Val enci a Legi bl eCi t y AwayďŹ ndi ngst udy Fr ancescaDanesi ReCi t yEMMC
Valencia Legible City A wayfinding study
Francesca Danesi
Tutor Prof. Eva Alvarez Maria Isidro Architecture department of Universitat Politècnica de València Supervised by CityID Ltd, Bristol
Dissertation submitted as part of the ReCity Erasmus Mundus Master Course in City Regeneration. Università degli studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris La Villette Universitat Politècnica de Valencia
Cover photo by Elena Ortiz
Index 5 Introduction to wayfinding systems
7 Abstract 8 Aim 9 Methodology of the project development Urban analysis 10 Reading the city
References and best practice for urban analysis 12 The image of the city Kevin Lynch 14 Learning from Las Vegas Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour 20 Life between buildings Ian Gehl
24 CityID Experience Case studies and best practice 26 Interconnect Birmingham
32 Newcastle Gateshead - WalkRide Bristol 34 Legible City Legible 36 London New 40 York City
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The project: Valencia Legible City
48 Introduction 50 City of Valencia 53 Study Area 56 Research and review methodology Material 58 reviews
60 62
Facts and figures Existing signs and information system
64 Airport 66 City Centre 70 Turia Park
Streetscape 72 City Centre 74 Buildings 76 Heritage 78 Surveys 79
80 82
Questionnaire Valencia City Centre Questionnaire Turia Park Mental Maps. How people read the city
83 Part One: Valencia City Centre 86 Part Two: Valencia Turia Park 89 Mental Maps. Covered Areas
91
Turia Park Line map
93 Navigating the city Navigating the city of Valencia. Map development process
Naming 94 Areas City 96 elements 98 Translating the city
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The Critical Aspects of Metropolitan Form
Conclusions
106 Bibliography
Introduction to wayfinding systems
Abstract ReCity master course, now concluding with this research, has focused the different disciplines that merge in the regeneration of the city, a discipline in itself born recently, or more exactly made official recently, but that has been in use for a long time in many cities worldwide, especially in Northern Europe. Talking about the processes related with the regeneration of cities there are many possible interventions: from the urban replanning of city areas to the redistribution of economic and social activities; from the transformation of neglected areas situated in potentially liveable areas to the reuse of abandoned or decadent structures and giving them new functions. When we speak about regeneration we are speaking about interventions in relation to visual communication such as signs, studying how to inform citizens and tourists about the city, making legible the transport networks, working with printed maps or with information boards in transport hubs of the city.
Wayfinding encompasses people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.
The latter, those related with visual communication in the city, are the ones that we will refer to in depth. Usually, these kind of projects are undervalued because of their “virtual” essence with a not very stunning effect. Nonetheless, the aim of information design is to blend into the urban environment and be an essential tool given for users to navigate the city in a conscious, safe and interactive way. This is what we call “wayfinding”.
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Aim
Through a urban analysis of the area of Valencia City Centre and an accurate research of pedestrian routes supported by the information users surveys provided, this project tries to draft a proposal to improve the public realm of the city by information design.
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Methodology of the project development Besides traditional research methods, alluding to reference texts and case studies, the project has been developed thanks to supplementary works. Those actions site-based include carrying out questionnaires and interviews, taking photographs of relevant areas from the city and collecting existing material available such as maps, touristic guides and other information material for users. Site-based analysis done in the city centre and other places of interest was supported by interviews and surveys. In addition to other questions, each interviewee had to draw a mental map of the area where they were. With all of the data gathered, a database was created to be used as a guideline for the strategy and design of the proposal.
It has been significant and inspiring the Internship experience spent in CityID, a design studio specialized in developing wayfinding systems directed by Mike Rawlinson. During these nine months, I’ve been able to participate, directly and indirectly, in the development process of projects and absorb and apply methods and techniques that until now were unknown for me or that I hadn’t applied before. Thanks to this involvement, I’ve understood how important it is to work in a team, during the process of development and planning. It is essential to work in site and be accurate in previous researches and methods to achieve a fruitful result.
Some of the methods adopted have been inspired by other researches and projects developed by remarkable researchers, architects or urban planners such as Kevin Lynch or Denise Scott Brown.
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Urban analysis Reading the city
Within the stages of initial planning of wayfinding there must be an analysis of the urban territory. It’s fundamental to “read the city” before any intervention. It’s essential to study not only the structure of the territory with its main roads, transport hubs, nodes and present infrastructures, but also to consider what it is inside them such as the flows that run through them, the public and private transport network, the pedestrian itineraries and the cycle lanes as the most important phenomenon.
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References and best practice for urban analysis
The image of the city by Kevin Lynch “The image of the city” by Kevin Lynch has definitely been a reference for developing this first stage of the work. Lynch has been a reference model for almost half a century and is still an influence for much of urban planning, both public and private. We have learnt from his observations on the need for creating a different and more complex mapping system to be able to give a shape to the “invisible landscape”: to analyse the relationship between spatial planning, urban morphology, cultural patterns and forms of economical and political power; to develop criteria for safer and liveable urban environments; to comprehend cognitive environments for different age groups in different social and cultural habitats and understand deviant behaviour in urban contexts. The analysis of Marc Augé on “non-places” is a research and demonstration of experiences that owe much to the contribution of Lynch, which has given interest and hopes.
