VIRTUAL: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

The concept of livability has gained tremendous popularity in research and had been used in practice and planning theory for the last 50 years (Kaal, 2011). Nevertheless, the term is not well defined, and many studies were driven to understand what makes an urban space livable. Livability, as such, reflects the quality of living and the well-being of people by satisfying all their necessary needs (Haan et al., 2014). On the contrary, no studies have been done to assess the livability in neighborhood commercial streets in Muscat. The aim of the present research is to investigate the level of livability in neighborhood commercial streets of Muscat, based on the themes and urban quality criteria developed by Gehl (Gehl Institute, 2018) with the purpose of defining the important design aspects that could affect them. Thus, three case studies were selected for this purpose. The methodological approach used is of both a qualitative and quantitative nature. By conducting a comprehensive literature review to better understand the concept and tools that could help to study commercial livable streets in neighborhoods. Moreover, questionnaires, behavioral mapping, and walkthroughs were the chosen research methods applied in the selected streets for the case studies to identify the patterns of the people who visit during weekends and weekdays. The data analysis revealed that themes of enjoyment and comfort are the most important to be considered in the design of neighborhood commercial streets. Accessibility, aesthetic appeal, activities, and pedestrian-friendly streets are factors that have attracted people and promoted the use of space, thus, enhancing the level of livability in these streets. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge by generating a set of criteria and indicators that can be used to assess the level of livability in commercial streets in Muscat. These criteria and indicators could be generalized to other cities in the Gulf and in similar geo-cu