Sociology, Department of
Date of this Version
1982
Citation
Hill, Michael. 1982. “Walking into the Night – An Exercise in Integrated Pedestrian-Oriented Facilities Design.” Excerpted from Michael R. Hill, State of the Art Literature Review for Integrated Planning and Facilities Design for Pedestrians (Final Report), Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Grant 1A-11-004.
Abstract
Several of the ideas and approaches outlined in the sections above were implemented as exercises in a joint, graduate-level community planning/landscape architecture design seminar at Iowa State University during the 1980/81 winter academic quarter. Students were challenged to approach the environments utilized by pedestrians in an integrated, holistic manner. A specific focus was required for the course, however, and the co-instructors chose to concentrate on the character of the pedestrian environment as it is experienced when walking at night.
A review of the literature would lead the planner/designer to conclude that the pedestrian environment largely disappears after dark. With the exception of a few studies on the "visibility" of pedestrians to car drivers after dark (e.g., Hazlett and Allen, 1968), 'the "visibility" of signs such as those which might alert car drivers to pedestrian crossings or changes in route (e.g., Hills, 1972), or concern with the interactions of lighting and safety (e.g., Lam and Ripman, 1977; and Tien et al., 1979), the pedestrian environment after sundown has received amazingly little design or planning consideration.
Comments
Copyright 1982 Michael R. Hill