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“The image of the city - says Paolo Ceccarelli - a book still exciting and full of suggestions: a useful tool to understand some of the problems of American cities and a good methodological guide for learning to read, however, the cities of the world”
One fundamental criterion for navigability is how well the navigator can accumulate wayfinding experience in the space. The “imageability” of a large-scale space is the ability of a navigator to form a coherent mental image or map of it. Kevin Lynch as a urban planner was the first to investigate how the characteristics of a specific urban space affect the way people remember features of it. Lynch interviewed residents from Boston, Los Angeles, Jersey City, New Jersey and asked them to draw sketch maps of their city off the top of their heads. After these sketch maps and verbal interviews, Lynch confirmed the “imageability” of the cities: how well the sketch maps and interviews reflected the actual layout of each city. Lynch observed that each interviewee organized their city images using common features such as paths, landmarks, regions, edges (barriers) and nodes (intersections).
What makes Lynch’s discoveries especially interesting is that the “imageability” or the memorable features of a space are used by people to enhance wayfinding. Landmarks are memorable sites that help to locate the navigator; districts place him in relation with his surroundings and nodes mark the position where wayfinding decisions are made. The navigator will remember and experience the routes he has already gone through so a space designed considering these experiences will make navigation easier.
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Learning from Las Vegas Venturi / Scott Brown / Izenour Over 30 years ago, Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour, who joined later, wrote “Learning from Las Vegas”, a revolutionary case study that opened the world’s eyes to vernacular architecture and iconography, criticizing the “ugly and ordinary” structures and signage born to satisfy the needs of common people, not architects. Most of the theorists of modern architecture speak about space. It is space which lets architecture clearly stand out from painting, sculpture and literature. But the architectural language in Las Vegas does not talk about space, it talks about symbols. They are used to communicate on top of space. Space as an architectural element becomes dominated by visual communication. “Learning from Las Vegas” created an active controversy when it was first launched in 1972, calling for architects to be more sensible to tastes and principles of “common” people and less immodest in their “heroic” constructions and ego-growing monuments.
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Learning from Las Vegas
The book is based on the studies made in 1968 with a team of students, probably not the subject you expect when talking about a serious project. Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour asked them to analyze the Las Vegas Strip. In 1972, the three of them published the folio “A Significance for A&P Parking Lots or Learning from Las Vegas” that would later be revised and published in 1977 as “Learning from Las Vegas: the Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form” using the student’s work as the background for new theory. This second manifesto was an even clearer disapproval of modernism and elite architectural styles. The book differentiates between the terms “Duck” and “Decorated Shed”, the two predominant ways of showing iconography in buildings. The work of Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown adopted the latter strategy, producing formally simple “decorated sheds” with rich, complex and often shocking ornamental flourishes. Though he and his wife co-authored several additional books at the end of the century, these two have been proved most influential.
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The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately 4.2mile (6.8 km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada. The Strip is not located within the City of Las Vegas but is in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester, which are south of the Las Vegas city limits. Most of the Strip has been designated an All-American Road, and is considered a scenic route at night. Many of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip. Fifteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 62,000 rooms. One of the most visible aspects of Las Vegas’ cityscape is its use of dramatic architecture. The modernization of hotels, casinos, restaurants, and residential high-rises on the Strip has established the city as one of the most popular destinations for tourists. source: Wikipedia, the free enciclopedia The page was last modified on 9 July 2013 at 17:10
An interesting part of this innovative approach to the reading of the city is the method they adopted to classify and interpret the physical environment of the strip of Las Vegas. First of all they tried to put themselves in the place of the user driving a car along this road. After this ride, they created a linear map of icons. Putting in relation both parameters scale and speed, they identified which billboards were more visible and which were more able to attract our attention.
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Learning from Las Vegas
Billboards were no longer an advertising tool but they evolved into landmarks. Giant tridimensional signs became a bidimensional facade that usually was more easily remembered than the building itself.
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Life between buildings Ian Gehl In his book “Life between buildings”, Jan Gehl aims to inspire future urban planning processes. The book was published in the 70’s with the purpose of pointing out the shortcomings of functionalist architecture and city planning that dominated that period. More than forty years later, while many architectural styles and ideologies raise and pass by, this book is still being reprinted, with added and updated contents. The original message is still contemporary, valid and alive: taking care of the people and their precious lives between buildings. Particularly interesting in its relationship with the project of this thesis is the chapter regarding outdoor activities. In this chapter the writer starts giving us a vision of a usual street scene: “An ordinary day, in an ordinary street. Pedestrians pass on the sidewalks, children play near front doors, people sit on benches and steps, the postman makes his round with the mail […]. This mix of the outdoor activities is influenced by a number of physical conditions”. Physical environment is one of the factors: a factor that influences activities to varying degrees and in many different ways. Outdoor activities, and a number of the physical conditions that influence them, are the subject of this book.
Physical environment The material and tangible conditions in which we live. Physical environment includes:
^ GEHL Jan, Life between buildings: using public space. Island Press, 2011, p.9
^ source: http://www.wmpho.org.uk The West Midlands Public Health Observatory website
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• Natural environment Air, noise, water, greenspace, climate • Built environment Houses, roads, transport systems, buildings, infrastructure (internal and external environment). • Socio-economic and Cultural Environment The social and economic characteristics of the societies and communities in which we live.
