Researcher Says Key to Encouraging Pedestrianism Is Nicer Pathways

Newswise — With temperatures soaring and winter hibernation fading to just a memory, it seems like the perfect time to take up active transportation: walking, cycling, rollerblading—getting from A to B on your own muscle power. So when the weather is nice and the evenings are long, why do so many North Americans still climb in their cars? According to one Ryerson University researcher, it’s the lack of enjoyment a city offers pedestrians. The urban gridirons of North American cities force pedestrians and cyclists to stick to tried-and-tested routes that don’t offer variety or visual stimulation. The key to encouraging pedestrianism is in rethinking our private and public spaces, and then creating shortcuts through them.

Andrew Furman, professor in Ryerson’s School of Interior Design, studies the interplay among art, architecture and personal mobility. Furman argues that instead of limiting pedestrians to sidewalks or streets, our urban experience would be vastly enhanced by “urban filaments.” These winding passageways, which are common elsewhere in the world, weave through historic and contemporary buildings, providing visual interest and facilitating adventure. North America, by contrast, has often caved to “the pressures of modernity,” trying to meet the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, cars, trams, etc. However, in most cases, pedestrians and cyclists lose out to cars when creating roads and pathways.

“We need to develop rich, inclusive and multiple pedestrian routes that facilitate movement in and around a city,” Furman says. “When you wander cities of Europe and Asia, there is always a sense of discovery. The route zigs and zags, and you come across delightful things along the way—gardens, art galleries, tea rooms, etc. — and it makes you wonder, ‘am I in a mall or an art gallery?’”

The roots of urban filaments can be traced to the pre-modern cities of Europe. During the Rococo era in Rome, for example, churches were treated as stopovers rather than destinations, enabling people to move freely, walk their dogs and even conduct business. North America’s development during the modern era favoured the car and created hard divisions between public areas and private buildings. As a result, cities here feature long, uniform and commercially driven corridors that prevent pedestrians from finding new pathways, exploring their environment and fully engaging with their community.

Furman proposes three types of urban filaments. The first, an “interior event space,” ambiguously blends inside and outside areas, and connects seamlessly to other routes. Containing street-level shops, art galleries and courtyards, the interior event space may have a roof and may also be seasonally sealed off from the elements. The second type of urban filament, “public interiors,” features a roof as well as walls, and may provide a bridge to streets, hotel lobbies and airports, offering a more controlled environment than an interior event space.

The third form of urban filament is a “ribbon,” and it encompasses overhead and underground conduits, such as pedestrian bridges and staircases. One successful example of a ribbon is the Highline in New York City’s Chelsea area. Once an abandoned elevated railroad, the Highline has undergone extensive redevelopment to become a public park.

To move forward, effective public-private partnerships are needed to weave together public and private space, facilitating movement that makes sense. “When building new pedestrian routes, we need to focus on logic and beauty, not just convenience and commercial interests,” he said. “The goal is to create surprise and delight in unconstrained movement.”

Furman presented his paper, “Urban filaments: from passageways of leisure-oriented space to emergent urban form” in April at the International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability in La Coruña, Spain. The paper has also been published in The Sustainable City VI, part of the Wessex Institute’s series “Ecology and the Environment” (vol. 129). Ryerson University is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers close to 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master’s and PhD students, nearly 2,700 tenured and tenure-track faculty and staff, and more than 130,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca