Pedestrian Walkability (Architecture and public spaces)

Perceptual effects of scene context and viewpoint for virtual pedestrian crowds

by Christopher Edward Peters

Ennis, C., Peters, C., and O' Sullivan, C.
ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 8(2):10, February 2011 doi:10.1145/1870076.1870078
Bibtex available here: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/ec/~cpeters/bibtex/bibtex.html#TAP2011

In this paper, we evaluate the effects of position, orientation and camera viewpoint on the plausibility of pedestrian... more In this paper, we evaluate the effects of position, orientation and camera viewpoint on the plausibility of pedestrian formations. In a set of three perceptual studies we investigated how humans perceive characteristics of virtual crowds in static scenes reconstructed from annotated still images, where the orientations and positions of the individuals have been modified. We found that by applying rules based on the contextual information of the scene, we improved the perceived realism of the crowd formations when compared to random formations. We also examined the effect of camera viewpoint on the plausibility of virtual pedestrian scenes and we found that an eye-level viewpoint is more effective for disguising random behaviours, while a canonical viewpoint results in these behaviours being perceived as less realistic than an isometric or top-downviewpoint. Results from these studies can help in the creation of virtual crowds, such as computergraphics pedestrian models or architectural scenes, and identify situations when users' perception is less accurate.

Modelling groups of plausible virtual pedestrians

by Christopher Edward Peters

Peters, C. and Ennis, C.
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Special Issue on Virtual Populace, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 54 - 63, July/Aug, 2009 doi:10.1109/MCG.2009.69
Bibtex available: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/ec/~cpeters/bibtex/bibtex.html#CGA09

In the domain of real-time urban vistas, a modern vision of a vast populace inhabiting a sprawling metropolis is... more In the domain of real-time urban vistas, a modern vision of a vast populace inhabiting a sprawling metropolis is replacing that of the ghost-towns of past. Working towards this ideal, we describe the methodology we are using to model dynamic crowd scenarios and an exemplar based on it. Video corpus is consulted for informing the modelling process and perception based evaluations are conducted on the resultant scenarios with the goal of improving the visual plausibility of the crowd, rather than correctness of simulation. Using this methodology, the exemplar focuses on modelling small groups of pedestrians. While it is generally assumed that the addition of groups can improve the plausibility of crowd scenarios, little is known about how humans perceive the results. We shed light on these issues, demonstrating the practical application of the methodology in a real-time crowd animation system.

City structure , obesity , and environmental justice : An integrated analysis of physical and social barriers to walkable streets and park access

by Bethany Cutts

Bethany B Cutts, Kate J Darby, Christopher G Boone et al. (2009) Social Science & Medicine City structure , obesity , and environmental justice : An integrated analysis of physical and social barriers to walkable streets and park access, 1314-1322. In Social Science & Medicine 69 (9).

Local parks and walkable neighborhoods are commonly cited as elements of the urban environment that promote physical... more Local parks and walkable neighborhoods are commonly cited as elements of the urban environment that promote physical activity and reduce obesity risk. When those vulnerable to obesity-related diseases live in neighborhoods without these qualities, it works against environmental justice goals that aim for a fair distribution of amenities. We use geographic information systems (GIS) to evaluate the relationship between the distribution of populations vulnerable to obesity and proximity to parks and walkable street networks in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Though previous studies have used GIS to assess the distribution of access to opportunities for physical activity, none have analyzed access to both parks and walkable resources at once. Neither have they included data that reflects findings on a smaller scale indicating that perceptions of resource quality, safety, and cultural relevance also affect physical activity levels. We include these safety and quality factors in our study through statistical data on traffic fatalities, crime rates and park size. We find that, counter to predictions, subpopulations generally considered vulnerable to obesity (and environmental injustices more generally) are more likely to live in walkable neighbor- hoods and have better walking access to neighborhood parks than other groups in Phoenix. However, crime is highest in walkable neighborhoods with large Latino/a and African-American populations and parks are smaller in areas populated by Latino/as. Given the higher prevalence of obesity and related diseases in lower income and minority populations in Phoenix, the results suggest that benefits of built environments may be offset by social characteristics. Our most consistent finding indicates a strong negative relationship between the percentage of the population under 18 years of age living in an area and the likelihood that the structure of the built environment supports physical activity. Children under 18 are significantly underrepresented in regions deemed highly walkable and those with access to parks.