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Life between buildings
Gehl has identify three types of outdoor activities: necessary activities, optional activities and social activities.
Necessary activities - under all conditions. Includes compulsory activities: going to school or to work, shopping, waiting for a bus or a person, running errands, distributing mail; in other words all the activities in which those involved are required to participate. In general, everyday tasks and pastimes belong to this group. Among other activities this group includes the great majority of those related to walking. Participants haven’t got the choice, these activities are necessary.
Optional activities - only under good conditions. Those occupations that are participated in if there is a wish to do so and if time and place make it possible, are quite another matter. These activities take place only when exterior conditions are favourable, when weather and place invite them. This relationship is particularly important in connection with physical planning because most of the recreational activities that are especially pleasant to pursue outdoors are found precisely in this category of activities. These activities are especially dependent on exterior physical conditions.
Social activities - depends on the presence of others in the public space. Social activities include children at play, greetings and conversations, communal activities of various kinds and finally, as the most widespread social activity, passive contacts, simply hearing other people.
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Graphic representation of the relationship between quality of outdoor spaces and the rate of occurrence of outdoor activities. When the quality of outdoor areas is good, optional activities occur with increasing frequency. Furthermore, as levels of optional activity rise, the number of social activities usually increases substantially. ^ GEHL Jan, Life between buildings: using public space. Island Press, 2011, p.11
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CityID Experience “ City ID develop unique design, information and wayfinding solutions to integrate people, movement and places. We are urbanists, planners and designers with a global reputation for improving the legibility and experience of cities and transport systems.�
This is how CityID, a studio based in Bristol, UK, define itself after years of being pioneers of information design through developing wayfinding projects. Wayfinding is still a new practice not properly recognised or well known in many countries yet. However, the benefits and tools that this service provides are essential in making accessible to users the what the city can offer, as well as making accessible the city itself as a navigable and interactive area, whatever the country in which it is located. During my internship at CityID I realized how this practice has to do with city regeneration. Both need a team of different professional figures and both have to deal with a complex structure as the city. The project developed will not be just a product, a result of a commission, but it will be a service with the responsibility of answering the needs of the users and being accessible, helpful and legible for all of them.
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Case studies and best practices As we usually say about History, we should look at the past to understand how future problems can be solved. Introducing case studies and best practice in research like this is fundamental to guaranting the success of the project. It is not just about creativity and originality, it is about being aware of what would work and what wouldn’t. It is also a way to be updated on design trends and observe the level of quality in this field in order to be able to overcome it and improve it. The following projects are good examples of wayfinding project related with city regeneration.
Interconnect Birmingham Birmingham, UK
Birmingham City Centre Interchange projects (BCCI) Centro appointed City ID to develop a transport information system focusing on the regional network including bus, underground and railways. Working alongside Interconnect Birmingham projects will provide a seamless experience for passengers and pedestrians, encouraging public transport use, with an attractive visual identity that speaks of the region.
Centro, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority, promotes and develops public transport across the region.
Project deliverables: new visual identity for public transport and A wayfinding information. A suite of on-street pedestrian and passenger products. suite of design resources including identity A elements, royalty-free base maps, design standards and guidance. A core range of multi-modal illuminated on-street information totems. 26
Significant changes to the bus user experience including; an optimised network, new passenger facilities including bus shelters and bus stop information totems with real time information. ix, high quality city centre interchanges where S buses are clustered to serve designated segments of the city.
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1 Birmingham City Centre Transport Network totem 2 Product scope definition & development 3 Product scope definition & development
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Interconnect Birmingham
Birmingham Network Ultra Light 60pt
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Network Light 60pt
Network Regular 60pt
Network Display 60pt
Network Bold 60pt
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Cathedral
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Moor Street Interchange
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Martineau Place
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Hospitals
Lancaster Circus
Bull Street / Priory Law Courts Queensway Interchange
The Square
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A pleasant public space used for a variety of activities throughout the year and home to the Town Hall, Council House and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
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Victoria Square Post Office
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The commercial heart of the city with over 500 companies, 12 listed buildings and a variety of restaurants, bars and coffee shops.
GR
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Colmore Business District
125 Colmore Row
Approximately 5 minutes walk
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Iron Man
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Council House
Queen Victoria statue
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Town Hall ED
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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
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Town Hall Car Park
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Birmingham & Midland Institute
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Queens College Chambers
Paradise Circus Interchange A
DIGBETH
PC1–PC2
EN
Millennium Point
CU
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PC3
RD
RC
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DFO
CI
SOUTHSIDE
CANAL STREET
James Watt statue
Chamberlain Home to the Central Library, tourist Typhoo Digbeth High Memorial information centre and Paradise Basin Street Forum Shopping Centre which LK PPROX provides the pedestrian link Afrom I M A T E LY 1 5 M I N U T E S W A Chamberlain to Centenary Square.
