On Foot Through Town? The Conundrum of Pedestrian Accessibility in Niš, Serbia
摘要
This chapter focuses on potential and realized accessibility and how inclusive the pedestrian experience is within the city of Niš, Serbia. This would require an assessment of the city’s accessibility potential, and designing and planning urban spaces to fit with the users’ experience and perceptions. To date, little is known about the potential and realized accessibility for pedestrians in socialist-influenced cities of the Western Balkans. This chapter therefore aims to understand the relationship between potential and realized pedestrian accessibility for this city which shows how residents rely on the car for their basic needs. For this case study, we applied a combined quantitative and qualitative approach of (1) computational street network analysis of street centrality and accessibility using space syntax, (2) semi-structured interviews to capture users’ understanding perceptions of inclusivity and (3) visual analysis of the built environment. Our findings indicated that inclusive pedestrian accessibility was not fully realized due to unsupportive urban street design. Niš's urban fabric indicated a high potential for pedestrian accessibility in the historically grown structures and less potential in socialist and modernist neighbourhoods. The socialist city planning impact on Niš historic city structure was evident through urban design and architecture that neglected pedestrians. The socialist neighbourhoods accommodated car-based planning and therefore generated a non-inclusive environment on all scales with the exception of key public spaces. This study provides insights into the city of Niš urban fabric’s functionality and how urban design and planning for inclusive pedestrian facilities can contribute to a safe, inclusive urban environment for pedestrians and vulnerable groups.