Gis-based analysis of greenery integrated better pedestrian way planning in Dhaka city

Abstract

Pedestrian walkway is considered as an important ingredient of environment-human system in an urban setting [1], [2]. A pleasant environment, with greenery, can make the pedestrian way more effective. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is confronted with challenges encountered from several transportation problems. In this context, pedestrians are found to be the largest share of 62 percent traveler in Dhaka [3], [4]. The pedestrians require quality walking space which should be environment friendly, comfortable and attractive so that pedestrians are being encouraged to walk within the walkway [3], [4]. In addition, sidewalks designed in an integrated way with greenery can provide pedestrians to walk with a healthy feeling of fresh air. The global trend of temperature rise, commonly known as “global warming” has been a major concern for the city planner. In such a global circumstance, cities especially those in adverse climates suffer from heat stress and are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather condition such as heat wave [5]. The most commonly adapted method for outdoor thermal comfort to provide human thermal comfort by linking local microclimatic condition with human thermal sensation is greenery [6]. The more pedestrians are on the road the safer walking is [1]. So it’s very important to design the pedestrian way integrating the elements which can attract more and more pedestrians. Pedestrian streets are only successful in those areas having an aesthetical and pleasant connection with surrounding environment. Income, mode opportunities and mode use, and social factors (education, age, etc.) certainly play a strong role in frequencies of walking. But a greenery integrated, shaded, cool and comfortable and aesthetically enjoyable walk way can hinder all these factors to a large extent. Sustainable transportation is a great challenge, at present days, for urban planners, policy makers and for service providers. With the increasing transport demand of urban population, especially in Dhaka city, it is becoming difficult to cope with problem. In such case, sustainable mobility can be achieved if urban walkway environment is provided with comfortable and barrier free walkways for the pedestrians in the city. In order to develop a pleasant and comfortable walking environment in city center, sidewalks and cross walks should be designed according to pedestrian’s perception and by considering the concept of sensibility ergonomics that is defined as engineering approach to apply human sensitivity to product [7]. However, no systematic study has yet been conducted to make an effective greenery integrated GIS-based analysis of better pedestrian walkway planning in Dhaka city. Several researches have also proven that appropriate walkway design can increase both the quality and quantity of walking. If the issues related to pedestrianization are continuously overlooked, then the problems will grow to a proportion that would be hard to solve. In this research, an effort thus has been taken to provide optimal greenery integrated pedestrian walkways considering several relevant factors such as presence of greenery, pedestrian volume, design of walkways, and aesthetic condition. The research will provide such a planning framework for environment friendly walkway that the people would be encouraged to walk more than riding. This study is an attempt for emphasizing the importance of an aesthetical and thermally comfortable walkway to foster the walking in Dhaka City as well as quantifying the perception of pedestrians on walkway in a more scientific way. So that the city dwellers can depend more on foot to save their money and time as well as it will surely increase the fitness of health at the same time to walking. It will give a clear picture of the walkway environmental factors that encourage people to walk more.