuously; suffering from barriers, there are always accidents at the intersections between Al Attarine and other main streets. Which decreases the actual safety of the street’s pattern. However, the Street is always animated by people which increases the perceived safety.

•

According to the Comfort meta-concept, despite the fact that the Street has two different orientations and that the Belonging indicator is highly established, it does not have green spaces that increase the seasonal spirit.

•

According to the Aura meta-concept, the Street is meaningful. Its physical, social and economic dimensions have significance that are linked to people, but this link is limited to the past, neglecting the future and the contemporary demands which negatively influences the attractiveness of the Street.

113

In general, all the concepts score low, diversity and legibility are higher than other concepts followed by aura, accessibility and comfort, the lowest achieved concept is safety. Showing that the street holds much potentials but is in need of interventions to reach the notable state of vitality.

6.3 Recommendations • •

•

In order to maintain the state of Vitality, a continuous review of the referential set must be considered. In order to increase the affordance of a commercial street, its physical dimension must hold a priority in development but the current situation of the street might force the social or economic dimensions to take precedence. There is a demand for a creative strategy, adaptable to the situation that aims to attract the passersby, involve pedestrians in different activities and to solve the commercial street’s problems.

Concerning AL Attarine Mosque commercial street, • • •

• •

The street must contain a wide range of profitable investors; increasing opportunities and competitiveness. Affording spaces to increase the social dimension at each sector of the street strongly influences maintaining the presence of pedestrians in the commercial street. Using the metaphor of Jacobs, Sidewalks must be designed as a “ballet”, to maintain commercial activity and social interactions. Also well-designed crossings are required to facilitate pedestrians’ mobility. To solve the vehicle-pedestrian relation in Al Attarine Mosque Street, the Street must return to its original design: a shared street. The commercial street’s joints are the nodes; they must be designed with creativity.

6.4 Further research This research was a step toward a vital commercial street. However, more researches need to study and develop the concluded referential set by time. It is imperative to examine other commercial streets in different cities. This research also raises some issues that are worthy of future investigation. Firstly, to appraise each concept using simulation in order to achieve both qualitative and quantitative results. Secondly, to investigate the venues of Commercial Street management. Thirdly, to study the physical adaptation of the street in revitalization cycle. Fourthly, to investigate the methods that can be used to persuade investors.

114

7 References Anon., 1997. Measuring Accessibility: An Exploration of Issues and Alternatives. Environment and Planning, Volume A 29, p. 75–94. Antoniades, A., 1993. Architecture and Allied Design: An Environmental Design Perspective. Kendall: Hunt Publishing . Appleyard, D., 1973. Notes on urban perception and knowledge,, Image and environment: cognitive mapping and spatial behavior. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company. Architect, B., 2014. BB Architects. [Online] Available at: http://www.bplusb.nl/?project=mariahilferstrassewenen& [Accessed 3 2017]. Atef, M., 2008. saharasafaris. [Online] Available at: http://www.saharasafaris.org/places/attarine [Accessed 17 3 2017]. B Swinny, M. B., 2010. The benefits and challenges of providing nursing student clinical rotations in the intensive care unit. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. Balsas, C. J. L., 2004. Measuring the Livability of an Urban Centre: An Exploratory Study of Key Performance Indicators. planning ,practice and research, pp. 101-110. Banister, D., 1998. Transport Policy and the Environment. london: Routledge. Becker, F., 1973. A class-conscious evaluation: Going back to Sacramento’s pedestrian mall. Landscape Architecture, pp. 295-345. Bell, d. a. j. m., 2004. city of quarters:urban villages in the contemporary city. ashgate: aldershot. Bentley, I. A. M. P. M. S. a. S. G., 1985. Responsive Environments: A Manual for Designers. London: Architectural Press. BICE, M., 2014. Bright Idea: Reinventing “La Rambla”. Phila Planning Journal. Blair MacIntyre, J. D. B. M. G., 2004. Presence and the Aura of Meaningful Places , s.l.: The International Society for Presence Research defines presence in relation to mediation. Bolter, J. a. G., 2003. Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency. Booz, 2008. ready to help cities, virginia: booz allan hamiton. Bosschaert, t., 2005. barcelona, harbor city of resistance, barcelona: arch 902b.

