Alternative Uses of Roads towards a Liveable Town

Abstract

Streets are not merely built for the conveyance of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, but more intrinsically, also for people to pursue various activities. To this end, recently there has been a surge of recreational uses of roads that temporarily turn the road space into a vibrant activity venue in Singapore. This is on top of the permanent pedestrianised roads in conservation areas like Chinatown and Bugis. The study focuses on quantifying factors and the perception of the people to determine what makes a street liveable. Traditionally, a street is deemed liveable if one can get from point A to point B. Throughout the years, the term liveability has evolved and includes the totality of urban design qualities. Research is conducted on Ophir-Rochor Corridor as the case study for the liveability in commercial township. In this study, site visits, urban design qualities and analysing geospatial data are conducted. Site visits to Ophir-Rochor Corridor are made to observe the extended pedestrian network and the activities of people at street level. Five intangible qualities of urban design qualities are analysed to ascertain what affects liveability. By corroborating design features in the built environment and geospatial data, recommendations are made for road design towards a liveable town. The type of urban setting conducive for potential placemaking events were determined by analysing the types of road closures which happened throughout Singapore and the visual assessment conducted in Ophir-Rochor Corridor. From the site visits, there is a relationship between the type of buildings within the vicinity and the presence of human activities. The allocation of facilities of good quality for resting contributes to the occurrences of secondary sitting. These findings assisted in recommending places within Ophir-Rochor Corridor which had potential to accommodate successful placemaking events and constitute to a liveable town.