BRA
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Paradise Circus
NEW
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Birmingham Coach Station
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MACDONALD STREET
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EASTSIDE CITY PARK
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Selfridges
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Pavilions
Wholesale Markets
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Marks & Spencer
Bullring
Bull Ring R Markets D EA N ST Markets
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Debenhams
Gay Village
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House of Fraser
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SU Birmingham Back to Backs
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You are here
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The Pallasades
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Birmingham Hippodrome
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New Street
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Snow Hill Interchange
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The O2 Academy EE EE TT S S T O L TT RR S I R B O
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Holloway Circus
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Birmingham Cathedral
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New Street Interchange
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New Alexandra Theatre
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COLMORE BUSINESS DISTRICT
Council House
Victoria Square
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Harvey Nichols
BR
Town Hall
The Mailbox
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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Paradise Circus Interchange
PEACE GARDENS
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The Cube
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St. Paul’s St Paul’s Church
1 Bespoke typeface development 2 Colour identity definition St Paul’s Square 3 3D building illustration development SE I 4 Pedestrian overviewBTmap detail AD Tower 5A R Paradise Circus G R focus map detail 5 Pedestrian E
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1
RBSA Gallery
BU
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The REP
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CITY CENTRE GARDENS
Gas Street Basin
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WESTSIDE
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Broad Street
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The Old Joint Stock
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Premier Inn
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Birmingham Cathedral
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Birmingham’s famous shopping street is home to many high street shops, restaurants, cafés and hostsseasonal and specialist markets.
Wragge & Co
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New Street
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Access to New Street Station
Pharmacy
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Gala Casino
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Orion Building
Cathedral Square
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A pleasant green space in the heart of the city with the Grade I listed Cathedral at its centre
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Interconnect Birmingham
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1 5 2 3
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4 7
1 Bus stop location planning 2 Transport network planning 3 Bus stop information totem map detail 4 Bus stop information totem face A and B 5 Multi-modal transport diagram 6 Interchange totem 7 Complete product scope
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Newcastle Gateshead - WalkRide Newcastle, UK
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1
4 5
1 Wayfinding route map 2 Bus information display 3 Interpretation map 4 Building illustration 5 Brand identity for bus service
Working for Newcastle City Council and its partners, City ID developed a concept that sets out a vision and framework to integrate the delivery and management of transport, wayfinding and visitor services in NewcastleGateshead. The first phase of implementation was the design of a world class transit and information system targeted to the specific needs of visitors to the city, aiming to integrate the QuayLink electric bus network with a new pedestrian wayfinding system and other visitor information services. The result is the UK’s first dedicated visitor transit and information system.
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Bristol Legible City Bristol, Southwest England, UK City ID has developed the Legible Cities concept in Bristol, which is acknowledged as an international model of best practice. They are retained as specialist advisors and lead design consultants to the Bristol Legible City Partnership led by Bristol City Council. Bristol Legible City is a multimillion pound project that aims to improve people’s understanding and experience of the city through the implementation of identity, arts, public realm, wayfinding and transportation projects. From the project’s inception, City ID has played the lead role as project architect and coordinators in developing the concept, vision, strategy, projects framework and design delivery. To date City ID has managed the successful implementation of over 40 Legible City projects and has been awarded both the National Award for Planning Innovation and the South West Regional Award for Planning Achievement. The project team won the DBA Award for Design Effectiveness in the Environment in 2003.
The core pedestrian signing system has inbuilt flexibility to extend into city centre neighbourhoods. City ID developed the concept and delivery of a pilot study, with modified product design and an extended master base map. Comprehensive guidelines ensure that the consistency of the system are maintained in the future.
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2 1
3
4 6
5
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1 BLC Monolith 2 Direction sign artwork 3 Transport diagram 4 On Street map detail 5 Pictogram set detail 6 Printed map 7 3D Building illustration set
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Legible London London, England, UK
City ID has developed the concept for location and led on the information planning and placement strategy for the Legible London Richmond and Twickenham pilot. City ID played a pivotal creative role in progressing the development of a comprehensive and robust Design Standards Manual for Legible London, efficient delivery of a suite of on-street sign components and ancillary products for walking and transport mode integration across Richmond and Twickenham.
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The team worked closely and collaboratively with Transport for London and the system design team challenging where necessary the development of the system, whilst collaborating fully to create a robust, flexible and adaptable system. The design and location strategy is based on how people were using the area, their information requirements, the key routes and standardised approaches to benchmarking the urban character and form.
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Legible London
This was further enhanced through the consultation with defined stakeholders as well as with the people using the area. This process ensured that the Scheme Designs were based on what the people need, innovating relevant solutions, not preconceived ideas City ID has also developed the system to incorporate leisure routes throughout the borough. Connector maps, which were developed to bridge the gaps between products at the extent of the system and fringe destinations, are proposed to save costs in the production of unused mapping bases.
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2
3
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1 Product artwork 2 Planner map artwork detail 3 Product detail 4 Pictogram set detail 5 Legible London product range
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New York City Wayfinding system
City ID and Billings Jackson Design as part of PentaCityGroup, were commissioned by the New York City Department of Transportation to develop and implement one of the largest design projects for the city in the last 20 years; New York City Wayfinding System. The system spans five boroughs and 120 Business Improvement Districts. City ID led the design development of the wayfinding information brand, cartographic specifications, planning guidance, product specifications and design guidance for a new family of information products and services including pedestrian signs and bikeshare stations.
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Billings Jackson Design have developed new product designs, creating high quality street furniture that is minimal, confident and appropriate for New York’s streets and spaces, which included an in-depth analysis and performance criteria to determine the most appropriate use of materials. All design decisions were evidence based. The client team took an active role in this process before approvals were given by the Public Design Commission. The project is currently being monitored to evaluate its success.