115

Bourdieu, 1985. The social space and the genesis of groups. Theory and Society, Volume 6. Boyer, M., 1994. The city of collective memory: Its historical imagery and architectural entertainments. Cambridge: MA: MIT Press. Bradbury, A. T. P. A., 2007. Understanding the evolution of community severance and its consequences. s.l., s.n. Canter, D., 1977. The Psychology of Place. New York:: St. Martin's Press.. Canter, D. a. S. K. T., 1975. Distance Estimation in Cities. Environment and behaviour, Volume 7, pp. 59-80. Ciolek, M., 1978. Spatial Behavior in Pedestrian Areas.. Ekistics, pp. 120-122. Clementsen, A., 2015. “Experiencing and Reacting Upon Social Diversity. italy, s.n., pp. 27-29. Continuance, 2013. Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition. [Online] Available at: http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/twenty-first%20century [Accessed 15 3 2017]. Cullen, G., 1961. The Concise Townscape. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation. D.Appleyard, 1981. Livable Streets. Berkeley and Los Angeles: CA: University of California Press. D.Chapman, 2010. creating neighbourhoods and places in the built environment. london: e&fn spon. D.Chapman, 2010. creating neighbourhoods and places in the built environment. london: e&fn spon. Dane, S., 1997). Main Street success stories. Washington: DC: National Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation.. Davies, A, & Le Mahieu, P, 2003. Assessment for Learning: Reconsidering Portfolios and Research Evidence. Innovation and Change in Professional Education: Optimising New Modes, pp. 141-169. De Jonge, D., 1967. Applied Hodology.. Landscape, pp. 10-11. Drezner, T. &. D. Z., 2008. Lost demand in a competitive environment. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 59(3), p. 362–371. Eraydın, Z., 2007. Building A Legible City: How Far Planning is Successful in Ankara. METU: Ankara: A master thesis to be submitted to Department of City And Regional Planning.

116

Etherington, P., 1997. ‘The Intellectual Construction of ‘Social Distance’: Toward a Recovery of Georg Simmel’s Social Geometry’ in Cyberge. European Journal of Geography, p. document 30. Evans, 2009. Creative Cities, Creative Spaces. Urban Studies Journal, p. 1003–1040. Evans, 2009. Creative Cities, Creative Spaces. Urban Studies Journal, p. 1003–1040. FAINSTEIN, S. S., 2005. CITIES AND DIVERSITY Should We Want It? Can We Plan For It?. URBAN AFFAIRS REVIEW, pp. 3-19 . Floater, P. R. a. G., 2014. ACCESSIBILITY IN CITIES:TRANSPORT AND URBAN FORM, london: LSE Cities. Florida, R., 2002. The rise of the creative class: and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. New York: Basic Books.. Frank J. Convery, G. W., 2015. Reflections–Managing Uncertain Climates: Some Guidance for Policy Makers and Researchers. Rev Environ Econ Policy, 9(2), pp. 304320. Gans, H., 1994. Urbanism and Suburbanism as Ways of Life: A Re-evaluation of Definitions. New York: Columbia University Press. Gehl, j., 1987. Life Between Buildings. New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold. Gehl, J., 1989. A Changing Street Life in a Changing Society. Places, pp. 9-17. Gehl, J. a. G. L., 2000. New City Spaces. Copenhagen: Danish Architectural press. Geurs, K. R. v. E. J., 2001. Accessibility measures:review and application. National Institute of Public Health and the Environment. Geurs, K. R. v. E. J., 2001. Accessibility measures:review and application. National Institute of Public Health and the Environment. Ghadimkhani, P., 2011. Increasing Walkability in Public Spaces of City Centres: The Case of Tunalı Hilmi, turkey: a,Middle East Technical University. Gibson, J., 1979. An Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: MA: Houghton Mifflin. Gifford, R. &. S. L., 2007. The impact of automobile traffic on quality of life. Threats from car traffic to the quality of urban life: Problems,, p. 33–51. Graham, J. A. B. &. P. T., 2003. Governance principles for protected areas in the 21st. Institute on Governance in collaboration with Parks Canada and CIDA, Ottawa. Grajewski, T., 1992. SPACE SYNTAX OBSERVATION MANUAL, s.l.: ucl.