Les plaisirs des Dames (1641) de François de Grenaille: du Cours à la promenade

by Laurent Turcot

Résumé

Le présent article a pour but de révéler comment la promenade a fait l’objet de discours normatifs... more Résumé

Le présent article a pour but de révéler comment la promenade a fait l’objet de discours normatifs visant à codifier son usage. L’exemple de François de Grenaille, auteur de l’ouvrage Les plaisirs des Dames, publié en 1641, permet de comprendre comment se mettent en place les discours visant à régler les sociabilités parisiennes et comment la promenade est de plus en plus considérée comme une pratique qui doit se réaliser conformément à l’honnêteté. Grenaille cible deux types de pratiques, soit la promenade qui se réalise au Cours-la-Reine et celle qui doit se pratiquer dans la nature. Il oppose ainsi deux types de divertissements, celui qui est conforme à la nécessité de « voir et être vu » et l’autre à la simple recherche d’introspection et de réflexion. L’oeuvre de Grenaille pourrait ainsi constituer les prémisses de cette tendance qui va se renforcer dans la seconde moitié du xviie siècle.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore how the promenade, or walk, served as a subject in normative discourse towards codifying its use. The example of François de Grenaille, author of the Les plaisirs des Dames published in 1641, shows how the discourse aligned with Parisian sociabilities and how the promenade became an increasingly genuine activity. Grenaille looks at two types of walk, the promenade at the Cours-la-Reine, and the nature walk. He contrasts the two types of leisurely practice, one involving the need to “see and be seen,” and the other as one that simply seeks introspection and reflection. Grenaille’s work may have set the stage for this trend that would become more definitive in the second half of the 17th century.

Human movement behaviour in urban spaces: implications for the design and modelling of effective pedestrian environments.

by Catriona Havard

« Promenades et flâneries à Paris du XVIIe au XXIe siècles : la marche comme construction d’une identité urbaine », Marcher en ville. Faire corps, prendre corps, donner corps aux ambiances urbaines. sous la direction de Rachel Thomas, Paris, Ed. des Archives Contemporaines, 2010, p. 65-84.

by Laurent Turcot

RÉSUMÉ (français)
Le XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles voient se constituer la figure urbaine qu’est le promeneur parisien.... more RÉSUMÉ (français)
Le XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles voient se constituer la figure urbaine qu’est le promeneur parisien. Rendu possible par la construction de promenades publiques, d’une littérature de voyage qui incite à la promenade et de tout un contexte social qui favorise la déambulation à même à la ville, ce promeneur donne à la Capitale française une part de son identité et, en retour, se définit par elle. Ce que nous proposons d’analyser dans la présente contribution est la fortune de cette figure
urbaine. À travers des textes littéraires, Louis-Sébastien Mercier et Rétif de la Bretonne pour le XVIIIe siècle, Baudelaire pour le XIXe siècle et Pierre Sansot ou Guy Debord pour le XXe siècle, pour ne citer que les plus connus, nous entendons proposer une lecture croisée de l’oeuvre de ces écrivains afin de comprendre comment ils transmettent leur manière de flâner dans la ville. Si on assiste à une individualisation de figure du promeneur au XVIIIe siècle, le flâneur du XIXe siècle penche plutôt vers l’intériorité, il s’éloigne de la foule pour mieux la contempler. Enfin, le personnage du flâneur au XXe et XXIe siècle se conjuge au pluriel puisque cette identité devient multiple, il y a des flâneurs de tout types, de l’homme des foules au penseur solitaire en passant par le militant politique de la marche. Il convient ici de tracer un lien entre ces définitions pour comprendre les transformations qui (re)fondent cette figure du flâneur parisien.