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New York City - Wayfinding system
Pedestrian and bikeshare wayfinding has been installed during summer 2013 in a number of neighbourhoods. The team are now developing new information products for Subway stations, a major upgrade of high frequency bus routes and other major interchanges in the city, all based on the recently established clear hierarchy of information and defined nomenclature.
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The project
Valencia Legible City
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Introduction
Valencia Legible City The character of Valencia is in itself very ambitious. The city was born rich, with many natural resources and full of History. From the Romans to the Arabs, from the oranges to the rice, Valencia is a unique city with these great potentials and characteristics. For these reasons, the image of the city of Valencia has to reflect its essence and those of the people who live in it with a clear and simple identity. The experience of the user must be memorable for the benefit and improvement not only of the city but also for citizens, visitors and businesses. This dissertation introduces the wayfinding system process and shows some of the best practices to learn and set up the bases of a possible development for the future in Valencia, to improve its accessibility and to squeeze what the city can offer.
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City of Valencia Geography and population Europe
Valencia is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,468 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Valencia is also Spain’s third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million. The city has global city status. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the largest on the Mediterranean Sea, with a trade volume of 4.21 million TEU’s.
^ source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia Wikipedia
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Spain
Global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade
Valencia
Valencia City Centre
The city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Its historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, with approximately 169 acres; this heritage of ancient monuments, views and cultural attractions makes Valencia one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations
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Study area
Focus areas
Extended areas
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Study area - Territory
Turia Park
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CIty Centre
CIty of Arts and Science
UPV Campus
Harbour
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Research and review methodology The following methodology was used in the research and review stage of the project: Research on site Surveys and user’s consultation Evaluation of existing situation Study of touristic guides and statistics Official web sites research Urban structure analysis The documents that were reviewed are: • Tourist guide of Comunidad Valenciana, ed. 2011 • Te doy todo, Official magazine of Comunidad Valenciana • VLC turismo, Official report Tourism Statistics 2011 • Statistics Valencia year 2011, City Council website • Culturia, Turia Park official web site • Official tourist printed maps • Brochures from tourist information offices of Valencia Key statistical data was compiled from across the documents and websites reviewed. Research on site The opportunity of site-based work such as making photographs, walking through the city centre, taking notes and testing printed maps, gave the research a more detailed level of interaction with the city.
Study of touristic guides and statistics These documents were an opportunity to reach information that would not have been possible to obtain with other resources.
Surveys and user’s consultation Focusing on the questionnaries done in person with users in the surrounding areas of the city centre and collecting material of specific places it has been created a database of images and information classified by different criterias. Analysing the organized data in this way has eased the process of highlighting relevant facts.
Official web sites research The information extracted from the official web sites certificates that the information is confirmed.
Evaluation of existing situation Thanks to the surveys and site-based study it has been possible to verify that the city shows lack of navigating information and visual coherence. Pedestrian, transportation and touristic information do not have a clear identity and continuity.
Urban structure analysis It’s essential to analyze the urban structure to understand better the movements, nodes, flows and spaces, before planning what it will be applied later on the city.
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Material reviews
Valencia has no coordinated mapping style, and the printed maps found in the city vary enormously in their design styles and the way that the city’s neighborhoods are named and defined, destinations shown and roadways are labelled.
Valencia City Centre Map
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EMT Bus Network
Metro Network
Metro Network
Diagrammatic Map
Geographic Map
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Facts and figures
800.468
City Population 48%Male 52% Female
146.7 km
2.836
Network of Metrovalencia
Taxis in the metropolitan area
931.2 km
108 km
EMT Network with 63 lines
Bicycle lanes
Metropolitan area buses
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Number of previous visits to Valencia
25.5%
65.4%
National tourists
Foreign tourists
LEISURE reason why tourist travel to Valencia
35%
441.732
of tourists are couples
tourists came from Italy in 2011
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Existing signs and information system
As a result of a street based and desktop research, alongside qualitative and quantitative surveys, I have built up a clear overview of the present situation of signage on the street. I identified numbers of different wayfinding products than can be separated into private, public, antique, badly maintained and obsolete. There is inconsistency in naming destinations and indicating distances; the latter almost impossible to find. Designs vary generally of colours, materials, typefaces, shapes, sizes and installation methods. Systems belong to different responsible organisms with inconsistency in standards and maintenance. Valencia is a easy city to navigate, with a grid that only in the historical centre becomes more complicated. It is a flat city and there are several landmarks and architectural characteristics between one neighborhood and another which help users to be oriented and never get completely lost. In addition to this, there is an insignificant difference between the pedestrian signs and road signs. Indications for parking areas, access points, detours and other destinations intended for vehicles are accurate and detailed but there’s an obvious lack of signage intended for pedestrians throughout the city.
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Airport
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Existing signs and information system
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City Centre
Valencia’s existing signage doesn’t have a coordinate identity and its discontinuity corroborates the confusion observed in the surveys. Main locations as museums, monuments and important buildings are not always indicated when in the proximities or if they are, in most of the cases, the sign is not in it’s ideal place for communicating.