117

Hacker, 1828. Merriam-Webster.com. [Online] Available at: Merriam-Webster.com [Accessed 17 3 2017]. Hansen, W., 1959. How accessibility shapes land-use. . Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Volume 25, pp. 73-76. Hass-Klau, C. C. G. D. C. a. N. I., 1999. Streets as Living Space:Helping public spaces play their proper role. London: ETP/Landor. Herzog, T. R. &. L. O. L., 2003. Searching for legibility. Environment and Behavior, Volume 35, pp. 459-477. Hidalgo, m., 2001. place attachment:conceptual and empirical questions. j.environment psycology, 21(3), pp. 273-281. Hidalgo, M., 2001. place attachment:conceptual and empirical questions. j.environment psycology, 21(3), pp. 273-281. Holton, R. H., 1985. Marketing and the Modernisation of China. California Management. Hutchison, n. a. a. m., 2008. convenant strength in shopping centres: a diversified risk. property investment and finance, 4(26), pp. 329-341. Hutchison, N. A. A. M., 2008. convenant strength in shopping centres: a diversified risk. property investment and finance, 4(26), pp. 329-341. Hyungun Sung, S. L. S. C., 2015. Operationalizing Jane Jacobs’s Urban Design Theory. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 35(2), pp. 117 - 130. Iwasawa, Y., 2015. Toward an Automatic Road Accessibility Information Collecting and Sharing Based on Human Behavior Sensing Technologies of Wheelchair Users. Procedia Computer Science, pp. 74-81. Jacobs, A., 1993. Great Streets. Cambridge: MA: The MIT Press. Jacobs, J., 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage Books. Jafni, M., 2010. COMPARISON STUDY OF JOHOR BAHRU SENTRAL, JOHORE, MALAYSIA SENTRAL WITH LAS RAMBLAS,spain, s.l.: academia.edu. Jorge, L.-D. & Patxi J., L., 2015. Effects of built environment on walking at the neighbourhood scale. A new role for street networks by modelling their configurational accessibility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, pp. 148-163. Justin Dillon, Mark Rickinson, Kelly Teamey, 2006. the value of outdoor learning, England: Spiring Enterprises Ltd. Justin Dillon, M. R. K. T., 2006. The value of outdoor learning: evidence from research in the UK and elsewhere, england: Spiring Enterprises Ltd. 118

Kaplan, R. K. S. a. B., 1989. Environmental preference: A comparison of four domains of predictors. Environment and Behavior, pp. 21, 509-530. Kaplan, R. K. S. a. R. R. L., 1998. With People in Mind: Design and Management of Everyday Nature.. Washington: DC: Island Press. Karst T. Geurs, B. v. W., 2004. Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies. Journal of Transport Geography 12, p. 127–140. Kelly, A., 2001. Building legible cities, s.l.: Bristol Cultural Development. Koenigsberger, O. H., 1974. Manual of Tropical Housing and Building: Climatic design. California: Longman. kolody, a., 2002. planning for physical activity:the need for comfortable and convenient pedistrian movement in the urban form,. university of calgary: a masters thesis to be submitted to faculty of environmental design. Kolody, A. D., 2002. Planning for Physical Activity: The Need for Comfortable and Convenient Pedestrian Movement in the Urban Form. s.l.:university of calgary. Kosslyn, S. M., 1978. Measuring the visual angle of the. Cognitive Psychology, Volume 10, p. 356–389. Lambert, 2005. Critical Evaluation of Livability in Garisson Woods. A master thesis to be submitted to Faculty of Environment Design: University of Calgary. landry, c., 2006. the art of city making. london: earthscan. Lang, J., 1979. Design Theory from an Environment and Behavior Perspective. Advances in Environment Behavior and Design, 3,, pp. 53-101. Lang, J., 1987. Creating Architectural Theory: The role of the behavioral sciences in environmental design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold C. Lawson, B. R., 2001. The Language of Space. Oxford: Architectural Press . Lennard, S. a. L. H., 1995. Livable Cities Observed: A Source Book of Images and Ideas for City Officials, Community Leaders, Architects, Planners and All Other Committed to Making Their Cities Livable,. s.l.:Gondolier Press: CA. . Leyzerovsky, D., 2014. Planning for People Not Cars: Why Accessibility Matters for All, s.l.: s.n. Liebermann, E., 1984. People’s needs and preferences as the basis of San Francisco’s downtown open space plan. Berlin, s.n. Litman, T., 2009. Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis Techniques, Economic Value of Walkability, s.l.: s.n.

