Hej stranger; encouraging copresence in public transport stops

Abstract

Urban planning has always given importance to the design of public spaces like parks, squares, etc. and there is also the economic and environmental pressure on developers to do so. But how far these spaces encourage copresence of people remains a question. Urban form influences how people use and interact with any space and other users of the space. It is not always necessary to have face-to-face interaction with others but being copresent in the same urban environment as many others can by itself form the foundation for other complex social relations. The main aim of this thesis was to rethink whether public transport stops could become more than just being mobility infrastructures and how through evidence-based design strategies their design could encourage copresence. A good amount of research existed about copresence on squares, but copresence in public transport stops was less explored. The research focused on understanding how the spatial configuration of the city influenced both intensity and diversity of people copresent in public transport stops. An understanding of the relation between spatial conditions and supported human behavioral patterns was established. Analytical data was collected through comparative case studies of different public transport stops using space syntax analysis and observational mapping. This data along with the theoretical framework helped develop the design strategies. The result is a design manual, comprising of design strategies. Using the design manual has been demonstrated through a design implementation example in Gothenburg, Sweden. The indexes of this manual could be used in the design of socially sustainable public transport stops.