Reclaiming traffic influenced urban residual spaces for the public: special reference to colombo district

Abstract

Although modern cities suffer from lack of open public spaces, there are many unused areas within the same city without being taken its full potential. Most of them are created to solve traffic related issues. The attention given to revitalize them is questionable. Therefore the study aims to identify the possibilities of traffic related urban residual spaces being reclaimed for public use. The study will explore most suitable reclaiming possibilities in selected urban residual spaces. Usage qualities, spatial qualities of existing residual spaces and revitalization possibilities were tested in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted for this study. Data collection was done via questionnaires, interviews and systematic observations. Four cases were selected with variation in its physical layouts and locations to represent the traffic related urban residual spaces in Colombo district. The study reveals spatial and usage qualities of traffic related residual spaces which vary mainly due to location type and size of the site; people feel unsafe in residual spaces due to vehicular movement and that feeling could be mitigated by physical separations and strategies. Lack of accessibility affects the users to be limited in to a particular category based on gender and age. With reducing the size of the residual space, the reclaim possibility is being changed. Due to traffic movement, most of traffic related spaces has higher visibility, defined site boundaries and it’s a potential for reclaiming. Lack of management and control is the main reasons behind the residually. Although the traffic related residual spaces have residual symptoms, respondents believed that there is a possibility to reclaiming those spaces for public use. Every residual space has unique appropriation /intervention by users. By evaluating these appropriations it’s possible to select most suitable reclaiming possibility for residual space.