How Pedestrian Wayfinding Conributes to the Smart Growth in Legacy Cities: Lessons Learned From Springfield, MA

Authors

  • Yanhua Lu North Carolina State University
  • Michael DiPasquale University of Massachusetts Amherst

Keywords:

Legacy city, pedestrian wayfinding, urban revitalization, smart growth, walkability

Abstract

In recent years, numbers of legacy cities have been trying to attract people, including residents and visitors, to relieve population loss, one of the most serious problems legacy cities have been facing. One popular approach is applying pedestrian wayfinding. However, the lack of data and literature on how effective pedestrian wayfinding is to reactivate a legacy city usually makes the work less efficient. This paper presents research on what difference pedestrian wayfinding can make to people and the city, through survey and data analysis before and after the installation of a pedestrian wayfinding system in downtown Springfield, MA. The research reveals that a noticeable pedestrian wayfinding system with consistent and logical information can help encourage walking, while other situations are improved, such as more places to go to, and safer streets. The study in Springfield, MA, provides a reference to other legacy cities that are interested in implementing a pedestrian wayfinding system for urban revitalization.

Author Biographies

  • Yanhua Lu, North Carolina State University
    Yanhua Lu is a PhD in Design student at North Carolina State University. She is working with Dr. Celen Pasalar on built environment for the benefit of communities and cities. With a background in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Lu is looking at walkability in smart cities, emphasizing on how to take advantage of rapidly-developing technologies to change human travel behavior and encourage the awareness of walking, in terms of public health and wellbeing.
  • Michael DiPasquale, University of Massachusetts Amherst
    Master of Regional Planning UMass Amherst Master of Architecture Washington University in St. Louis BA Architecture University of Detroit
     

    Michael Di Pasquale, AIA, AICP is a registered architect and certified urban planner with a small practice in Northampton, Mass. He has extensive experience in the revitalization of America’s “Legacy Cities”, the country’s once great manufacturing centers. He recently collaborated with Davis Square Architects, Boston on the design of a mixed used development in Northampton, Mass.

    At UMass Amherst/LARP Michael teaches courses and coordinates community outreach activities. In 2009, Michael founded with Professor Frank Sleegers the UMass Amherst Design Center in Springfield and later, the “Make-It Springfield” collaborative maker space in the city’s downtown business district. These facilities  provide opportunities for both Springfield residents and UMass students and faculty to engage in a range of creative design and “maker activities”.

    Michael currently teaches the fall "Research Issues in Sustainable Community Development" and the spring graduate "Urban Design Studio". He has also served as co-instructor for several graduate planning studios. Special interests include community participation and the role it plays in the equitable redevelopment of older industrial cities. His research has included the impact that transportation has on economic development and the influence that geography and race have on the revitalization of America's "legacy" cities.

    Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC), an outreach program of UMass Extension that provides learning programs for members of Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Appeal statewide. Other experience includes design studio instructor at the Boston Architectural College, and architecture instructor at several elementary schools including Citizens School, Boston, MA and Stearns School, Pittsfield, MA.

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Published

2020-05-25

Issue

Vol. 4 (2020): Buildings, Cities, and Performance II

Section

Articles