R1

MOSCOWALKIT
Tatiana Mamaeva

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Moscow is one of the most car-oriented cities in the world. Number of cars is growing rapidly, but the built infrastructure prevents authorities from building new roads. The percentage of roads is 8,7%, which is significantly lower than in most European capitals. The project addresses the issue that in many cases the problems associated with the increasing number of vehicles are solved at the expense of pedestrians. Not so long ago up to half of space of some sidewalks on the main streets were officially allowed to be used as parking lots. The duration of green light for pedestrians at traffic lights is often reduced in order to extend the time for the vehicles. For example, it is not unusual for pedestrians to have to wait for 10 minutes or longer in order to cross the street, and then not to have sufficient time to get to the other side before the light changes. Giving pedestrian priority may never become second nature for Moscows road users, but in order to make this relationship more sustainable, pedestrians should be taken into account. We cant change this situation in a short period of time, but we can bring up this issue and start talking about different participants of citys life. This is both a design and a management challenge, it can be achieved by making physical changes to a street and by changing regulations, which control street functions. But maybe theres another solution? It is important to evaluate how pedestrians and vehicles use the street, and where and when problems arise. Changes to the street can then be optimized to the type, location, and time of day when problems occur. But before embarking on a change in the balance of a given street space, its important to decide why such a step is necessary. To analyze whether pedestrian walking space is adequate, it is necessary to systematically count the number of people on the sidewalk at different locations over a period of days. It is important to realize that pedestrian volumes usually vary according to the part of the city as well as the time of the day and week. Allowing people to cross the street as freely as possible is important because there are usually businesses and destinations on both sides of any commercial street. Often the width of the street and the timings of the traffic signals are designed only with the needs of vehicles - not having pedestrians in mind. The alignment of crosswalks frequently does not correspond with the routes people want to take; this increases conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles as people attempt to cross in undesignated areas. On the other hand, Moscow urban environment has its own characteristics and it has a huge potential - a very sparse and mazy curvilinear street network is combined with a fairly wide housing, that forms together a system of quite spacious courtyards. It is often very convenient to use them to make a shortcut or just to escape from the crowded streets. But yet another type of conflict appears within the block. In order to feel more secure and safe, the courtyards are often fenced or closed, the trespassing is prohibited or highly undesirable. In this project I explored the possibilities provided by new technologies, yet considered an issue: how can the living space, comfortable for all its inhabitants can be created? And just as importantly, how can we involve the inhabitants and all interested parties in this process? MoscoWalKit is a real-time information delivery platform that will promote a pedestrian experience and new trails in the hidden part of the city space to avoid cars. The platform attempts to open up user-generated data for meaningful reuse. With regard to city visitors the target group pedestrians is intended. This is a very diverse group because it consists of visitors/tourists, inhabitants of city centre and neighbourhood residents. neighbourhood residents) can be analysed if they show different or similar characteristics. In this way tracking clusters can be composed; each with their own features. System response to the collected information Peoples behaviour in a certain area will be measured and mapped in order to gain knowledge about their movements. It is unknown yet how pedestrians move through the city centre of Moscow, what their routes and destinations are and how much time they spend on the streets. This project contains added values like providing accurate and valid information of quantitative spatio-temporal data, as described in the previous paragraph. Therefore, it makes a clear contribution to the lack of knowledge about processes (movement patterns of people). Changes in behaviour can be measured before, during and after investments in public space. The mapped research results lead to understanding and explaining of pedestrian behavior. Eventually, pedestrian models for urban environments can be made to predict behaviour and guide it in desired directions. Additionally, the street signs can be located in the crowded downtown areas, in the intersections with the courtyards, where its possible to make a shortcut. It will expose and promote the new paths in a constantly changing environment. Street life will flourish and city centres will become more safe because there are more eyes on the street (Jacobs, 1961; Gehl, 1971; Alexander et al., 1977; Bosselmann, 2008). The planning and design of transportation networks and streets can be reshaped to encourage economic vitality, civic engagement, public health, and environmental sustainability, in addition to serving peoples mobility needs.

Peoples behavior in a certain area can be measured and mapped in order to gain knowledge about their movements.
This project is dedicated to finding new and exciting ways of improving experience for pedestrians by using a Global Positioning tracking Systems (GPS). GIS is used for mapping (visualizing) the GPS-tracks. With GPStracking and SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) the three pedestrian groups (visitors/tourists, city centre inhabitants and Societal relevance If human behaviour in relation to the context would be better understood, then all sorts of governments can manage and design the city in such a way that street life will be attractive for visitors and inhabitants. This increases street vitality & quality and money spending.

The map will expose the most popular pedestrian routs, which frequently lay through hidden courtyards.

Youre in a hurry. Your friend is waiting. You know youre not far away, but you dont know the best way to get there Youre driving a car, the left turn is 2 km further

Youre an outsider and eager to explore the inner life of the city, but youre not sure if its safe and appropriate to enter the yard

Its an official government holiday, there are thousands of people on the streets. You would like to avoid the hustle

Observe the possible ways to get where you need by using your mobile

Follow the physical signs on the intersections of streets and courtyards

Youre walking. Theres a traffic jam. The sidewalk is occupied by cars

Observe the possible ways to get where you need by using your mobile

Park your car and use the signs to make a shortcut Youre an outsider and eager to explore the inner life of the city, but the courtyards are fenced Get the code to enter the courtyard by providing information about you to explore the inner life of the citizens Choose one of the options: avoid the crowd or make the shortcut through the yard

Take a look at the alternative route by using the app Theres a huge puddle in front of you

Find your own way by using the app

Take a look at the alternative route by using the app

PERSONAL INTERACTIONS

The platform provides the user with comprehensive features including route planning, dashboard monitoring of the journey, recording and sharing favorite routes, itineraries via sms, email and Facebook. Using the app, pedestrians can reduce the travel time to their destination by making the shortcut through the courtyard as well as choosing the less crowded or the most interesting route.

