An analytical tool to support the pedestrianisation process: The case of via Roma, Cagliari

The article focuses on the case of the modification of an urban road network: the transformation of a portion of an important distributor road in the urban area of Cagliari into a pedestrian space. By means of this case study the article aims to point out how the conditions of hierarchy constitute a supporting tool for controlling and verifying the project of pedestrianisation. This analysis uses the fundamental conditions of hierarchy as a tool to assess to what extent the modification of the road network articulation has resulted in conditions of lesser inter-connectivity, legibility and functionality. This analysis evidences that pedestrianisation interventions have not been completely defined within a theoretical system that clearly establishes modes and conditions of implementation. In this perspective the article proposes a system of criteria, founded on the principles of hierarchy, meant to be a theoretical support for processes of pedestrianisation.