User-friendly street- a study on users' perception ranking on physical attributes of pedestrian environment of Dhaka city

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the current physical qualities and activities of pedestrian environment from the perspective of the users' needs and perceptions for making user-friendly streets in Dhaka city. Design/methodology/approach Case study research approach was adapted with a mixed method approach in data collection and analysis to gather information about the interrelationship concerning the variables. The questionnaire survey and direct observation was conducted with the users of the streets to get the actual scenes of the study areas. For the findings, multiple sources of evidence were triangulated and used to analyze which were derived from the convergence of the data. Findings The findings of this study show that the needs for the factors which make people to use the street are similar with the previous theories derived by different scholars. The results establish that making of user-friendly street from the users' perspective has a significant relationship with the attributes of public spaces in the context of Dhaka. Correlation among the attributes of public spaces concerning sociability, uses and activities, access and linkage and safety, comfort and image showed the issues affecting the pedestrian environment toward a crucial condition in Dhaka city. Research limitations/implications Time allocation, inadequacy of secondary data sources and earlier research on this topic in the context of Dhaka city, were the primary limitations to let an in-depth and full exploration of the research. Originality/value The study provided a detailed representation of Dhaka's users' perception of the pedestrian environment. This study suggests a new perspective of bettering pedestrian experience in the city center.