Szczecin pedestrian zones survey : pathologies and causes : research and intervention project

Abstract

Academic Exchanges. The West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin (Poland)

[EN] The project focuses on the study of the sidewalks of the city in northern Poland, Szczecin. In general sidewalks are public spaces where pedestrians can walk freely. The importance of their good condition is linked to the use that is given to them. That is why we will make the survey about some representative streets of the city with different uses and conservation status. The selection wants to show an overall view of different types of sidewalks and their characteristics. The main goal is to know which causes act directly on the pavement to alter their condition. This requires a previous study of the situation of the city, its climate, building systems used, materials used, maintenance performed, etc... Once we know all these data we can delve into the study of pathologies and can say the raisons that cause them. It is interesting for us to see how climatic factors affect the condition of sidewalks. Comparing them with the pavement we know, the pavement of the city of Valencia, can be readily appreciated what and to what extent these factors affect each of the cities. So we will have a general comparative. The next objective is to propose solutions for improvement. To do this, a few questions are raised: Are sidewalks efficient? Do we build, taking into account the sustainability of pavement? With regard to this, we will suggest sustainable and efficient improvement solutions for Szczecin. Finally, innovation in this field is neglected, but we want to present some technological advances. For it, we will present two types of pavement that can help conservation and good use, proposing their combination for greater energy efficiency.