Transforming streets to squares - experiences from real-world experiments in Berlin

Kurzfassung

For developing livable, healthy and environmentally friendly cities it is necessary to change the urban infrastructure and provide more space for walking and cycling. However, as the status quo of car-centric infrastructure is often fixed in the minds of city dwellers, it is important to understand to understand why people accept or refuse the transformation of public space towards sustainable mobility. Taking the example of Berlin, we conducted three real-world experiments where streets were (temporarily) transformed to car-free areas. Within a transdisciplinary framework we organized a variety of activities and designed the space together with residents to show how public space can be used other than for cars. Th idea was to enable residents to experience the infrastructural change in their daily lives. To analyze how the infrastructural change is experienced and accepted by residents we conducted quantitative surveys and measured residents’ acceptance (N=600). Using regression analyses, we examine the influence of socio-demographics, mobility types and criteria of the neighborhood on acceptance. The survey shows that nearly as much participants are in favor of the redesign compared to the rejection of the redesign. Moreover, we found that age has an important influence. The older people are the more likely it is that they reject the redistribution of public space towards sustainable mobility. Moreover, age and household type are important. Especially families are happy about the transformation; the public space becomes safer for children and there are more opportunities for children to play outside (by themselves). This demonstrates that the perception of the redistribution of public space differs according to different population groups. If the benefits are clearly recognizable for different population groups and the distribution of space feels fair, changes to the built environment are more easily accepted.