Peripheral Pathways. Pedestrian adaptation in the peripheral area of Guadalajara

CHÁVEZ NEGRETE, ITZA NONATZIN

Buenos Aires

Conferencia; FUTURE OF PLACES CONFERENCE UN- HABITAT; 2014

UN-HABITAT

The peripheral area of the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara is a space where different elements and flows converge. This space has developed complex urban and social processes, because it connects the municipalities of Guadalajara, Tonala, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque. The peripheral ring is a road that articulates new developments, both formal and popular, and hosts a wealth of features such as commercial and industrial activities and even equipment and services that conform to urban and economic centralities as well as generating an increasing demand for infrastructure for accessibility and mobility. As a road of regional hierarchy the space is usually planned only for motorized transport, resulting in exclusive public interventions and has become an urban barrier that fragments social dynamics.How have pedestrians adapted the characteristics of this space to their needs? What are the con- ditions of the pedestrian infrastructure in the peripheral areas? Do they exist? How the is space being modified according to our needs and taking different roles? This research demonstrates how people move in the peripheries of the City of Guadalajara and the conditions of these urban areas that cannot provide pedestrian safety, and also how people have adapted residual spaces as a pedestrian infrastructure and use them as public space to perform different activities.To approach this, we developed a methodology based on the Gehl?s Public Space-Public Life Studies; the indicators that we choose were obtained by pedestrian counts, an analysis of the behaviour of pedestrians in this peripheral space and how they react when faced with these conditions, all documented with interviews and videos. Also, the configuration of these urban areas was analysed, a n d how progressively they have been taking on new activities as informal markets, improvised bus stops and urban furniture.