Community planners want to know what they can do to facilitate pedestrian activity? Developing a pedestrian friendly community is not a simple task because there are several psychological factors that influence an individual’s desire to walk. The first and perhaps most influential factor is fear for one’s safety or well-being. A second important factor is mystery or entertainment. Simply put, these are the things that individuals can look at while walking. And, a third factor is the design attributes and to what level they stimulate the pedestrian. An ideal community will address community elements from each of these factors, which will in turn inspire a greater pedestrian presence.

Starting with this article, I will devote the next couple of months to the discussion of each of the three factors listed above in order to provide readers with ideas of how to increase pedestrian activity in their communities. The first topic to be discussed in this series is community safety.

To be safe simply means to be free from physical and psychological harm. However, harm can come from a variety of sources including other humans, moving objects such as automobiles, and from noise, air, and ground pollution. Of course, one’s safety can also be impacted by naturally occurring events such as tornados, earthquakes, etc., however city planners have little control over nature, so we will limit our discussions to the factors that can be influenced by our planning boards. The first three articles in this series will look at safety from others, from moving objects, and from pollution.

When we think of walkable communities, we need to clarify the difference between walkable commercial and recreational areas. Walkable commercial areas are typically village-like areas where a group of streets are occupied by businesses such as boutiques, restaurants, and coffee houses. Ideally, the goal for this type of setting is for the individual to park someplace and meander through the village with the hope of utilizing one or more of the services offered. When we consider walkable communities for recreational activities, on the other hand, we need to consider distance, pace, and pollution because these individuals will mostly want to walk further, at a faster pace, and not be burdened with air, noise, or ground pollution. However, while the purpose for walking in these two situations may be different, the concepts that inspire safety are similar.

From the studies that I have read, fears related to other humans come from one of two primary sources: other humans wishing to inflict harm, and not having others around in the event of an emergency. When we consider fear from individuals wishing to inflict harm we must consider the likelihood of a pedestrian being mugged, raped, victimized in a hate crime, or some other heinous interaction between one person and another. The question then remains, what can we do to alleviate these fears?

The answers, not surprisingly, are to:

• Increase lighting around the pedestrian areas.
• Transform dark corners or alleyways into lit arcades or coffee stands.
• Ensure safety zones at all places where one is forced to idly wait.
• Form a voluntary, or association paid, community patrol unit.

The first order of action is to inspire safety in a commercial or recreational setting in order to increase visibility. This means more and brighter street lights, the elimination of dark spots (places where a predator may hide), and the development of safety patrol units. Most studies show that violent acts are typically committed on the periphery of commercial zones, where individuals tend to park their cars and the street lighting tends to be sparser. One solution for this problem might be to place an attractive, well lit, parking garage with ground floor retail space in the heart of the community. The purpose of the ground floor retail spaces would be to reduce empty/dark spaces where one may feel vulnerable. Another less expensive solution would be to simply put more and brighter street lights along the periphery of the commercial area.

Likewise, footpaths that are used for exercise tend to boarder wooded areas, run under bridges, or along some kind of canyon. While these natural features are excellent for the nature-loving person, the opportunities are endless for the predator searching for a victim. This is why those dark areas need to be illuminated, at least during the winter prime time hours of 5pm-7:30pm when people are most likely to engage in exercise.

Another source of dark corners in a commercial area is when commercial spaces are in transition from one tenant to another. A great solution might be to occupy these areas during the transition with small business kiosk such as a coffee/food stand or homemade crafts until a new tenant is ready for business. These small kiosks are great because they tend to be mobile, they provide the community with an additional source of revenue via permits, and they provide a respectable service in an area that may otherwise attract illicit activity and/or transient persons.

Other sources of dark areas are alleyways that join with commercial streets. These spaces are often very dark and provide many opportunities for a predator to hide. Again, these areas lend themselves nicely to swap meet/flee market type activities where local crafts can be sold to the public during the hours of 6pm-9pm. Granted; many of these alleyways can’t be used because they serve the function of waste removal and/or product delivery. As such, not many people would want to shop next to a smelly rubbish bin. In this case, opaque fences should be used to limit access to the dubious area. These fences can then be opened when needed and sealed when access is not required. This will not only help to control unwanted activities in these areas, but also reduce fears associated with what may or may not be lurking in the dark. The key to these barriers however is to have them locked to deter unauthorized access.

Another aspect of an environment that inspires concern for one’s safety is the inability to escape from a potentially vulnerable situation. For example, bus stops and traffic lights are areas where individuals are forced to stand and wait. Most humans feel more empowered to escape a dangerous situation when they are already moving, however when one is forced to wait feelings of insecurity will arise; what would they do if someone stopped a car and jumped toward them? To help alleviate this fear, commercial establishments such as coffee shops, restaurants, and other facilities that stay open into the evening hours and/or have outside activities/greater visual surveillance through unobstructed windows should be placed near these intersections and bus stops so that the individual who must wait knows that there is a refuge near-by in the event of an emergency.

Last, the formation of a volunteer or community association paid patrol force is a must. Studies show that the mere presence of uniformed security personnel who either walk the streets, or ride bicycles reduces community crime and inspires confidence in the community. These individuals can patrol the commercial area as well as recreational areas during certain peak hour times so that the community will feel assured that they will be safe at least during certain hours. In addition, having a well-lit—very visible community patrol office in the central area of the community will also inspire confidence in the community’s overall safety and detour criminals. The unfortunate truth of developing a community patrol unit can be the associated costs. However, these can be deferred through the fees obtained through the business association, or by using community members who would like to volunteer their time.

These are the issues, along with possible solutions that will increase feelings of safety. Among those issues included increase lighting around pedestrian areas, making use of, or illuminating dark corners and alleyways, ensuring places of refuge in the areas where individuals are forced to wait, and the formation of a voluntary or association paid community patrol unit. There are many other solutions, including security cameras, which some cities on the Atlantic Coast have opted to try.

Fear and fear from others is only one component to the development of walkable communities. In the next article I will address the fear that derives from objects, specifically automobiles.

Published: July 23, 2003

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