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Existing signs and information system
Existing signs and information system
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69
Turia Park
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Existing signs and information system
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Streetscape City Centre
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73
Buildings
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Streetscape
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Heritage
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Streetscape
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Surveys
As part of the research into user needs in order to create a wayfinding strategy for Valencia, a series of questionnaire surveys were done to evaluate visitors’ behaviour and detect what users needed to be assisted with. Two different types of questionnaire were written thinking of two different study areas. The first form was filled in by users in the area of the city centre, mainly in Plaza de la Virgen and Plaza de la Reina; the other questionnaire was directed to users of Turia Park, close to Pont de Fusta bridge. Surveys were conducted on Friday 19th April and Saturday 20th April from 11:00 to 19:00, capturing weekday and weekend journeys. A total of twentynine people were interviewed in the area of the city centre and 22 in Turia Park. Research database on questionnaires The database completed with the results of the surveys in Valencia city centre and Turia Park can be found, among other documents, on the following link: http://issuu.com/francescanenadanesi 78
Questionnaire Valencia City Centre Pockets of knowledge Research shows that people do not know Valencia City as well as they think they do and that their knowledge of areas is not as good as they thought so. Expanding and connecting these ‘pockets’ of knowledge will allow people to make better transportation choices and give them the confidence to walk more often.
What do you like about the city?
Which service and facilities that the city offers do you know?
City Centre
Library
Beach
MUVIM Museum
Turia Park
IVAM Museum
Weather
Cathedral
Atmosphere
Cinema
What you don’t like about the city?
Top 5 things to do in Valencia
Politic/Management
Walking through the City Centre
Too many cars/Traffic
Enjoy food / Eat Paella
Bed Smell
C.A.C.
Calatrava’s Architecture
Go to the Beach
Rude People
Visit Albufera 79
Questionnaire Turia Park
Which informations should be provided in the Turia Gardens? Signage (services, facilities, wayfinding) Maps Pedestrian and Bike signage to differentiate them and get them to behave More surveillance General info signs When you are in the park do you
Are you able to locate yourself in
fell disconnected with the city
the park in relation with the city?
around? 11 Yes
13 Yes
6 No
5 Only in my usual route
5 Yes, I like it
4 I need signs/Map 1 No
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Do you know the services and the
If yes, could you give me some
facilities that the park offer?
examples? 8 C.A.S.
9 Yes
7 Gulliver
6 No
6 Palau Musica
6 Few of them
5 Bioparc 4 Football pitch
How would you rate your overall
Do you feel safe?
satisfaction with the park? 10 Good
12 Yes
7 Very good
1 No
3 Middle
7 Only during the day
0 Bad 1 Very Bad 81
Mental Maps How people read the city Extensive research on pedestrian navigation behavior in urban environments shows that people visualize a place by developing their own unique picture or ‘mental map’. By studying individuals mental maps, we learn how people make sense of Valencia’s complexity. Generally people use the urban form and environment as their primary source of wayfinding information. Sight-lines, landmarks, building features and street names are the core pedestrian navigation tools. However, either prior to or midway through a journey many people still need maps.
Users mental maps The following pages features a sample of mental maps drawn during the intercept surveys of people on Valencia’s streets. The tendencies were generally to drawn isolated elements usually circumscribed with a line and representing the Turia Park as a barrier which divided the city into two parts. Some users tried to draw a grid or a network of streets connected between them. Part one will show mental maps drawn by users in the area of the city centre; part two will show the ones done in Turia Park.
The brain’s learning process We learn places through a series of stages, firstly learning points, secondly routes and finally the whole area. We need a system that helps to build this knowledge quickly and surely. The brain is like a muscle; the more we exercise certain parts of it, the more developed they become. The hippocampus is the area of the brain associated with mental mapping.
Points
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Routes
Areas
GO!
Part one - Valencia City Centre
Landmarks This map shows how the user tried to highlight landmarks by drawing their actual shape and characteristics. Disposing the icons in their real geografical position with a 60% of fidelity. It’s a sort of 45° aerial view which highlights the most relevant visible landmarks of the streetscape. Orientation The following is the most popular image that people have of the city. It is north oriented with separated elements and with correct proportions. Although the user was born in “Ruzafa”, neighborhood where he is still living in, he placed it wrongly in the map —in the opposite side of where it should be.
Route In this case is noticeable how the user tried to retrace the path he usually traverses through the centre. He draws what he knows and there aren’t any other elements than the ones he comes across when walking along his path.
Isolation This was the most extreme example of how little people know about the structure of the city of Valencia and how they interpret its urban area as something isolated and disconnected of its surrounding, limited by edges.
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Mental maps Part one - Valencia City Centre
Student’s point of view These is a selection of maps drawn by students. We can notice that the University is present in all four of them, unlike other maps. The accuracy of the details drawn show different contents at different level with a scale close to the real one. There are illustrated landmarks buildings along with their name, neighborhood’s names and the shape of the structure of the city.
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The campus is visualized as an isolated part of the city, separated from the centre by the Turia park that appears as an edge or a wall that divide the city in two.
Mental maps Part one - Valencia City Centre
Isolated elements In this serie of maps, elements appear to be isolated one from each other. We haven’t got any references, grid or network to help us trace a itinerary.
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Part two - Valencia Turia Park
Corridor The park is considered as a corridor with sequence of bridges that more than working as access points, they act as location marks along its length.
