Neighborhoods that are easily accessible, have more people on the street and a better mix of residents, visitors and passers-by. You get there easily. This creates more liveliness and more natural control on the street. Neighborhoods that are more accessible are, in general, safer and more vital than residential areas that are not sufficiently accessible from one or more sides. The neighbourhood must therefore be easily accessible, both at the level of the city and from the surrounding areas.
In The Netherlands, it is mandatory that new neighborhoods have at least two access roads. This requirement – which is part of the Dutch Building Code – is a means to keep residential areas sufficiently vivid and to ensure accessibility for emergency services. But not only the number is important. The access roads should be well integrated with the rest of the street network both within the surrounding area and the city as a whole.
To test the level of accessibility, developing and designing parties can use spatial analysis. Scenario analysis can help to gain insight in various alternatives; their effects on the accessibility and the extent to which interventions are actually desirable and feasible.
