The perception of accessibility and ease of orientation of underground pedestrian systems: A survey in Shanghai

Dominant modes of transport in city centres have a significant influence on urban morphology, land usage, the character of the urban environment and people’s life style. Improving accessibility, continuity, safety, availability and connectivity for pedestrians has critical importance as a means of decreasing vehicle usage and increasing public transport usage. Within the city centres of the mega cities, underground pedestrian systems (UPS) have been used to integrate pedestrian traffic in transport systems as a redevelopment strategy to provide additional space resources for multiple functions, such as commercial and public activities. With the recent economic success in China, the research relating to the impact on urban environments remains lacking, and this challenges the successful development of UPS in the future. Three UPS in Shanghai were subjected to a detailed investigation to understand the impact of the UPS, especially from the perspective of the users’ perception. Data were obtained from on-the-spot observations, face to face questionnaires with the UPS users, and interviews with an academic, a coordinator of a UPS project and two UPS managers. The research integrated both qualitative and quantitative methods, which analyzed the issues relating to accessibility and ease of orientation with the UPS. The research revealed that as an important component of central urban area pedestrian systems, the UPS have limited functionality to its users and are not fully utilized by the general public. The research focused on Shanghai’s expanding constellation of UPS, which has previously lacked discussion in the literature.