Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

This paper explores the relationships between the street network and transit stations thereby identifying sustainable urban forms that are highly likely to increase ridership. More specifically, this paper studies street connectivity around metro stations in Dubai; first, by analyzing only the road network and second, by analyzing the role of narrow alleyways that provide direct and accessible walking routes to the Metro stations. UNA (Urban Network Analysis) toolbox and ArcGIS has been utilized to compute connectivity around the chosen stations. The efficiency of the street network design is used as a metric for connectivity which is evaluated using Pedestrian Route Directness (PRD), a measure that captures the ability of the layout to provide direct and short access routes between origins and destinations. It is found that the alleyways significantly increase circulation efficiency to the metro stations by improving the directness between origins and destinations within each study area. Results also highlight the potential lying in the alleyway system of Dubai’s urban blocks as they transform many inefficient street networks into highly efficient and well-connected pedestrian networks.