119

Llewelyn-Davies, 2000. Urban Design Compendium. London: English Partnerships/Housing Corporation.. Lofland, L., 1973. A World of Strangers: Order and action in urban public space. New York: Basic Books. Lofland, L., 1998. The Public Realm: Exploring the City’s Quintessential Social Territory. New York:: Aldine De Gruyter. Lukacsy, M., 2015. Vienna in Figures 2015, vienna: Statistical analyses on the City of Vienna. Lynch, K., 1960. The Image of the City. Cambridge: MA: MIT Press. Lynch, K., 1984. Good City Form. Cambridge: MA: MIT Press. Marialena Nikolopoulou, K. S., 2003. Thermal comfort and psychological adaptation as a guide for designing urban spaces. Energy and Buildings, 35(1), p. Elsevier. Marshall, S., 2005. streets and patterns. usa: spon press. Marshall, S., 2005. Streets and Patterns. London: New York. Marshall, T., 2004. transforming barcelona, s.l.: s.n. Maslow, 1943. Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, pp. 50, 370-396. Maslow, 1954. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper and Row. McMillan, D. a. C. D. (., 1986. Sense of Community: A definition and theory.. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), pp. 6-23. Mehta, 2006. Lively Streets: Exploring the Relationship Between Built Environment and Social Behavior. Maryland: University of Maryland. Mehta, 2006. Lively Streets: Exploring the Relationship Between Built Environment and Social Behavior. Maryland: University of Maryland. Montgomery, J., 1998. Making a City: Urbanity, Vitality and Urban Design.. Journal of Urban Design, pp. 93-116. Moore, r. G. a., 1994. attachments to recreation settings. leis, Volume 16, pp. 17-31. Moore, R. G. A., 1994. attachments to recreation settings. leis, Volume 16, pp. 17-31. Morris, I., 1911. The early polis as city and state. s.l.: In Rich and Wallace-Hadrill. Moughtin, C., 2003. urban design: method and technique. s.l.:routledge. Nakamura, k., 2016. the spatial relationship between pedistrians flow and street characteristics around multiple destination. iatss research, Volume 39, pp. 156-163. Nakamura, k., 2016. the spatial relationship between pedistrians flow and street characteristics around multiple destination. iatss research, Volume 39, pp. 156-163.

