The purpose of this thesis is to develop a realizable design and plan proposal for Kungsgatan on Kungshöjd that connects it to the inner-city of Gothenburg and takes into account the concerns of itsstakeholders – such as residents, property owners, visitors, businesses, etc.
To do this, the thesis surveys the stakeholders, evaluates and utilizes relevant theoretical planning tools, looks at other comparable projects, and finally produces plans, drawings, diagrams, etc. to illustrate the proposal.
The stakeholder surveys provide general objectives for the proposal and suggests that appropriate theoretical tools to evaluate and use for a more thorough study of the area is Space Syntax in combination with Imageability.
Due to the hilliness of the area, a 3D adaptation of the original Space Syntax Axial Line analysis that takes into account breaks in sight lines – not only due to lateral turns, but also due to hilliness in the street, as well – is used. Analyses from radius-3 through 8 is compared to a number of pedestrian counts around Gothenburg inner-city, and it is found that the best predictor for pedestrian volumes is radius-4 integration, with R2 = 0.59.
New Road in Brighton, UK and Champion Square in Bristol, UK are chosen and studied as comparable projects. Some of the findings from this is an illustration of the unreliability of Space Syntax predictions on smaller scales, examples of and lessons from intended and unintended creation of successful shared spaces, and a warning to carefully manage the number of vehicles and pedestrians when designing shared spaces.
Based on the research, this thesis proposes three places, of which two are today merely seen as streets, to be developed into a public square, a playground and an area for parking, sided by seating arrangements in the sun: the space behind the language café on Esperantoplatsen; the plateau between the crest of Kungsgatan and Lasarettsgatan, including half of lasarettsgatan’s width; and Kungsgatan 14 – 22, next to the Televerket Building, respectively.
Among other things, a widening of the sidewalk between the three squares; a strategy using trees to solve problems with noise, light, temperature and sense of scale and place; a relocation of some of the street’s parking to Kungsgatan 14 – 22 in order to facilitate space for the wider sidewalks and tree scheme; and a widening of Pusterviksbron to ease passage and increase safety for bicyclists is proposed.
Source: Blekinge Institute of Technology
Author: Karlsson, Henrik