Mots-clefs
Paris, Histoire littéraire, Promeneur, Flâneur

RÉSUMÉ (Anglais)
From the 17th to the 18th century, Paris saw the constitution of the urban stroller. It’s was made possible with new strolling conditions. Unlike the public gardens - closed, gated, and inaccessible - the Boulevards and the Champs Élysées open up, becoming integral parts of the city, open spaces in the urban landscape. By allowing pedestrians to wander in safety, these spaces begin to encourage liberal promenade, unconstrained physically and socially. The following paper aims to shed light on the functions, motivations, and consequences of this new urban promenade in the French capital under the Ancien Régime, but also how this urban figure was transformed throughout the 19th to the 21th century. The works of Louis-Sébastien Mercier and Nicolas-Edmé Rétif de la Bretonne for the 18th century, Charles Baudelaire for the 19th century and Pierre Sansot and Guy Debord for the 20th century are analysed to understand how the urban figure of the stroller became plural. Aside from the individual stroller, there are numerous models of individual stroller troughout the modern period: man of the crowd or the solitary walker. The act of promenading allows the stroller to take in the city all the while granting a sense ofautonomy. There is an individualization of both the practice of promenading and of the urban space. This allows us to understand the genesis of the urban behavior of
the stroller.

Key words: Paris, Walker, Urban sociability, Individual, Publics Gardens

« Les plaisirs des Dames (1641) de François de Grenaille : du Cours à la promenade». Études françaises, volume 42, no 2, 2011, p. 165-181

by Laurent Turcot

Le présent article a pour but de révéler comment la promenade a fait l’objet de discours normatifs visant à codifier... more Le présent article a pour but de révéler comment la promenade a fait l’objet de discours normatifs visant à codifier son usage. L’exemple de François de Grenaille, auteur de l’ouvrage Les Plaisirs des Dames, publié en 1641, permet de comprendre comment se mettent en place les discours visant à régler les sociabilités parisiennes et comment la promenade est de plus en plus considérée comme une pratique qui doit se réaliser conformément à l’honnêteté. Grenaille cible deux types de pratiques, soit la promenade qui se réalise au Cours-la-Reine et celle qui doit se pratiquer dans la nature. Il oppose ainsi deux types de divertissements, celui qui est conforme à la nécessité de « voir et être vu » et l’autre à la simple recherche d’introspection et de réflexion. L’œuvre de Grenaille pourrait ainsi constituer les prémisses de cette tendance qui va se renforcer dans la seconde moitié du 17e siècle.

'He Who Thinks, in Modern Traffic, is Lost': Automation and the Pedestrian Rhythms of Interwar London

by Richard Hornsey

in ed. Tim Edensor, 'Geographies of Rhythm: Nature, Place, Mobilities and Bodies' (Ashgate: Aldershot, 2010)

« L’émergence d’un loisir : les particularités de la promenade en carrosse au Canada au 18e siècle », Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française, vol. 64, no 1, été 2010, p. 31-70.

by Laurent Turcot

Français :
La promenade, qu’elle se pratique à cheval, à pied ou en carrosse, constitue le loisir par excellence... more Français :
La promenade, qu’elle se pratique à cheval, à pied ou en carrosse, constitue le loisir par excellence de l’élite européenne. Parce qu’elle implique une dimension publique du « voir et être vu », elle sert la distinction sociale. Le Canada du 18e siècle est lui aussi le théâtre de pratiques de loisir qui fondent des rapports sociaux. La question que le présent article cherche à répondre est la suivante : y-a-t-il des divertissements spécifiquement canadiens au 18e siècle ? La promenade devient ici une porte d’entrée dans le domaine de l’histoire culturelle, et plus spécifiquement dans l’histoire des loisirs, souvent confiné au 19e siècle. Si le modèle européen est repris, il est cependant adapté et transformé pour permettre l’émergence d’une pratique typiquement canadienne : la promenade hivernale. Les conditions de la promenade, avec ses voitures, ses lieux fréquentés et ses normes sociales sont quelques unes de ces formes de transformations. Le but de cet article est de montrer les transferts culturels entre la France, la Grande-Bretagne et le Canada, mais également de montrer comment se mettent en place les conditions de loisirs dans la colonie.

Anglais :
The promenade is probably the most agreeable spare time activity to the European elite. Practiced on horseback, on foot or by carriage, the promenade embodies a public figure were the stroller wish “to see and to be seen”, and it can be resumed to social distinction for the elite. Eighteenth-Century Canada was also the scene of leisure that underpin social relations. The aim of this article is to answer to following question: is there a specific canadian leisure practiced in the 18th century ? The promenade opens a large field in cultural history, and more specifically in the history of leisure, largely concentrate during the 19th century for most historians. If the european model of the promenade is transferred to Canada, a lot of transformations occur, transformations that resulted in a specific leisure: the winter promenade. Different kinds of cars, places and social norms, makes for a different promenade. The purpose of this article is to shed light on cultural transfers between France, Great Britain and Canada, but also to show how leisure was possible in eighteenth-century Canada.

