The Myth of Pedestrianisation or the Reasons of Hierarchy

Abstract

The rediscovery of the functional and symbolic role of environmental networks, cycling and pedestrian paths, and open spaces, particularly in the urban realm, leads to an increasing sensitivity to the discontinuity of territories generated by the main mobility networks. Thus, an instance of domestication emerges, resulting in transformation strategies of large mobility infrastructures - or their portions - into multi-functional pedestrian spaces. However, pedestrianisation interventions have not been completely defined within a theoretical system that clearly establishes modes and conditions of implementation. This article aims to point out how the conditions of hierarchy constitute a supporting tool for controlling and verifying the project of pedestrianisation. The article focuses on a concrete case of modification of an urban road network: the transformation of a portion of an important distributor road in the urban area of Cagliari into a pedestrian space. This analysis uses the fundamental conditions of hierarchy as a tool to assess to what extent the modification of the road network articulation has resulted in conditions of lesser inter-connectivity, legibility and functionality.