Why study cities?

St Mark’s Square, Venice How can we make more places as pleasant as this? No cars = pedestrian movement Activity at ground level Interesting old buildings ‘Un-designed’ arrangement of space, but it works

Congestion Charging Benefits of congestion charging Congestion charging aims to encourage people to think again about using their vehicles in central London and to choose other forms of transport if possible. Motorists who still wish to travel in or through central London will have to pay a daily charge. Some individuals and vehicles are exempt or discounted from the scheme. Congestion is damaging to London's business, the whole of London's - and therefore the nation's - economy, and London's environment.

The congestion charging initiative is a powerful approach to dealing with congestion because it will help to: *reduce congestion *reduce through traffic *further encourage use of public transport in central London *benefit business efficiency by speeding up the movement of goods and people *create a better environment for walking and cycling PLUS: Reduce pollution and emissions Make streets quieter Encourage street level activities such as pavement cafés and market stalls Reduce need for parking spaces Help socially excluded people without cars Promote tourism

Pedestrianisation in Copenhagen Strøget, the old main street, was pedestrianised in People said ‘Using public space is contrary to the nordic mentality’

The street now carries an average of 25,000 people between and in winter, and up to 55,000 in summer. It was the beginning of a network of car-free squares and streets

Trafalgar Square pedestrianisation 2003

Trafalgar Square before redesign

Pedestrian Activity in Trafalgar Square The results of our survey provide a comprehensive picture of pedestrian activity and show that the key features of space use in Trafalgar Square are: a the heart of the Square is used almost exclusively by visitors (the red dots in Figure 1) visitors are concentrated mainly in the south-east corner of the Square, leaving large, relatively empty areas to the north and west b there is virtually no movement across the heart of the Square (the thin blue lines in Figure 1). Instead we see Londoners moving around the outside pavements of the Square (with some movement across the inside, southern pavement) and visitors meandering slowly within the Square c there is much 'informal' road crossing by visitors, especially from the south side of Trafalgar Square in order to get to the best views from the King Charles traffic island (the thick green lines in Figure 1) d there is almost no stationary use of the Square by Londoners. Instead, most Londoners walk around the edges of the Square than across it. In doing so they face major delays at pedestrian crossings. Many cross 'illegally' when faced with the choice of waiting e the upper level space on the north side of the Square is virtually unused, either for movement or stationary activity.