City life conceptualizations becomes a key role in the planning of the cities because it is now realized how people are an important aspect for achieving more lively, safe, sustainable and healthy cities, (Gehl, 2010). Deep understanding of what people need for space is necessary to create urban places where social life can be stimulated. In this paper we will examine space affordances and pedestrian behavior in several plazas of Lisbon city. Through descriptive analyses and quantification it would be discussed how space layout can contribute to the urban life. Moreover, it would be analyzed how the design of the plazas can support not only the formal, but also the informal processes that make a place. The research combines the configuracional analysis with the study of social patterns in order to understand how physical structures influence human behavior. Space Syntax techniques will be used to describe and analyze spatial configurations in relation to social patterns, (Hillier and Hanson, 1984). The model involves a nonmetric understanding of space and suggests that the presence of pedestrian in a network can be explained by topology. At the same time, direct observation of pedestrian behavior was attempted to quantifiably isolate what elements of the space made it effective or, conversely, ineffective (Whyte, 1980). The aim of this paper is to understand the underlying behavior and spatial patterns responsible for the creation of successful public spaces. Exploring the nature of the relationship between spatial patterns, spatial life and social life, the study seeks to find regularities of public embodied space that can be qualified and quantified in an analytical and systematic way. The results suggest how designers and policymakers can manipulate space in order to contribute to the urban life and socialization of the city.

A big focus has been given to soft modes of transportation. In this way, it is necessary to create the best safety conditions for those who are the most vulnerable users of the road network, with the greatest emphasis to pedestrians. The main goal of this work is to identify the factors which contribute to risk-taking behavior by these road users, by analyzing pedestrian’s crossing behavior using data collected through video recordings in real crosswalks and the execution of experiments in a virtual environment. First results show that the proximity of the bus stops to the crosswalk, the width of the street occupied by parking spaces and the average width of the sidewalks, the crosswalk width and the pedestrian traffic volume were the variables with significant impacts on the vehicle-pedestrian interaction.

The urban microclimate of Avenida dos Aliados and Praça da Liberdade was subjected to comprehensive examination through twelve measurement campaigns at six strategic observation points over the course of two seasons, namely summer and winter, between 2019 and 2020. The study employed an objective approach based on measurements to evaluate key microclimatic factors, including air temperature, which ranged from 15 ◦C in winter to a peak of 38 ◦C in summer, and Relative Humidity (RH), which varied from 50% to 85%. Additionally, wind speed was recorded between 1.0 m/s and 2.5 m/s, along with solar radiation levels, which significantly impacted Surface Temperatures (Tsurf), reaching up to 38.0 ◦C in some areas. A parallel subjective survey questionnaire was conducted with 123 participants. In particular, the preference for shaded areas was highlighted through a thermal sensation map, with some places in Praça da Liberdade being a favored spot during summer due to its vegetation and lower Tsurf. The study identified solar exposure, wind patterns, and Tsurf as the key determinants of thermal comfort. It is noteworthy that shaded areas, particularly those with a substantial amount of greenery, were found to alleviate discomfort from the heat, thereby making them the preferred choice for pedestrians. Furthermore, the study underscored the significance of incorporating adaptive elements, such as greenery, shading structures, and ventilation corridors, into urban design to enhance comfort across different seasons. Results contribute with valuable insights for urban planners. The data indicate that urban design should prioritize the inclusion of pedestrian-friendly elements, such as shaded walkways and seating areas, to promote the active use of public spaces. This approach is particularly relevant in the context of climate change, where seasonal variations and increasing temperatures may exacerbate discomfort in urban environments.

A significant percentage of pedestrians walk in social groups (friends, families, or acquaintances who walk together). Although patterns generated by social interactions among group members have been shown to affect crowd dynamics, studies on the effect of social interactions at different crossing phases under low pedestrian density are limited. This study aims to comprehensively examine the influence of size and sex composition on pedestrians’ behaviors when walking alone and with friends in different phases before, during, and after the road crossing. For this, experiences were carried out with controlled small groups of friends (varying size and sex composition) at three unsignalized crosswalks with low pedestrian density. The average speed and distance between the young pedestrians in six segments of the trajectories (two in each phase), extracted from video recordings, were analyzed with linear mixed models. Results show that pedestrians reduce their speed when approaching the curb, they accelerate while on the crosswalk, and reduce again when they reach the other side. In all phases, the average speed of the groups was lower than the single pedestrians, and the females’ groups walked slower than the males, except during the crossing, where no sex-related differences were found. On the contrary, before the crossing, the distance increased and decreased from the second segment in the crosswalk. The smallest distance was observed between the female groups and dyads. These findings have relevant implications for research on pedestrian behavior, helping to better understand the complexity of pedestrian dynamics and improve pedestrian safety.

Investigar o comportamento dos peões é essencial para melhorar os sistemas de transporte, aumentar a segurança, criar cidades acessíveis e promover o desenvolvimento urbano sustentável. Uma percentagem significativa de peões caminha em grupos sociais (amigos, famílias ou conhecidos que caminham juntos). As interações sociais têm um impacto profundo no comportamento individual, influenciado pelo contexto social e pelas ações dos outros. No entanto, existe pouca informação sobre a influência das interações sociais no comportamento dos peões durante o atravessamento de estradas em condições de baixa densidade pedonal. Este projeto de doutoramento tem como objetivo abordar as lacunas do conhecimento sobre como os indivíduos interagem em ambientes urbanos, investigando o comportamento dos peões em grupos sociais em comparação com indivíduos isolados, e analisando a influência de fatores sociais, externos e culturais na velocidade dos peões e na organização espacial dos grupos em diferentes fases do atravessamento da estrada. A tese consiste numa série de estudos que examinam os fatores referidos da interação social nos movimentos dos peões, utilizando observações empíricas e experiências semi-controladas. De forma geral, os resultados revelam que indivíduos isolados tendem a caminhar com uma velocidade maior do que grupos sociais, e grupos maiores apresentam velocidades de caminhada mais baixas. Trios têm distâncias maiores do que as duplas; grupos masculinos caminham mais rápido e mantêm distâncias maiores do que grupos femininos. Duplas caminham lado a lado, enquanto trios adotam uma formação em formato de "V". Os fatores externos com influência no comportamento dos peões, incluem as fases do atravessamento e as interações com veículos e outros peões. As velocidades, as distâncias e os ângulos dos peões mudam consoante as diferentes fases do atravessamento, e os fatores culturais também desempenham um papel significativo, com variações observadas nos padrões de movimento. Esses resultados destacam a importância de considerar os fatores sociais e culturais no projeto de infraestruturas e nas políticas amigáveis aos peões em diversos contextos urbanos. Os resultados obtidos com este projeto de doutoramento contribuem para aumentar o conhecimento do comportamento pedonal que pode ser utilizado para otimizar as instalações pedonais e desenvolver estratégias para aumentar a segurança rodoviária.

Many of our actions are influenced by the social context, in particular, by the actions carried out by other people. Within pedestrian flows, people tend to walk in groups such as friends, couples, or families. In this sense, an important aspect that needs to be analyzed is the influence of the relationship between the properties of each person and the collective properties resulting from the social interaction between people. The main goal of this work is to develop a methodology to acquire and analyze empirical data about the movement (characteristics of the gait and speed) and pedestrians’ actions (distance, spatial formation), through the realization of field experiments before and during road crossings in urban areas using wearable inertial sensors and video recordings.