Introduction: Making Movement Meaningful

by David J. Newsome

R. Laurence & D.J. Newsome (eds.), Rome, Ostia, Pompeii: Movement and Space (Oxford University Press, 2011), 1-54

This extensive introduction sets the context of the volume as a whole. It reviews approaches to urban space and our... more This extensive introduction sets the context of the volume as a whole. It reviews approaches to urban space and our evidence - both archaeological and textual - for movement and traffic as both physical behaviours and as they are represented in Roman culture. Following a detailed engagement with the theory and evidence behind the study of ancient movement and space, each of the chapters is discussed.

The introduction is divided into the following sections: recent studies of movement and the Roman city; evidence of movement (archaeology and texts); wheel-ruts; traffic legislation; movement and place - the locus celeberrimus; streets, gates and people: the movement economy of the Porta Capena; between Rome and the RD909; outline of the present volume.

Copies can be viewed on OUP's website and on Amazon's "look inside" feature.

Worn out with walking: movement, age, and exertion in ancient Rome

by David J. Newsome

[in prep. 2013] in J. Bjørnebye, S. Malmberg, and I. Ostenberg (eds.) The Moving City: Processions, Passages, and Promenades in Ancient Rome. Proceedings of the Colloquium at L'Istituto Svedese di Studi Classici a Roma and the Istituto di Norvegia in Roma, May 2011 (Leiden, Brill).

Philippus, active and strong, and famed for pleading causes, while returning from his employment about the eighth... more Philippus, active and strong, and famed for pleading causes, while returning from his employment about the eighth hour, and now of a great age, complained that the Carinae was too far from the forum.
(Hor. Ep. 1.7.46-9)

An examination of pedestrian movement as it is associated with physical decline in old age. This paper sheds light on the marginalisation of the elderly from the cityscape and enables new interpretations of scale and displacement: transforming the concept of ‘movement’ from an undifferentiated flow, and asserting the nuances of speed, rhythm and (in)action in the Roman city.

La promenade : un objet de recherche en plein essor (Laurent Turcot et Christophe Loir)

by Laurent Turcot

dans Chr. Loir & L. Turcot (dir.), La promenade au tournant des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles (Belgique - France - Angleterre), Bruxelles, Édition de l'Université de Bruxelles, coll. "Etudes sur le XVIIIe siècle", 2011, p. 7-20.

Promenade, se promener, déambuler, errer, se déplacer, se balader, circuler, flâner, marcher ; autant de mots que l’on... more Promenade, se promener, déambuler, errer, se déplacer, se balader, circuler, flâner, marcher ; autant de mots que l’on utilise à loisir comme synonymes, mais qui, à y regarder de plus près, rendent compte de réalités et de déterminants bien différents. Comprendre un mot, et qui plus est dans une époque antérieure, c’est surtout tâcher d’habiller le vocable de référents historiques, de le remettre dans son contexte pour voir se dégager une subtilité étymologique qui renvoie à une réalité. Le déplacement dans l’espace urbain a une longue histoire, il existe une généalogie entre les substantifs français évoqués plus haut. Plutôt qu’une union par des liens synonymiques, il semble qu’il s’agisse d’une hiérarchie familiale séparée par des générations successives. Par exemple, la promenade engendrerait la flânerie qui à son tour engendrerait la ballade et l’errance. Il nous manque, à ce jour, de grandes monographies sur l’histoire des déplacements qui permettraient de tracer d’un geste sûr et précis une ligne entre ces mots, un peu comme un dessin à numéro dont l’image finale ne se révèle que quand le dessinateur a relié tous les points et prend de la distance par rapport à son ouvrage.

À télécharger gratuitement: http://difusion.academiewb.be/vufind/Record/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/97995/Holdings

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Google Walkability: A New Tool for Local Planning and Public Health Research?

by Jason Vargo

Background: We investigate the association of different composite walkability measures with individual walking... more Background: We investigate the association of different composite walkability measures with individual walking behaviors in order to determine whether multi-component metrics of walkability are more useful for assessing the health impacts of the built environment than single component measures.