120

Neil, O., 1991. Evaluation of a Conceptual Model of Architectural Legibility. Environment and Behaviour, Volume Volume 23, pp. 259-284. Niemeier, D., 1997. Accessibility: an evaluation using consumer. Transportation 24,, p. 377–396. Norma, N. P., 1993. Understanding your consumers through behavioural mapping.. Parks & Recreation, 28(11). Önder, S., 2013. a tale of un even urban development, s.l.: s.n. Perkins, D. W. A. R. R. a. T., 1993. The physical environment of street crime: Defensible space, territoriality and incivilities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, pp. 29-49. Perkins, D. W. A. R. R. a. T. R., 1993. The physical environment of street crime: Defensible space, territoriality and incivilities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 13, pp. 29-49. peter moonen, t. d. v. d. b. b. j. c., 2012. urban physics:effect of the microclimate on comfort, health and energy demand. frontiers of architectural research, Volume 1, pp. 197-228. Peter moonen, t. d. v. d. b. b. j. c., 2012. urban physics:effect of the microclimate on comfort, health and energy demand. frontiers of architectural research, Volume 1, pp. 197-228. R.Barker, 1968. Ecological Psychology. California: Stanford University Press. Rapoport, A., 1990. History and Precedent in Environmental Design. New York: Plenum Press. Rastegar, M. a. M. m., 2014. factors affecting the vitality of streets in downtown johor. indian J.Res, pp. 361-374. Rode, P. F. G. K. J. B. K. C. M. M. H. C. S. D. M., 2013. Going Green: How cities are leading the next economy, London,: LSE Cities, ICLEI and Global Green Growth Institute.. Sandercock, L., 2003. TowardCosmopolis:Utopiaasconstructionsite. planning theory, p. pp.401–10. Sassen, S., 2012. urban cababilites :an essay on our challenges and differences. Journal of International Affairs, p. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. Sennett, R., 1992. The Fall of Public Man. reprint, reissue ed. s.l.:W. W. Norton. Shaffer, R. a. G. S., 1988. Community Economic Vitality, Ames, IA: The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. Sherman, B., 1988. Cities Fit to Live In. London: Channel 4 Books. 121

Shokouhi, 2003. Legible cities: The role of visual clues and pathway configuration in legibility of cities., london: s.n. shokouhi, m., 2003. legible cities: the role of visual clues and pathways configurations in legibility of cities. london, s.n. Shokouhi, M., 2003. legible cities: the role of visual clues and pathways configurations in legibility of cities. london, s.n. Stadt Wien, 2015. Mariahilfer Straße the bumpy road to Vienna’s first shared zone, vienna: Magistrat der Stadt Wien. Steele, F., 1973. Physical Settings and Organizational Development. s.l.:Addison-Wesley. stevens, q., 2009. "broken" public spaces in theory and in practice,. tpr journal article, Volume 3, pp. 371-391. Stevens, Q., 2009. "broken" public spaces in theory and in practice,. tpr journal article, Volume 3, pp. 371-391. surveysystem, 1982. [Online] Available at: http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm [Accessed 17 3 2017]. Taylor, L., 1981. Urban Open Spaces. New York: Rizzoli. Teller, C. R. T., 2008. The Evolving Concept of Retail Attractiveness: what makes retail agglomerations attractive when customers shop at them?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 15 (3), pp. 127-143. Tibbalds, F., 1992. Making People Friendly Towns: Improving the public environment in towns and cities. Harlow, UK: Longman. Tolman, E. C., 1948. COGNITIVE MAPS IN RATS AND MEN. The Psychological Review, 55(4), pp. 189-208. Tonnelat, s., 2010. the sciology of urban public spaces. pp. 1-10. transport, d. f., 2014. streets for all, london: urban design group. transport, D. O., 2014. streets for all, london: urban design group. Tuan, Y., 1977. Space and place: the perspective of experience.. Minneapolis: MN: University of Minnesota Press. UN-HABITAT, 2013. Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Global Report on Human Settlements. s.l.:UN-HABITAT. Vertovec, S., 2007. Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies, pp. 1024-1054. Wagner, D., 2013. The Case of Beyoğlu, Istanbul. berlin: Endformat GmbH, Berlin. 122

