What a Sidewalk should look like
MITCHEL PHIRI
This is a pathway located next to Alberton City- A mall located in Alberton. The reason i choose this path is because it was one of the very few paths that i feel comfortable in and the considering what a small space this is, this is a difficult task. How was this done though?
The most obvious thing firstly is the edge created by the row of trees planted along the right side. This causes the pedestrian to take less notice of the traffic of cars. Thus seperating the physical road from the people. The path serves its purpose as a route of circulation for people to move about as defined by Spreiregen.
Although the path is small it remains wide enough for people to walk past eachother comfortablely without having one's space invaded. On warm days such as the one shown in the above picture the space provides shade from the harsh sun. The problem may be in Winter when the space may be too cold.
The greenery of the area as well as the patterns found on the wall add to the visual complexity of the space. This is an important attribute because it allows the eyes to keep moving as Jacoubs describes in his Great Streets. The height of this building also complements the path, it does not cause the space to be overwhelming or intimidating. The path does not only have trees but there are a few street lamps to light up the path at night,. maintaining that sense of safety as you walk away and from the car park.
The path is well maintained and is always looking clean due to the cleaning staff as well as the location of a dustbin before, after and along the path itself.
The lighting of the path cause by the orientation of trees and height of the building make the space private without taking away from the fact that its a public space.
I believe in the context of its position and use. This path is extremely effective
i like the idea of the trees as an edge and allowing the movement of people and i think that the trees can be useful at winter as well to block the cold wind from blowing on people. i also believe that the trees will not have that much effect on people since they will lose their leaves and the sun will penetrate. (zintathu mazamane)
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