Methods: We use a previously published composite walkability measure as well as a new measure that was designed to represent easier methods of combination and which includes two metrics obtained using Google data sources. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between walking behavior and walkability metrics.

Results: Our results suggest that composite measures of walkability are more consistent predictors of walking behavior than single component measures. Furthermore, a walkability measure developed using free, publicly available data from Google was found to be nearly as effective in predicting walking outcomes as a walkability measure derived without such publicly and nationally available measures.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of free and locally relevant data for assessing walkable environments. This facilitates the use of locally derived and adaptive tools for evaluating the health impacts of the built environment.

Transportation and Health: Policy Interventions for Safer, Healthier People and Communities

by Phyllis Orrick

Co-authored with David R. Ragland, MPH, PhD, Director of SafeTREC. This publication was made possible by cooperative agreement 3U58HM000216-05W1 between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Partnership for Prevention and through contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton and the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at UC Berkeley.

During the decades after World War II, U.S. surface transportation policy was concerned primarily with the road system... more During the decades after World War II, U.S. surface transportation policy was concerned primarily with the road system and the vehicles that travel on it. An enormous increase in motor vehicle ownership and use took place—to the point where, in 2007, more than 3 trillion miles were traveled in motor vehicles.

There were positive outcomes associated with this growth: increased mobility and access to jobs, education, health care, and recreation. There were other consequences, too. These include an increase in traffic collisions and associated injury, death, and costs, a substantial reduction in physical activity, and an increase in emissions harmful to public health and the environment. Additionally, a lack of efficient alternatives to automobiles for transportation disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as the poor, the elderly, people who have disabilities, and youth by limiting access to jobs, health care, social interaction, and healthy foods.

Steps have been taken to address many of these consequences. Public transit, walking, and bicycling have all seen an increased emphasis in recent years, and government support for these modes has grown substantially in absolute dollars. There is growing awareness in communities that land use decisions and development patterns influence the transportation choices that are available to residents, and that such choices have health impacts. In the past several decades, legislation such as the Clean Air Act has reduced harmful motor vehicle emissions; programs like Safe Routes to School have encouraged active transportation (i.e., walking and bicycling) with resulting improvements in health; and seatbelt and other enforcement programs, along with improved vehicle safety standards, have cut highway deaths and injuries and their associated costs.

Most of these transportation policies and programs promoting public health also have the co-benefit of reducing energy use by substituting lower-energy modes for high-energy modes and promoting more efficient use of energy through improvements in fuel efficiency and congestion management.

Promoting health and reducing health care costs are urgent national goals—goals that can be achieved, in part, through our nation’s transportation policies. In this review we highlight existing scientific evidence on the health effects of transportation policy and provide credible information that is useful to decision makers at the federal, state, and local level. Stakeholders including public health professionals and the general public will also find the document to be useful.

The work presented here is not exhaustive of all transportation policy areas that impact public health and safety, but contributes to a growing body of resources that can inform evidence-based policy making.

Pedestrianisation Need of the Hour :: A Case Study of Fazilka Town

by Navdeep Asija

Institute of Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering, Technical University of Vienna

Many people believe that nonmotorized modes (walking, cycling, and their variations) have an inferior right to use... more Many people believe that nonmotorized modes (walking, cycling, and their variations) have an inferior right to use public roads compared with motor vehicles. This reflects the belief that motor vehicles are more important to society than nonmotorized modes, and that roads are funded by motorists. Pedestrians and cyclists are sometimes forbidden from using a particular public road to avoid delaying motorized traffic.Thats the reason Transportation planning practices are often unintentionally biased toward motorized travel. To quantify the benefits of nonmotorized transportation facility, 300m long stretch of Fazilka city local road was converted into Pedestrian Street. Case study was performed to quantify the direct and indirect benefits of Nonmotorized facilities within the city. Fazilka has an estimated urban populated of 67,424 (2001) and registered motor vehicles 45000 (Appox.) This paper highlights the results of statistical analysis performed amongst the selected visitor of Pedestrian Street through random sampling and importance of nonmotorized facilities for the sustainable development of city.

