Walkability in Historic Urban Spaces: testing the Safety & Security in Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli

Much of the built environment design literature focuses on a composite of walkable spaces variables such as density, diversity, and destination accessibility. One of the most effective factors in walkability is “safety and security”. There is an evident gap in understanding the perceived ability of Libyan public spaces to support walkability. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of “walkability” in traditional Libyan urban spaces and analyse the relationship between walking, a safe and secure environment, and its impact on a heritage site in Tripoli city centre. The perceived personal safety of 140 users of the heritage site “Martyrs' Square” were measured; this research is studying the quality of environment and users’ interaction with their environmental issues relating to the study area. Mixed methods were used in this research: this study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather information; the quantitative took the form of a questionnaire; and the qualitative took the form of observations. Analysis of quantitative data was conducted with SPSS software; the survey was conducted from August 2016 to September 2016. The results of this study are useful for urban planning, to classify the walkable urban space elements, which could improve the level of walkability in Libyan cities and create sustainable and liveable urban spaces.