Spatial and psychological impact assessment of pedestrian movements in urban patterns

Urban patterns are unique combinations of different physical, social and psychological layers and also include hierarchical open space network systems formed by the integration of spatial gaps which pedestrians move through different route possibilities in accordance with their own goals and preferences. Movements of pedestrians diversify with spatial perception and stimulation of attention processes. Individuals continually receive stimulatory signals from the environment which are collected with the sensory system, transmitted to the central nervous system and encoded in the brain. Perception, interpretation and attention processes vary among individuals; thus, decision-making mechanisms and behaviours affect subjectively by various stimulating factors within the environment. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of "morphology-based", "function-based" and "mobility-based" stimulants on pedestrian movements through physical and psychological aspects. The general structure of the study focuses on basically three dimensions: (I) Physical (practical) dimension: Examination of morphological and topological structure of urban patterns, (II)Psychological (perceptual) dimension: Perception of the attributes / properties of different urban pattern types and their effects on individuals and (III) Behavioral dimension: Pedestrian movements, behavior and orientation analyses. In the scope of the study, the effects of physical and psychological factors on pedestrian movements have been examined in four urban pattern samples which are selected from the Central Business District and 1st degree Centres of Istanbul and segregated as "grid / organic" in terms of pattern typology and "slopy / flat" in terms of topography. Also, two public squares are selected from the sample areas which are decomposed as "geometric / amorphous" in terms of figure-shape characteristics. Consequently, specific routes come forward as intensively used and attractive for pedestrians according to the results of the study. Comparison between attention maps and pedestrian movements clearly shows that there is a mutual and coordinative relationship between stimulus intensity and pedestrian flow especially in particular sub-regions.