2021 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 439-446
Street activities in residential areas enrich our lives at home. A traffic rule born in the Netherlands, Woonerf, or “Home Zones,” allows residents unrestricted activities in the streets. However, certain traffic control is necessary for the safety of street users, such as a street hierarchy. This paper thus proposes planning of “Living Streets Master Plan” in residential areas. According to the plan, streets are classified into major living streets, residents’ streets, communication streets, and front garden paths. Zoshigaya is a typical densely built wooden housing area in Tokyo. This paper proposes a process of classifying streets into four living street categories. Residents in Zoshigaya joined mock public hearing sessions, understood the meaning of the Living Streets Category, and accepted the proposed master plan. This scheme can be applied to many residential areas in Japan.