Additionally, the application will work as a tool for pedestrians to unlock the fences. For the past years, there was a trend of putting security desk checkpoints before entering the courtyards and buildings. Basically, the main function of those is to collect information about the people entering this territory and monitoring the space. How it works? Unlocking the fence means getting the entrance code to your mobile after allowing the system to get the information about you (name, address, phone number). It can basically replace the process of checking the documents before entering the building. Thus, the system would collect the information about you for the time youre inside this courtyard, and if something happens, they would be able to contact you. The information is deleted after you leave the courtyard.

MOSCOWALKIT

Sometimes the paths inside the courtyards are more lively and convenient than the sidewalks along the streets.

Additionally, there is a built-in option of getting the code for opening the fences by providing the app with your personal info (like physical pass control).

BEFORE

AFTER

2min

10min

There are different constraints affecting the mobility of pedestrians, which can be seen and even changed by the user in the digital environment. The MoscoWalKit attempts to develop a virtual urban environment which considers pedestrian traffic and the interactions arising from their behavior. Furthermore, the instrument provides a comprehensive tool for authorities to observe the flows of people and design strategies based not only on vehicles movements, but considering both drivers and pedestrians.

By enabling people to access the inner spaces of the city, the certain kind of conflicts can appear between residents and pedestrians. The residents are striving for quite and secure surroundings, and pedestrians - for mobility and easy access. The impact of those conflicts is visible in the city and can be described by observing peoples behavior on the streets. This projects outcome is intended to be a tool for citizens, businesses, developers and city employees who want to have a better understanding of the Moscows zoning process.

URBAN INTERACTIONS

Benefits and opportunities for the urban environment 1. Convenient changes in the citys infrastructure for pedestrians and residents. 2. Greater reliance on non-motorized for local travel 3. Possible reduction of vehicle travel

MOSCOWALKIT

quisto tempor sandi untio cullo voluptibus ute lit exerupt aspieniat.Publisseri corisso ltortica pore conequerces estem, comnesul viti, qui se perions ulabefe conum, Catum spiorum dius, esus vessi in diusqua mpostis confica ecoma, cerferum opteatum atursum aperibusque coenate nonsitin senium ia nonessa reto halabef fremum omaximi licaecr ibemusa perrivid proposse crehensid forte atus prac me tuam facidem componiae arem potemo es bondemus clum iae, ut alemorum terum denare me re no. Tinerit. Sp. Id mederfirmis cae ia vium uniciteatque in de intem nonvere nonsi conloc, conum te qua L. Catum aperitussum ius. Astrae teri prorumei serionsil vastebatoImage in courtesy of SENSEable City Lab, MIT

Image in courtesy of SENSEable City Lab, MIT

EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE: UNDEFINED STATE CONFLICT: RESIDENTS <-> PEDESTRIANS

fucked-up fences

Reevaluation of Space
Sustainable city development requires fundamental changes in our urban planning practices. It demands more comprehensive analysis of impacts and consideration of a broader range of solutions than usually occurs. It also requires that the public can be involved in determining alternatives to be considered because it often involves changes in community and residents behavior as well as reflects a communitys values.

MOSCOWALKIT

PROVIDING ACCESS + VISUALIZATION

REEVALUATION OF SPACE: DIVISION OF PRIVATE AND COMMON AREAS

EXPECTED OUTCOME

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION
To participate in the common effort of gathering pedestrian information, a user needs an internet-connected mobile device (cellphone, smartphone, PDA) with a GPS function (built in or using an external receiver). After downloading the mobile application and activating the Send tracking information option, the user can be sure that their device will be sending its geographic coordinates, direction and speed to automated analytical system every several seconds. All information is non-personal, which means that there is nothing that could possibly betray any specific information about the user. Then, using all available data, the automated analyzer creates a track, an integrated route for each mobile device considering the speed. In addition to sending their coordinates to Analyzer, users can also signal to the service about newly-built fences, obstacles, road works etc. GPS coordinates provided by the user are mapped to the citys crowdsourced electronic map, which accurately displays buildings, parks, roads with all markings and other urban facilities. This detailed mapping allows the system correct the route of a user based on the real physical layout.

Gathering impersonal data from pedestrians - mobile users

Analyser measures inaccuracy of GPS location data

Overlay pedestrian trails on city infrastructure map ALGORITHM OF DATABASE CREATION

Pedestrian trails are generated in different parts of the city

Generating pedestrian trails city map Aggregation of previously gathered data from different part of the city

MOSCOWALKIT

Tatiana Mamaeva
Tatiana Mamaeva holds a Bachelor of Science in electromechanics and electronics from State Polytechnic University in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In 2010 she graduated from Advanced Design Visualization program (MA level) in Umea Institute of Design, Sweden. During that time she studied advanced visualization methods that are used in the design process in product development. Later on shes been working on industrial product visualizations in Communication design department in Peschke Design OG in Vienna, Austria. During the summer 2011 Tatiana has been developing visual content for United Colors of Benetton project Creative windows. In 2011 her interest in technology and urban research brought her to Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design.