Weisman, G., 1981. Evaluating Architectural Legibility:. Environment and Behavior, Volume 13, pp. 189-204. Weisman, J., 1981. Evaluating Architectural Legibility. Environment and Behavior, 13(2), pp. 189-204. Whyte, 1960. intercultural Communication: A Guide to Men of Action. Human Organization, pp. 5-12. Whyte, 1960. intercultural Communication: A Guide to Men of Action. Human Organization, pp. 5-12. Whyte, W., 1980. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Washington: D.C.: The Conservation Foundation. yahia, m. j. e., 2013. influence of urban planning regulations on the microclimate in ahot dry climate. housing built environment, Volume 28, pp. 51-65. Yahia, m. j. e., 2013. influence of urban planning regulations on the microclimate in ahot dry climate. housing built environment, Volume 28, pp. 51-65. Yetiskul, E., 2015. Habitat International, Volume 5, pp. 159-167. Young, I. M., 1990. Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. Zacharias, J. S. T. a. W. H., 2001. Microclimate and downtown open space activity. Environment and Behavior, 2(33), pp. 296-315. Zappe, U., 2014. Sharing space in a lively inner-city shopping street, Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna. 5th Congress of Active Mobility.

123

8 Appendices

8.1 Appendix 1: Vacant Shops Map, land Use Map

Figure 8-1,shows the vacant shops map, source: researcher

Figure 8-2,shows the land use map, source: researcher

Retail Leisure Offices Special purpose Food supply Vacant Service Dep. store Religion Food support Health care Education

8.2 Appendix 2: Interview Template and Results

iii

Results of the interview do you prefer arabic or english signs ? 80.00% 70.00%

68.00%

would you rather open a second branch in el attareen street or another street 95.00%

100.00%

60.00%

80.00%

50.00%

60.00%

40.00% 24.00%

30.00% 20.00%

8.00%

10.00%

40.00% 20.00%

0.00%

5.00%

0.00% arabic

english

both

yes

Do you know something about el attareen street regulations and law ? 100.00%

Does el attareen street carry a especial memory to you ? 100.00%

84.00%

80.00%

60.00%

40.00%

80.00%

40.00% 16.00%

20.00% 0.00%

20.00%

20.00% 0.00%

yes 100

yes

do variety of people come to you?

is el attareen street still considered as a successful commercial street ?

80 100.00% 60

85.00%

80.00% 60.00%

40.00% 20

20.00% 0.00%

0 yes

yes

Do tourists still come to elattarine mosque street? 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%

15.00%

does elattrine mosque street's commercial property has clear ownership?

70.00% 100 80 30.00%

60 40 20 0

yes

8.3 APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire Template And Results

vii

Results of questionnaire is there a similar street to el attareen street ? 100.00%

100

76.28%

80.00%

Do you feel privacy while your prsesnce in elattrine mosque street? 80

60.00% 40.00%

23.71%

20.00%

0.00% NO

is there a similar street to el attareen street ?

YES

DO you feel the presence of different people in elattrine mosque street? 100

YES

do the presence of people who cares about your safety ,makes you feel safe? 80

70.8

50 60 40 40

30 15

5.2

10 YES

0 YES

70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%

50 40 30 20 10 0

65.00%

33.00%

2.00% signs

YES

asking people

DON’T KNOW

What is your opinion about the variety of commercial service in el attareen street ?

60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 23.00%

20.00%

13.00%

10.00% 0.00% good

balanced

bad

your own experience

does the surrounding climate prevent your presence in el attareen street ?

64.00%

30.00%

do not agree

how can you reach your target in el attareen street ?

Does elattrine mosque street is visualy, soundly comfortable?

70.00%

90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%

83.71%

16.29%

yes

viii

How can you reach elattarine mosque street? 60

50 40

30 20

what is you reason behind your visit to el attareen street ? 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

5.00% necessary activities

10 0 by public transportation

private transportation

by foot

what is the reason of el attareen street uniqueness ? 70.00%

82.00%

60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

optional activities social activities

what is you reason behind your visit to el attareen street ?