PROMENADES ET FLÂNERIES À PARIS DU XVIIIE AU XXIESIÈCLES La marche comme construction d'une identité urbaine

by Laurent Turcot

Un chroniqueur curieux de Paris et de la promenade : Edmond-Jean-François Barbier et son journal (1718-1763), French Historical Studies, 33:2, Spring 2010, p. 201-230

by Laurent Turcot

Dans son journal de 1718 à 1763, Edmond-Jean-François Barbier raconte la ville de Paris et ses événements, ordinaires... more Dans son journal de 1718 à 1763, Edmond-Jean-François Barbier raconte la ville de Paris et ses événements, ordinaires et extraordinaires. Le présent article se propose d'évaluer la manière dont l'avocat Barbier raconte la promenade et de montrer que son récit témoigne d'une transformation dans la manière de concevoir la promenade. Une pratique associée à la royauté et à la noblesse où prime la fonction de distinction sociale devient, au fil du journal de Barbier, une façon de découvrir et connaître sa ville afin de la raconter. Cette dimension permet de voir comment une source dite littéraire peut aider à comprendre la constitution des pratiques sociales, en l'occurrence la promenade et la transformation d'une ville.

The journal of Edmond-Jean-François Barbier, written from 1718 through 1763, can be considered both as a chronicle of Parisian everyday life and as a diary. This essay analyzes how Barbier narrates the promenade (stroll) and shows that his account illustrates a transformation in the way this pastime was conceived. Originally associated with the monarch and aristocracy, with civility and fashionable social ritual its dominant features, the promenade allowed practitioners to see and, most important, be seen. In his journal Barbier puts the promenade to a new purpose, using it to discover, become acquainted with, and narrate the city. In this light, the promenade creates a newly individualized and subjective relationship between the stroller and the city. This transformation of the stroller's appreciation for and perception of the city was made possible by the establishment of a new social role: the urban stroller. For Barbier, walking becomes an individual pursuit. Barbier's journal thus demonstrates how a literary source can be used to understand the transformation of social practice and of the urban landscape in eighteenth-century Paris.

Le corps de la ville, le corps du promeneur (XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles)

by Laurent Turcot

Du promeneur au flâneur: les influences de Rétif dans la construction d'une figure sociale du XIXe au XXIe siècle

by Laurent Turcot

L'émergence d'un espace plurifonctionnel: les boulevards parisiens au XVIIIe siècle

by Laurent Turcot

L’émergence d’un espace plurifonctionnel : les boulevards parisiens au XVIIIe siècle

La vision municipale... more L’émergence d’un espace plurifonctionnel : les boulevards parisiens au XVIIIe siècle

La vision municipale domine dans la conception et la définition des boulevards parisiens. Toutefois, les constructions privées réalisées au cours du XVIIIe siècle sur la promenade sont elles aussi des facteurs de définition de ce que peut constituer un lieu de promenade urbaine. Il importe de recontextualiser la promenade dans un cadre où les utilisateurs ont également leur mot à dire dans l’aménagement, la conception et surtout l’occupation du sol. Par l’étude d’un processus d’appropriation privé suivi d’une adaptation des autorités face à une telle utilisation, nous nous proposons de mettre au jour la fonction résidentielle de la promenade. Cette étude permet de comprendre comment on vit sur la promenade, et comment on entend redéfinir la pratique en fonction d’un espace qui se modifie. Cet indicateur de transformation des formes urbaines aide à comprendre la mise en place des boulevards comme élément organique de la ville moderne tout en caractérisant la nature singulière d’une voie urbaine.

Résumé anglais :
The Emergence of a Multi-Functional Space: Parisian Boulevards in the 18th Century
The design and definitions of the Parisian boulevards are mostly discussed within a municipal paradigm. Yet, the private constructions realized on the latter throughout the 18th century also define the nature of the urban promenade. Indeed, the promenade must be conceived as an environment in which the users have also their word on its planning, design and occupation. By studying the private appropriation process of the boulevards by the citizens followed by the adaptation of the authorities to a new use, I seek to highlight the residential function of the boulevard. The purpose of this research is twofold: I seek to explain how one lives on the promenade, and to assess the extent to which the practice is altered according to the modification of the space. This indicator of the transformation of urban forms helps to understand the setting of the boulevard both as an organic element of the modern city and as the characteristic of the unique nature of this urban way.