Pedestrian precincts in the city's central retail area

This study has been concerned with an examination of the validity of the hypothesis, that the shopping precinct is an efficient solution to the conflict between the pedestrian and the vehicle, in established central retail shopping areas of the city. Efficient pedestrian circulation within the city's central retail area appears as a fundamental principle in the design of new city centres in Europe, and as an essential component of city centre redevelopment designs in North America. The problem of pedestrian access to central areas in North American cities is complicated by the extensive use of the private automobile. The demands for space produced by roads and car parks has led to a serious deterioration in the physical form of the city, most particularly at the city centre. The city's central area contains the largest groupings of retail stores and attracts shoppers from the whole metropolitan area. This retailing function is of vital importance, to the values of the downtown property, and to the city for the revenue it produces for city services and further city development. Excessive vehicular traffic creates congestion in the city central areas and inhibits the use of the area for theApplied Science, Faculty ofCommunity and Regional Planning (SCARP), School ofGraduat