The valve of highway adjacent space 'Mind the Gap'

<p><strong>This thesis looks to re-orientate the preconceptions of highway adjacent space. Often in Landscape Architecture there is a focus on how to make a space more comfortable and inviting. Hence there is a reluctance to build next to main roadways as their context defines them as noisy and polluted (Gehl & Svarre, 2013). There is a general recognition of the powerful negative effects of highways on surrounding areas. It is often assumed that all a designer can do is to mitigate these effects.</strong></p><p>Fieldwork as part of this research revealed that the highway that runs along the edge of Wellington produces a type of pedestrian experience adjacent to the highway that seems worthy of attention, experientially and socially. This research investigates how to understand and design with this previously unrecognised pedestrian movement, which I have termed ‘dawdling’.</p><p>‘To dawdle’ is a walking movement that is facilitated when moving through leftover spaces adjacent to motorways (Figure 1:4). Different types and intensities of dawdling appear within these leftover spaces. This project aims to develop a series of large parks along the length of a section of the inner motorway in Wellington that explore the possibilities of dawdling. This thesis seeks to design a series of parks which challenge existing notions surrounding motorway adjacent pedestrian spaces and produce a unique way for pedestrians to experience the city.</p>