Unattractive pedestrian environments in urban areas

Streets in modern cities tend to be designed for going through not for staying in. This is reinforced by regulations which make it a crime to loiter, and by streets which are too unattractive or have too heavy traffic to socialize in, so that people are virtually forced into their houses.

In many cases, streets are built to be economically viable for commercial purposes: as straight as possible, without pedestrian paths, and with no trees. Such designs promote the increased use of automobiles and discourage human contact.

1. Just as for centuries the street provided city dwellers with usable public space right outside their houses, present-day streets should be designed for human contact, and not just for moving through.

1. Uncontrolled urban development
2. Stultifying homogeneity of modern cities
3. Degraded condition of urban landscape

1. Intimidation of pedestrians by vehicles
2. Inhibition of collectively organized fantastic happenings
3. Impersonality of public squares in cities
4. Dangerous paths

1. Unused gathering places
2. Pedestrian accidents

1. Monolithic architecture of high-rise buildings
2. Insalubrity of animal excrement in urban environments
3. Inaccessibility of water for recreation
4. Drunken pedestrians
5. Decreasing park safety

1. Unbalanced urban population density gradients
2. Lack of places in urban environments encouraging unstructured public access
3. Ineffectiveness of individual participation in large communities
4. Inaccessibility of city centres to suburban residents
5. Disorientation stress in large building complexes

1. Walking
2. Researching child pedestrian accidents
3. Cleaning up dog excrement from pavements

1. Unattractive