Explorations of Young People’s Sense of Place Using Urban Design Qualities in Surabaya, Indonesia

This study aims to assess a sense of place in the context of an Indonesian city through real-time walking experience. With rapid urban development, the cityscape may change, leading to a lack of a sense of place. Here, the sense of place was measured by utilizing individual reactions to different urban design qualities and perceptual qualities during walking. Previous methods on visitors’ evaluation of places, walking experience and photographing, were adapted by adding two more stages: in-depth interviews and a workshop, obtaining participants’ opinions and behaviours. The analysis results showed that the participants experienced the sense of place through physical and non-physical features corresponding to walking speed. While the old buildings and ornament details attracted participants’ attention, this study demonstrated that the two-way interaction with residents also strengthened the sense of place. The major finding was that the participants were concerned about improving pedestrian infrastructure and the conservation of old buildings in the area. With the assistance of in-depth interviews and a workshop, participants’ perspectives were visually reflected in a comprehensive way. This study may be helpful for urban planners to manage the sense of place in historic city centres under the pressure of rapid urban development.

Orti urbani in Italia oggi: una molteplicità tipologica per supplire a carenze strutturali

We consider the theme of urban gardens as a privileged observation of socioeconomic and environmental changes in a city. These can be highlighted inside urban areas, in historical city centres or even in suburban places. During the nineteenth-century new allotments where an opportunity for workers of the industry as a food integration but also to improve health and relational aspects. The situation has not changed, and we can see how societies satisfy these needs: the more complex, nowadays a city becomes, in its forms, functions and ways of interacting, the greater the utility of a multiform and always changing horticultural activity.

Metropolitan bicycle-sharing system in the Polish context of various needs of cities, towns, and villages

Bicycle-sharing systems (BSSs) have started to play an important role in the transport systems of cities worldwide as a sustainable alternative to the dominant motorised mobility culture. BSSs have also expanded over time to include regions and metropolitan areas as well as small towns and rural areas. The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the goals of connecting individual communes in a metropolitan area to a metropolitan bicycle system. The authors applied a case study of the MEVO metropolitan bicycle system consisting of electrically assisted bicycles, introduced in 2019 in 14 communes of the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area (GGSMA) in Poland. The study used GGSMA-designated metropolitan zoning to group the goals pursued by the participants when joining the project. This paper is the first to identify the goals that inclined small towns and rural areas to accede to the BSS. The results show that the largest cities in the metropolis that make up its core count on bike sharing to solve the problems of congested city centres, while small towns and rural areas see the BSS as an opportunity to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants, as the first mode of public transport, as an opportunity to be closer and more identified with the metropolitan core, and as a chance to develop tourism and recreation.

Peri-Urban Growth into Natural Hazard-Prone Areas. Mapping Exposure Transformation of the Built Environment in Nairobi and Nyeri, Kenya from 1948 to Today

Kenya experiences massive urban growth, also into natural hazard-prone areas, exposing settlements and the natural environment to riverine and pluvial floods and other natural hazards. While Nairobi as the capital and principal city has been extensively analysed regarding urban growth and flood hazard in some central parts, awareness of growing peri-urban areas has not been studied as much. The results are of interest to other locations in Kenya and worldwide, too, since the current research and disaster risk practice focus is still too much on megacities and city centres. Therefore, the study compares urban growth into hazard areas in urban rims of Nairobi and Nyeri, Kenya. A change assessment from 1948 to 2020 is conducted by aerial images, declassified satellite images, and recent data. Urban growth rates are 10 to 20-fold, while growth into flood exposed areas ranges from 3 to 100-fold. This study reveals unused opportunities for expanding existing land-use change analysis back to the 1940s in data-scarce environments.

Revitalising South African City Centres Through ICT

The majority of South African city centres are in a state of degeneration and need revitalising. The factors that contributed to the degeneration and how the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) can be used to revitalise them were examined in three South African city centres. The research was grounded in place theory. A survey method, including the Delphi technique, followed by factor analysis, and ordinal regression modelling was used to collect and analyse data. The findings indicated that enhancing accessibility and safety, social and community involvement, human experience, built-up environment, and vibrancy were the five major components which needed reinforcing to revitalise the city centres. However, ICT-linked strategies, including networking the areas with free Wi-Fi hotspots, creating places in which to congregate, providing digital screens, and installing cameras and remote monitoring, are expected to attract people and to facilitate accessing real-time information about different events, marketing, branding, and creating a unique image. Also, the use of ICT will assist in reducing criminal activities and dispel the fear of crime. The combined effect is likely to encourage people and businesses to return the city centres, making these areas vibrant and accessible.

Traffic calming in historic city centres - a case study

The aim of the paper is to compare the existing transport service solutions in the city centers of Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Hasselt (Belgium) that use the widely understood idea of calming the movement. The method of elaboration consisted of analyzes of the literature on the subject of the article, analyzes of available documents and local visits. The solution has been operating in Hasselt since September 2018, and in Bydgoszcz also since September, but 2019. Analyzed solutions in terms of traffic calming goals in these areas, implemented principles, methods used and traffic calming measures that are to lead to a consensus between traffic and the accessibility of the area and making centers living areas. The analyzes carried out confirm that the primary effect of leading to obtain areas centers as areas of “livable city" is to eliminate traffic not associated with a given area, the implementation of restrictions on the availability of cars while maintaining accessibility to public and residential buildings and creating preferences in terms of accessibility for pedestrians, bicycles and public transport. In both cities significant attention was paid to shaping public spaces for pedestrians and development of street fronts with facilities for attractive functions for center users and tourists. Analyzed examples of Bydgoszcz and Hasselt show that the implementation of a separated cycling infrastructure in the historic structure of centers is very difficult. For achievement of “livable city", special emphasis is placed on functional solutions and forms of pedestrian areas, taking into account the requirements of conservation protection, aesthetics and road safety.

