Urban transit impacting greenery especially on streetscape: A review

Abstract

With increasing urban development, urban transit systems and corridors have emerged as an important aspect of the urban fabric with mixed use development in their surroundings. Urban Transit Systems are accessible to all groups of people and allow people to reach their destination, following a fixed route and schedule. The Metro transit system with an elevated corridor running along the streetscape is the preferred choice of public transport in the Indian context. However, these elevated transit systems create a shortage of space while reducing the green cover. This shortage of space results in decrease in human interaction and creates an inactive space. It is proven that a streetscape with greenery enhances the visual quality of a space, making it active and influencing human behavior positively. This paper elaborates the adverse impact of urban transit systems on the environment, particularly the greenery volumes of the streetscape, space quality, visual quality and human behavior with the help of case studies. To recapitulate, this paper reviews how transit systems, streetscape and greenery are connected to each other, how they influence one another and what could be a possible solution on the adverse effects of urban transit systems.

Keywords

• transit oriented development
• urban transit system
• streetscape
• greenery
• visual quality