The impacts and perceptions of introducing pedestrian-focused intervention within the car-dependent context of the Maltese Islands
Karyn SCERRI, University of Malta, Malta
Maria ATTARD, University of Malta, Malta
The incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the ongoing climate change impacts, continued to reveal the weaknesses of urban environments especially in terms of transport, thus underscoring the need to address this through innovation and adequate response [1], [2]. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, also provided a window of opportunity to encourage active travel, re-establish a sense of community and boost local business, particularly within urban centres that experienced a dramatic decline of motorised vehicle usage [3]. Within the context of the Maltese Islands, the implementation of pedestrian spaces in village cores gained traction, as several localities committed themselves to implement pedestrian-only streets and redesign public spaces and squares [4]. The aim of this research is to investigate the existing and forthcoming pedestrian-focused intervention, within the context of a car-dependent island state, through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders to gain their perspectives on such investments and policies. To further analyse locally driven solutions, the stakeholders will also be able to propose their own interventions to encourage walking as a mode of transport, which will then be integrated with a virtual citizen participatory platform as a space for idea creation, sharing and evaluation. The coded qualitative data will provide a basis for the discussion of preliminary findings to highlight the impact such locally-derived solutions can have in encouraging walking rather than car use especially for short-distance trips.
Mots clés : walking|intervention|urban transport|car dependence|COVID-19
A102946KS