Evaluating the pedestrian realm: instrumental rationality,communicative rationality and phenomenology

Following the passage of ISTEA, increased attention to pedestrian planning has led to the development of pedestrian plans, particularly at the metropolitan and municipal levels. This has raised the issue of how cities and metropolitan areas evaluate the walkability of the pedestrian realm and identify improvement projects. Three approaches to evaluating the pedestrian realm are examined: instrumental rationality, communicative rationality, and phenomenology. Case studies demonstrating the application of these approaches to the development of pedestrian plans are examined in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Portland, Oregon, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Paul StanglEmail:

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Paul Stangl   obtained a Doctorate in Geography at the University of Texas, Austin, in 2001 and a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, in 1992. He has worked as a transportation planner for the City of North Charleston, S.C. and currently teaches city and regional planning at Western Washington University.