Lockdown in a disneyfied city: Kraków Old Town and the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper presents the geography of the historic central district of Kraków, Poland before, during and after the first wave of the 2020 pandemic. It describes how the disneyfied main part of the UNESCO heritage site of universal values turned into a ghost town as functional changes were turning into physical ones amid restrictions. From the results of pre-pandemic processes (that, as we argue, turned the city into its disneyfied version), to the lockdown (that later revealed itself to be but the first one in a row), to the post-lockdown recovery, these changes are presented in modified figure-ground diagrams with accessibility being defined by both tangible and intangible properties. The results are set against the background of the city’s current policies regarding economic recovery, mobility and accessibility to urban green areas. As an attempt to address the present vulnerability of the once resilient historic city centres—of which Kraków Old Town is a luminous example—this paper tends to be a voice in the debate on the post-2020 planning and the strategies we will need to face the subsequent waves of this, or other, pandemics as well as consequences of climate change.

From Urban-Scape to Human-Scape: COVID-19 Trends That will Shape Future City Centres

The COVID-19 pandemic did not only impact all spheres of life but came abruptly to redefine our understanding of the urban-scape. With changing user-values and user-needs, there is a renewed realisation of the importance of the human-scape and how human capital, social issues, and liveability considerations will progressively lead urban development discussions. The urban-scape risk is far more complex and fragile than previously anticipated, with the future of the city centre dependent on our ability to successfully manage the transition from an urban-scape to a human-scape. This research employed a narrative review methodology to reflect on COVID-19 trends that will shape future city centres, based on expert contributions pertaining to (1) the community sector, (2) the public sector, and (3) the private sector within the Sydney Metropolitan area of Australia. The research highlighted the changing human-scape needs and associated impacts of (1) changing movement patterns, (2) changing social infrastructure, and (3) increasing multifunctionality, which will be crucial factors in shaping attractive (future) city centres. The research contributes to the notion that future city centres will embrace and prioritise the human-scape in a response to ‘build back better’, and accordingly, identified how the human-scape can be articulated in broader spatial planning approaches to create attractive future city centres.

Mobilność w centrum średniego miasta w perspektywie możliwości wprowadzenia strefy płatnego parkowania – studium przypadku Tczewa

Polityka parkingowa należy do ważniejszych wyzwań w rozwoju współczesnych miast w zakresie transportu. Jednym z narzędzi kształtowania tego zjawiska w miastach jest wprowadzanie stref płatnego parkowania, które mają zwiększać rotację pojazdów oraz zachęcać do korzystania z innych środków transportu w codziennych dojazdach. Jest to szczególnie ważne w kontekście centrów miast. Wdrażanie stref płatnego parkowania stanowi często stosowane rozwiązanie w dużych miastach, rzadziej w średnich i małych. Celem tego badania jest analiza sposobu docierania mieszkańców średniego miasta – Tczewa – do centrum (Starego Miasta) oraz ocena możliwości wprowadzenia strefy płatnego parkowania. Badanie przeprowadzono metodą ankiety, posługując się techniką PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interview), w którym zebrano 375 odpowiedzi. W przeprowadzonym badaniu ankietowym wykazano, że istnieje duży poziom akceptacji społecznej dla możliwości wprowadzenia strefy płatnego parkowania w analizowanym przypadku. W badaniu wykazano ponadto, że znaczną większość użytkowników centrum stanowią osoby docierające tam pieszo. Potwierdzono także, że mieszkańcy są skłonni nie tylko zapłacić za parkowanie w centrum miasta, ale także przejść pewien dystans pieszo od miejsca postojowego do celu podróży. Niniejsza praca może mieć charakter aplikacyjny i stanowić wskazówkę dla innych miast o podobnej wielkości i strukturze, które zamierzają wprowadzić strefę płatnego parkowania lub innego rodzaju ograniczenia ruchu samochodów. Mobility in the centre of a medium-sized city in the perspective of the prospective introduction of a paid parking zone – a case study of Tczew Parking policy is one of the more important challenges in the development of modern cities in terms of transport. One of the tools for shaping this policy in cities is the introduction of paid parking zones, which are intended to increase vehicle turnover and encourage the use of other means of transport for everyday commuting. This is particularly important in the context of city centres. The introduction of paid parking zones is a common solution in large cities, less so in medium-sized and small ones. The aim of this study is to analyse how residents of a medium-sized city – Tczew – travel to the centre (Old Town) and to assess the possibility of introducing a paid parking zone. The study was carried out through a survey, using the PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interview) technique, with 375 responses collected. It showed that there is a high level of public acceptance for the possible introduction of a paid parking zone in the case under consideration. The study also yielded that the vast majority of users of the centre are people who get there on foot. It was also confirmed that residents are not only willing to pay for parking in the city centre, but also to walk a certain distance from their parking space to their destination. This work can be applied as a guide to other cities of similar size and structure that intend to introduce paid parking zones or other types of car traffic restrictions.