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Mental maps Part two - Valencia Turia Park
Orientation Generally, the mental maps done in Turia park showed important problems of orientation and communication with the surroundings. Due to its structure as a river bed, the park remains isolated in a lower layer from the rest of the city. This pecularity divides users in those who enjoy it because of its tranquility and those who do not,
mainly because of a sense of lostness or unsafety. People drew the whole lenght of the river, in many cases, without any references with the city outside the walls. The only way to be oriented is to come across with a bridge or to indentify landmarks from an unusual perspective.
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Mental maps Part two - Valencia Turia Park
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Mental maps Covered areas Each questionnaire and map were numerated to be catalogued as a compilation of data. This diagram shows the most covered area drawn by users in their mental map.
01
16
02
07
04
06 09
10
08
05
14 15
13 17
11
03
12
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Turia Park Line map In the following page you can find a line map sketched to compilate services, activities and buildings that we can find along Turia Park.
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91
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Navigating the city In order to navigate, we need to describe a journey. This can appear on a map, a sign, a route plan or ad-hoc instructions between people. The principle is that the better and clearer the names of places and routes, the more they perform a function for wayfinding. The concentric layers of the city provide many opportunities for both clarity and confusion. The five boroughs define distinct regions of the city and different patterns of development. Neighborhood names are an important way to define areas and localities within each borough. At a different scale, streets become the framework to hold and define these locations. This is a preliminary analysis of these urban dynamics and how they can be used as the framework for a wayfinding system.
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Navigating the City of Valencia Map development process Naming areas
BENIMACLET Marxalenes
Primary and secondary district
ZAIDIA
CAMPANAR
Morvedre
Tendetes
names
Jaume Roig
Trinitat Campanar
Ciutat Universitaria
El Carmen
La Seu
El Botanic
LLANO DEL REAL Exposicion
El Pilar
La Xerea
El Mercat La Petxina
CIUDAD VIEJA Mestalla
Sant Francesc Pla del Remei Arrancapins La Raoqueta Gran Via
EXTRAMURS ENSANCHE
Russafa
Monte Olivete
Marxalenes
Primary and secondary district
Ciudad de las Artes y la Ciencia
Na Rovella
Morvedre
Tendetes
boundaries
Jaume Roig
Trinitat Campanar
Ciutat Universitaria
El Carmen La Seu
El Botanic
Exposicion El Pilar
La Xerea
La Petxina El Mercat Mestalla
Sant Francesc Pla del Remei Arrancapins La Raoqueta
Gran Via
Russafa
Monte Olivete
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BENIMACLET Marxalenes
ZAIDIA CAMPANAR
Morvedre
Tendetes
Jaume Roig
Trinitat Campanar
Ciutat Universitaria
El Carmen
La Seu
El Botanic
LLANO DEL REAL Exposicion
El Pilar
La Xerea
El Mercat La Petxina
CIUDAD VIEJA Mestalla
POBLATS MARITIMS
Sant Francesc Pla del Remei Arrancapins Cabanyal
La Raoqueta Gran Via
EXTRAMURS ENSANCHE
Russafa
Penya-Roja
Monte Olivete
El Grau
Ciudad de las Artes y la Ciencia
Na Rovella
Marxalenes
Morvedre
Tendetes
Jaume Roig
Trinitat Campanar
Ciutat Universitaria
El Carmen La Seu
El Botanic
Exposicion El Pilar
La Xerea
La Petxina Amistat
El Mercat Mestalla
Sant Francesc Pla del Remei Arrancapins Cabanyal
La Raoqueta
Gran Via
Russafa
Penya-Roja Monte Olivete
El Grau
Na Rovella
Ciudad de las Artes y la Ciencia
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Navigating the City of Valencia - Map development process
City Elements
In order to provide people with the right information in the right place and form, we need to assess how they create an understanding about a place for themselves. This understanding can guide how the city is described in the wayfinding system, for example, which features are highlighted, which routes are emphasized, and which wayfinding keys are used.
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The Street Network This map shows the urban walking network—the streets where people walk and explore. From a wayfinding perspective this street network is a landscape of addresses.
Neighborhoods Neighborhoods are one of the key ways that people break down the huge city. Together they form a patchwork of villages. They serve both as addresses and orienting places.
Marxalenes
Morvedre
Tendetes
Jaume Roig
Trinitat Campanar
Ciutat Universitaria
El Carmen
La Seu
El Botanic
Exposicion
El Pilar
La Xerea
El Mercat La Petxina
Amistat Mestalla
Sant Francesc Pla del Remei Arrancapins Cabanyal
La Raoqueta Gran Via
Russafa
Penya-Roja
Monte Olivete
El Grau
Na Rovella
Ciudad de las Artes y la Ciencia
BENIMACLET ZAIDIA CAMPANAR
LLANO DEL REAL
CIUDAD VIEJA
POBLATS MARITIMS
EXTRAMURS ENSANCHE
Destinations The wayfinding process takes people along city streets and through urban neighborhoods. This urban grid and these focal points are a mechanism to find and locate specific destinations and to experience the life of the city. This map shows the top destinations that people are looking for based on visitor surveys and the materials collected during the research. 97
Translating the city Reading the city is essential for the development of the wayfinding strategy. An extensive research of the characteristics of the city will allow us to support a good project. On site-based work, maps, city guides, books and other official documents permits the creation of a complete database.
