Woonerf Concept and its Application in Istanbul

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 14 - 28, 25.02.2024

Yousra Al Houssein

Abstract

In the past, walking was the primary mode of transportation; roads were only for pedestrians. Eventually, these streets became shared spaces for pedestrians and emerging forms of transportation (wagons, trains, bikes, and automobiles). During this period, walking between cars and drivers was acceptable, and drivers were compelled to drive cautiously and slowly (Litman, 2021). In addition to the limited number of paved streets, this resulted in poor traffic speeds. The development of roads facilitated people's capacity to increase the distances they travelled, so people's interest in automobiles started to grow (Litman, 2021). Due to these, laws and regulations were modified, granting cars the right-of-way on the roads and making pedestrians responsible for their safety. After that, roads started to develop faster, and highways appeared. In this context, the issue in this research is the growing number of cars, the problems they create for the locals, and the point of the ensuing automobile-oriented city planning, which reduces the availability and usage of non-motorised vehicles. This research addresses the Woonerf Concept and its principles, as it is seen as one of the solutions that could be used to bypass problems introduced by cars that dominate urban areas.

Keywords

Woonerf, Shared places, pedestrian, urban renewal, urban redevelopment

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