CHAPTER I:THEURBAN HIGHWAY
NETWORK: DESIGN, FUNCTION AND ORGANIZATION.
«What is awaits from a research task is the
originality. It is not a question of a quality in oneself, but of a step: the
purpose of a report, a thesis, an article, are to bring something new, of
original. The originality is all the direction of the review of literature. It
is necessary to master what was already made as regards research to be able to
position its own research so that it brings something moreover, so that it is
original (at the border of the knowledge and the
not-knowledge)»(Dumez, 2011, p. 17).
Throughout our research task, in which the purpose is to
discover or establish the existence of the relation between two common aspects
of the urban roadway system: the gauge of a way and its output, we leaf through
several documents, articles and theses going in the direction of our research.
Thus, in order to be a scientist during this study, we have judge adapted to
start by defining the term urban roadway system.
1.1. The urban roadway system: what is it
The roadway system is historically definite like the whole of
the transportation routes of a territory given i.e. the whole of the
infrastructures necessary to support the circulation of the goods and people in
the aforementioned locality. However, in urban environment, the roadway system
is collective before being an infrastructure dedicated to the only circulation;
it is a social space which structure urban space(d'ARCIER, 1992). On another
side, the roadway system appears being a basic urban transport infrastructure
and like such, it is defined as being a fixed public installation being used to
provide essential services(NOUNDJEU, 14 au 15 février 2011). From these
definitions, it comes out that to have for object of study the urban roadway
system, it is to make a study which will have to take into account several
forms and point of view as well technical as social. The urban roadway system
thus proves to be the carrying structure, tallies of the development according
to the old proverb which says: «where the road passes, the
development follows.»
In urban environment, that always applies and even with an
impact much stronger because one very often saw real estate goods and others to
be object of important speculations after the built of a more comfortable
access road was restored. Bruno FAIVRE d'ARCIER (1992) puts forward this aspect
developing and devaluing by the road in urban environment in his thesis la
voirieurbaine: de l'accumulation à la gestionpatrimoniale. The
roadway system is, consequently this network, this infrastructure of
communication around of which will organize the life in urban environment (in
all or if not, large majority of the circumstances). The urban roadway system
will thus be characterized by its multifonctionnality, the multiplicity and the
diversity of the users whom it gathers;In its thesis, B. FAIVRE d'ARCIER (1992)
made a short summary of the various possible approaches of definition of the
urban roadway system: like public domain, like infrastructure, network and
space.
· In the approach of the roadway system like
network, the roadway system is comparable with a whole of sections and
crossroads primarily being used with circulation of the goods and the people to
the means of modeof transport motorized or not.
· The approach infrastructure, which is
prevalent for the town planning engineering, is based on the concept of
network, but privileges the roadway system like basic infrastructure rather,
support of other network (electricity, water, telephone, etc.)
· In the approach of the roadway system like
space, prevalent for the architects and the town planners, the roadway
system is seen like a volume and constitutes an element of the urban landscape.
In addition to that, for the town planners, the urban development and of its
activity is closely related to the conditions of accessibility in a context
where it is necessary to differentiate the places of residence and the places
from activities.
· The approach in terms of domain which
is used as pillar to legitimate the intervention of the public authorities
because it allows given again the public space which is the roadway system, its
place vis-a-vis approaches of the functionalist types.
The following quotation, from the general guide of the urban
roadway system as cited by(d'ARCIER, 1992, p. 2)thus appears to be, we think it
enough adequate to summarize the point of view supported up: «what
characterizes a street, it is its complexity the multiplicity of its roles. It
accommodates activities which should be served, it is to border of trade, it
shelters the walk or the rest of the townsmen, it ensures the service road of a
district while supporting calm residents, or even it runs out an important
traffic that it is necessary to reconcile with a correct environment with the
inhabitants».(CETUR, AIVF, 1988)
Of all what precedes, it is thus clear that the concept of
design of street could not be universal or at least, should more or less adapt
according to whether one is in such or such medium where the social behaviors
and the daily intrigues differ, question of guaranteeing the safety of the
motorists and the residents which interact both with the road: it is clear that
we does not drive in the same way on an urban boulevard as on one street
crossing a market or a road access in full district. The design will have to
implementfactors which will have to make recognize with the motorist function
(service road, fast track, etc.) of the way where it is, and thus, to lead it
to adapt its speed which would be finally only the translation, in terms of
control, of this function.With respect to the road safety, it is important that
installation makes it possible to the motorists to correctly identify nature
and the uses of the way which they borrow so that they can anticipate, to some
extent, the inherent risks has this space and thus to adapt their behavior (in
particular their speed) has these characteristics (the space). In their
articles,(BRUSQUE, MENARD, MONTEL, DUBOIS, & RESCHE-RIGON, 1997)starting
from an experimentation of categorization carried out using catches of sights
of urban sites, identified the categories of ways which the various users and
the criteria from differentiated which these categories are constituted. They
pushed their work further by evaluating also up to what point night environment
modifies the mental representations than the users have this space.
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