Page 56 - HUDCO-SHELTER-APR21

POLICY REVIEW

Figure 2: Example of Lingering Activity: People moving on walkway in pedestrian zone, frontage zone
Nehru Place, New Delhi and furniture zone. The
pedestrian zone provides
continuous space for walking
whereas frontage zone is
situated next to the boundary
wall of the building and acts as a
plantation strip. The furniture
zone accounts for the space
required for street furniture,
landscaping, signage etc. (Kost
et. al. 2011).
Footpath's Social Role

Footpath's social role is equally
significant as it is also used as a
social space for contact among
different type of footpath users.
Sidewalk is the space meant for
movement of people and
Source: clicked by the Author
interaction amongst both known
and unknown persons. It's
• Stationary and Sustained (Transport Research Board accessibility to entire citizenry
activities include standing, 2000). This is to determine the without any bias is the foremost
si ing, lying down at one effectiveness of the fundamental necessity. No movement or
place for more than 15 role of footpath space as a activity shall obstruct the free
seconds (figure 1) walking space. The walking movement of persons.
• Lingering activities includes performance of the pedestrian is According to Jacob (1961),
movement of a person along analyzed according to factors “Sociability is a reason why
50-60 foot street for more than such as speed (m/s), space cities exist and streets are a
15 seconds (figure 2) (m²/person), unit flow rate major, if not the only public
(person/minute/meter) of the space, for it to develop”. People
• Social activities include
pedestrians and the volume to socialize with peers or engage in
stationary and sustained or
capacity ratio of different areas pleasure activities on footpaths.
lingering activities involving
of the selected footpath. The Such engagements and
two or more persons
data were then analyzed at interactions evoke a feeling of
interacting with each other
different intervals and locations safety on one hand and
actively or passively.
both at ground level and on the reduction of walking space on
To assess the impact of lingering bridge to determine the type of the other. Amidst identity crisis,
activities, pedestrians' performance human activities and their social public spaces, especially
with respect to walking is interaction on the footpath. footpaths, help to blur the
examined at the footpath level Footpaths can be categorized boundaries of caste, culture and
when other activities are into three distinct zones on the religion (figure 3). Therefore,
temporarily allowed on footpath basis of their functions namely, the social contacts among

54 HUDCO-HSMI Publication