Assessing greenway network connectivity for Universiti campus

Abstract

Greenway is a route to connect people with places. It is a multi-objective planning approach in order to improve the quality of campus environment and to enhance its identity as an academic village. Campus greenway is composed of roadside trees, pedestrian way, cycle way and river or lake corridors connecting play fields, gardens and squares. Thus, to establish a greenway in a university campus, the road reserve which is a ready network is used as main linear resource. Nonetheless, the foremost challenge in establishing a campus greenway is to counter the fragmentation of all physical elements such as walkways and trees along the road reserve. Therefore, the study analyzed the physical characteristics such as walkway width, trees shape and planting continuity as well as types of nodes which constitute a greenway in a university campus. The study has measured variables such as connectivity, naturalness and nodes within and along the campus road reserve. A site inventory was conducted and site photographs taken. ArcGIS 9 (ArcMAP release version 9.1) was used to visualize and analyze the data. The study has identified two factors, too narrow road reserve and too many gaps (breaks) and barriers that obstruct the flow of pedestrians or cyclists along the greenway and hence, constraint the formation of campus greenway. The gaps were road junctions, opened drains and discontinuous walkway, and the barriers were signage boards and lighting poles improperly located on walkways. Thus, the study contends that to establish a greenway in campus, the forms and functions of all linear and non-linear elements should be carefully analyze to ensure its appropriateness and connectivity so as to ensure a successful greenway on campus.