01044343

Component

The Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. is slated for replacement due to concerns about earthquake stability. The viaduct is a high volume transportation corridor that parallels the city’s waterfront, an area of increasing importance to the economic conditions and livability of Seattle. An expert workshop was convened to consider elevated structure alternatives. Since any new structure must provide a people-friendly context that connects waterfront to city center, expertise in human perceptions of outdoor spaces was recruited for the workshop. This paper is a compilation of evidence-based ideas and principles about human response to and behavior within outdoor spaces, derived from social sciences research. It is a perspective on context sensitive design that blends the on-the-ground scale of human activity with the macro scale of an elevated, high volume transportation structure. Such concepts are becoming increasingly important as many cities choose to optimize the use of on-the-ground spaces associated with transportation infrastructure. The following topics are presented: sound and noise, light and shadow, on-the-ground spatial configuration, crime prevention through environmental design, the experience of nature in cities, and driver response to nature in roadsides.

01042056

07-1842

English

16p

2007

Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures; Photos; References (48)

Bridge design; Bridge engineering; Bridge superstructures; Bridges; Earthquake engineering; Earthquake resistant design; Earthquake resistant structures; Environmental design; Infrastructure; Urban areas

Transportation infrastructure

Seattle (Washington)

Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2007 Paper #07-1842

TRIS, TRB

Feb 8 2007 6:33PM