Human Factors in Land Use Planning and Urban Design

This book furthers the role of human factors methods in land use planning and urban design that was recognised by Stevens and Salmon in 2014. At a simplistic level the issues found in both discipline areas are one and the same: the design of the environment brings about emergent behaviours that in some cases are not optimal. Such inquiries are often described as humans and systems not behaving as they were expected to; problems which impact overall system performance, and often issues that have been resistant to a range of an ongoing technical interventions. The same is true for many of the challenges in land use planning and design, including crime prevention and safe cities, the prioritisation of walkable and cycleable neighbourhoods, or the design and implementation of enduring, accessible and attractive public open space. By collaborating with Stanton and Walker to advance this line of study, this resulting book uniquely provides a description of, and detailed guidance on, a range of human factors methods that can be usefully employed in the land use planning and design context. It presents the reader with a series of novel case study applications that showcase the utility of human factors in land use planning and design, as well as detailing a research and practice agenda for future applications. In presenting novel land use planning and urban design case study applications of 25 human factors methods, Human Factors in Land Use Planning and Urban Design covers a range of key themes, including development assessment; crime prevention; transport planning; dispute resolution; flood infrastructure development; walkability; community consultation and sensory urban design. The book will be of interest to a broad relevant readership including students, post-graduate researchers, academic researchers, human factors practitioners, urban planners, architects, engineers, social planners, property developers, systems engineers, strategic planners, local government and political decision makers.