Using this information we can identify three main points that summarize what reading the city embraces: Utility How the city grid influences the elements that form it. Texture, distribution and density are characteristics that define the function and role of the elements of a city. Flows What makes the city alive are the movements through its elements. People, transportation, cars and bicycles are principal actors of their journeys. The ability is to make these flows coexist fluidly. Spaces Each area of a city has a role. Harbours, stations, parks, walls, old historical area or shopping mall can be interpretated either an obstacle or an access point.
^ image: LYNCH Kevin, L’immagine della città Marsilio Editori, 14th ed., 2009, p. 42 98
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Navigating the city
The Critical Aspects of Metropolitan Form There are at least three vital factors in our judging the adequacy of the form of the metropolis, once its total size is known. The first of all is the magnitude and pattern of both: The structural density (the ratio of floor space in buildings to the area of the site) The structural condition (the state of obsolescence or repair) […] A second factor is the capacity, type and pattern of the facilities for the circulation of persons, road, railways, airlines, transit systems and pathways of all sorts. Circulation and intercommunication perhaps constitute the most essential function of a city and the free movement of persons happen to be the most difficult kind of circulation to achieve, the service most susceptible to malfunction in large urban areas. The third factor that makes up the spatial pattern of a city is the location of fixed activities that draw on or serve large portions of the population, such as large department stores, factories, office and government buildings, warehouses, colleges, hospitals, theatres, parks and museums. The spatial pattern of a city is made up of the location of fixed activities as well as the patterns of circulation and physical structure. […] Hence, if we have already specified structural density and the circulation system, the remaining critical fact at the metropolitan scale is the location of the city-wide activities which interact with large portions of the whole.
^ LYNCH Kevin, City sense and city design: writings and projects of Kevin Lynch. Edited by Tridib Banerjee and Michael Southworth, 3rd ed., 1996, pp. 47-49.
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Grain
Focal Organization
Accessibility
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Conclusions Making wayfinding works The project presented earlier in this document has shown how people read the cityscape, what they recognize, find memorable and use when navigating. Starting from this combination we can determine the questions that a “would-be� traveler would ask itself at the beginning of the journey and along its way.
Where am I? Some pedestrians need a quick confirmation en route while others may need to be located on the right path if they find themselves disoriented. Wayfinding information serves these needs —it must be legible, visible and quickly comprehended.
What is there to see and what can I do here? How do I get there? Finding the best route from A to B requires pedestrian information. Wayfinding system identifies connector streets, provides route support signage and GPS-based digital apps that support on-street information.
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Upon finding oneself in a new area, many people want to explore. A wayfinding system can provide information on destinations and maps of neighborhoods.
The aim of wayfinding is not just to create an artefact but to give tools to navigators to interact and make their experience in the city memorable. This dissertation has as a main objective to explore the possibility of applying the practice of wayfinding system to the city of Valencia.
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Thanks to my tutor, Eva, for her patience, comprehension and support. Thanks to the team of CityID for making my Internship experience so inspiring.
Bibliography
BAUMAN Zygmunt, Modernità liquida GLF editori Laterza, 2002 BONINI LESSING Emanuela, Interfacce metropolitane, Frammenti di corporate identity nella città europea contemporanea Et Al, 2011 Bristol Legible City, You are here City ID & Bristol City Council, 1999 Bristol Legible City, From here to there City ID & Bristol City Council, 2001 CALVINO Italo, Invisible Cities Vintage, 1997 Creating the Canvas for Public Life in Bath City ID & Bath and North East Somerset Council, 2010 CULLEN Gordon, The concise townspace Architectural Press, 1971 GEHL Jan, Life between buildings: using public space Island Press, 2011 HABERMAS Jürgen, Teoria dell’agire comunicativo, Critica della ragione funzionalistica vol. 2 Il Mulino, 1988 HARVEY David, Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution Verso Books, 2012 INNERARITY Daniel, Il nuovo spazio pubblico Meltemi, 2008 JACOBS Jane, The Death and Life of Great American Cities Random House, 2012 KOOLHAAS Rem, Junkspace: Per un ripensamento radicale dello spazio urbano Quodlibet, 2006 Legible London, Yellow Book: A prototype wayfinding system for London Applied Information Group & Transport for London, 2007 LYNCH Kevin, City sense and city design: writings and projects of Kevin Lynch Edited by Tridib Banerjee and Michael Southworth, 3rd ed., 1996
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LYNCH Kevin, L’immagine della città Marsilio Editori, 14th ed., 2009 MALDONADO Tomas, La speranza progettuale: Ambiente e società Einaudi, 1992 MULLER-BROCKMANN Josef, Grid Systems in Graphic Design: A Handbook for Graphic Artists, Typographers and Exhibition Designers Niggli Verlag, 2008 MUNARI Bruno, Design as Art Penguin Books, 2008 POLIDORO Piero, Che cos’è la semiotica visiva Carocci, 2008 RAUCH Andrea, SINNI Gianni, Disegnare le città: grafica per le pubbliche istituzioni in Italia Lcd, 2009 Reclaiming High Line Design Trust for Public Space, 2002 Southampton Legible City, Direct/Guide/Show City ID & Southampton City Council, 2008 TUFTE Edward, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information Graphics Press, 2nd ed., 1993
Texts, images and case studies referencies from pp. 24 to 43 are property and designed by CityID Ltd, Bristol. Building illustrations are property of Drangonfly Studio, Bristol.
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