What is the first thing you remember about elattrine mosque street? 45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00%

60.00%

13.00%

40.00%

20.00% 15.40% 5.00%

2.80%

5.00%

10.00%

10.00% 0.00% people

goods

buildings street history

Does el attareen street carry a especial memory to you ? 80.00%

70.00%

70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00%

30.00%

30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% yes

8.4 APPENDIX 4 : Pedestrian Tracing Map “Shadowing”

Figure 8-3, shows the results of the pedestrian shadowing, source: researcher

vii

8.5 Appendix 5: Gate Method

MEASURMENT POINT

SUNDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

4,000P

1,440P

4,800P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

2,320P

3,384P

3,840P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

2,960P

3,840P

5,860P

4.SHERIF (end)

1,280P

1,272P

2,960P

MEASURMENT POINT

MONDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

5,040P

8,440P

3,520P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

5,800P

6,360P

7,400P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

5,240P

5,140P

4,200P

4.SHERIF (end)

2,880P

3,280P

2,520P

MEASURMENT POINT

TUESDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

4000P

5000P

3920P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

4800P

4960P

6080P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

5,400P

4440P

5680P

4.SHERIF (end)

2,800P

3,600P

1200P

vii

MEASURMENT POINT

WEDNESDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

5,120P

5880P

4920P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

1,600P

7560P

3840P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

3,680P

5120P

2800P

4.SHERIF (end)

800P

2080P

1650P

MEASURMENT POINT

THURSDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

3600P

2,880P

2,680P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

4000P

5,600P

6,400P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

3840P

3,600P

3,560P

4.SHERIF (end)

1680P

1,600P

2,720P

MEASURMENT POINT

FRIDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

2,480P

4,480P

2680P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

2,140P

4,400P

6400P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

1,680P

3,920P

3560P

4.SHERIF (end)

1,840P

2,880P

2720P

MEASURMENT POINT

SATURDAY TIME INTERVAL 10-2pm

2-6pm

6-10pm

1.SAINT CATHRIEN (start)

6,560P

8880P

6,080P

2.ELATTAREEN MOSQUE

8,000P

12840P

7,440P

3.ISMAIL MAHNA

6,480P

5860P

5,120P

4.SHERIF (end)

4,640P

7480P

3,920P

viii

8.6 Appendix 6: illustration of indicators appraisal through three methods. Meta - Concepts of Vitality Safety

Comfort

Connectivity

Building masses varity

Creating continuity

Streets intersection

Urban morphology study

Smaller block length

block length varity

Clear beginning and end

Street crossings

Microclimatic adaptation

Permeable spaces

Mixed Land use

Distribution of “Cores of Visibility”

Speed of motor vehicles

Aura

Meanigfull place Welcoming built environment Pleasant streetscapes

Building age Varity

Creating order

Sidewalk pattern

Building architectural styles Varity

Creating simple forms in some parts of the pathway configuration

Coordination between street elements

Visual comfort

Q12A

Varity of Environmental conditions spirit

Different Streetscape types

Rich building details

Sidewalk reverence

Acoustic comfort

Q12 A

Nodes

Physical Dimension

Legibility

Q10, Q7

Diversity

Q12 b

Accessibility

Q 11b

Perquisite Dimensions

Pleasant elevations

Attractive retails

Mobility distance

Reasonable Sidewalks width

Visibility

Informative and directional signs Presence

Building maintenance

Sidewalks pavement

Shops personalization

Vegetation

Variety of labor

Observation Gate method

I16

Creativity and future visions

City's law and regulations stability

Occasional events

Clear ownership of commercial property

Ceremonies

Vendors communication skills

Product uniqueness

Opportunities flourishing

Interview and questionnaire Shadowing

Interview

Questionnaire

Q9 Q9 Q9

Governmental support

Variety of commercial activity Different choices of commercial activity

attachment

Ease on Services and goods accessibility

Esteem

street's people significance

Variety of profitable sectors

Distribution of Zones of Activity

Belonging

Q14

Q13b Q13

Opportunities sequence

Q 11

Privacy

Eyes on the street Liability

Economic Dimension

Proximity

Different chances of commercial property value

Opportunities ease of reach

Physical observe

Social readability

Equitable access to people

Q1,4,2

Heterogeneity

I 10

Social Dimension

Shelter and other

The vitality of commercial streets

Articles inside

The vitality of commercial streets