New Design Ideas

As 20th-century motorised-vehicle planning took hold, it became clear that cities should be organised with pedestrian priority. Accordingly, the issue of walkability has grown in importance in urban design and planning. Numerous studies have identified criteria for making urban corridors walkable. In this research, a ‘suitable criteria setting’ study was conducted with nine experts through a focus group method to incorporate walkability criteria into local urban-corridor planning with a participatory approach. Participants were architects, landscape architects and urban planners who are familiar with Trabzon and conduct academic research on the city. Conducted in the urban core of Trabzon and analysed using descriptive analysis, the study identified eight main criteria and 45 sub-themes. The most important output is that, if units, facilities, services or infrastructure elements that cannot be associated with each other are not properly integrated, they generate a ‘cut-off point’ a rupture where walking trips typically end. To prevent such breakpoints, we propose placing a linkage sub-theme under each main criterion, emphasising that walkability depends on the continuous and integrated application of these criteria.