Editing Pedestrian zone (section)

{{Short description|Urban car-free area reserved for pedestrian use}}
{{About|parts of urban areas without cars|mixed-use areas without cars|Pedestrian village}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2022}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

[[File:Wien - Graben (2).JPG|thumb|upright=1|[[Vienna]]'s first pedestrian zone on the [[Graben, Vienna|Graben]] (2018)]]
[[File:Sunset in Plaza San Miguel, Lima, Peru - 2.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Pedestrian mall in [[Lima]], [[Peru]]]]
[[File:Nederlands verkeersbord G7 Zone.svg|thumb|220x220px|Sign]]

'''Pedestrian zones''' (also known as '''auto-free zones''' and '''car-free zones''', as '''pedestrian precincts''' in [[British English]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pedestrian-precinct|title=Pedestrian precinct - Definition, meaning & more - Collins Dictionary|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref> and as '''pedestrian malls''' in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or human-powered transport such as bicycles, with non-emergency motor [[traffic]] not allowed. Converting a street or an area to pedestrian-only use is called ''pedestrianisation''.

Pedestrianisation usually aims to provide better accessibility and [[Mobilities|mobility]] for pedestrians, to enhance the amount of shopping and other business activities in the area or to improve the attractiveness of the local environment in terms of aesthetics, air pollution, noise and crashes involving motor vehicle with pedestrians.<ref name="Chiquetto">{{cite journal |last=Chiquetto |first=Sergio |title=The Environmental Impacts from the Implementation of a Pedestrianization Scheme |journal=Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=133–146 |date=1997 |doi=10.1016/S1361-9209(96)00016-8|bibcode=1997TRPD....2..133C }}</ref> In some cases, motor traffic in surrounding areas increases, as it is displaced rather than replaced.<ref name=Chiquetto/> Nonetheless, pedestrianisation schemes are often associated with significant falls in local air and noise pollution<ref name=Chiquetto/> and in accidents, and frequently with increased retail turnover and increased property values locally.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Castillo-Manzano |first1=José |last2=Lopez-Valpuesta |first2=Lourdes |last3=Asencio-Flores |first3=Juan P. |title=Extending pedestrianization processes outside the old city center; conflict and benefits in the case of the city of Seville |journal=Habitat International |volume=44 |pages=194–201 |date=2014 |doi=10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.005|hdl=11441/148812 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A ''car-free'' development generally implies a large-scale pedestrianised area that relies on modes of transport other than the car, while pedestrian zones may vary in size from a single square to entire districts, but with highly variable degrees of [[Car dependency|dependence on cars]] for their broader transport links.

Pedestrian zones have a great variety of approaches to human-powered vehicles such as [[bicycle]]s, [[inline skates]], [[skateboard]]s and [[kick scooter]]s. Some have a total ban on anything with wheels, others ban certain categories, others segregate the human-powered wheels from foot traffic, and others still have no rules at all. Many Middle Eastern [[kasbah]]s have no motorized traffic, but use [[donkey]]- or hand-[[cart]]s to carry goods.
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