Transitioning urban arterial roads to activity corridors Carey Curtis* and Reena Tiwari Australasian Centre for the Governance and Management of Urban Transport, School of the Built Environment, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Bentley 6845, Western Australia A new planning concept, the activity corridor , proposes changes to the management of Greater Perth’s existing arterial road network. This raises the challenge of how to transition from arterial roads conceived around a vehicular traffic function to activity corridors conceived around the principles of place-making and accessibility by all modes. We examine the drivers for current and past design practice for arterial roads in cities of the developed world. Using a Perth case study, our research evaluates existing arterial roads looking at their physical, functional and social dimensions. Using this knowledge, we develop a management tool designed to guide the transition of appropriate urban arterials to activity corridors across the city region. URBAN DESIGN International (2008) 13, 105–120. doi:10.1057/udi.2008.10 Keywords: place-making; liveable streets; sustainable transport Introduction Strangely for Perth, Western Australia, infamous as one of the world’s most car-dependent cities, the notion of a liveable street is not new. In some ways car dependency has set the challenge for new approaches to city design. In 1997 a new planning code (WAPC, 1997) for greenfield sites introduced a set of innovative traffic management guidelines (WAPC, 2000a). Now the latest plan- ning strategy for the greater metropolitan region (WAPC, 2004) establishes a new concept for the future development and management of the existing arterial road network – the activity corridor . This brings a new challenge – how to transition some existing urban arterial roads, conceived around vehicular traffic function and segregation, into activity corridors, conceived around the principles of accessibility by all modes of transport and with it place-making in order to integrate land use with transport. It is evident that other cities are attempting to rearrange individual arterial roads in order to favour other modes. What makes the Perth case interesting is the attempt to reorient arterial road design and network structure throughout the whole city region according to a new set of objectives based upon favouring public over private transport, significantly favouring access for pedestrians and cyclists, and integrating the traffic function of the arterial with the place function of the street. Our paper examines what has been driving past and current design practice for arterial roads in cities of the developed world. We then report on our recent research, which evaluates existing arterials in the context of Perth looking at their physical (built form), functional (land use and transportation) and social (community perception and psychological links) dimensions. We do this using a case study of one arterial. Using this knowledge we develop a management tool designed to guide the transition of appropriate arterials to activity corridors. International debate and practice The debate about liveable streets has been ongoing since the 1960s with questioning by planners, designers and traffic engineers. The debate must be viewed in the context of the ‘urban transport problem’, which includes concerns about traffic *Correspondence: Tel: þ 618-9266-2061, Fax: þ 618-9266-2711, E-mail: c.curtis@curtin.edu.au URBAN DESIGN International (2008) 13, 105–120 r 2008 Palgrave Macmillan. 1357-5317/08 www.palgrave-journals.co.uk/udi