Cultural accessible pedestrian ways. The case of Faro historic centre

In a historic city the existence of accessible pedestrian routes constitutes an essential feature to a true access to culture heritage, contributing for processes of social inclusion. It is necessary to create accessible pedestrian infrastructures network to hold a set of attributes that guarantee usability for all citizens. The creation and design of an accessible physical environment should be considered as a criterion of urban quality, which will make walking more pleasant not only for the elderly and people with disabilities but, also, for the entire resident population and tourists. In this case study it is ascertainable whether the physical characteristics of pedestrian infrastructures of cultural interest, located in the Historical Centre of Faro (Portugal), comply with the requirements of the National Law of Accessibility. There has, therefore, been created a methodology for evaluating the accessibility of pedestrian infrastructure through the construction of performance indicators. The analysis is achieved through a model of evaluation of the degree of conformity of the spaces, and presented, spatially, with appeal to a Geographical Information System, which is a tool to support the decision taking in the processes of urban rehabilitation, thus contributing to the choice of priority areas of intervention in the field of accessibility. The diagnosis confirms the existence of inaccessible pedestrian infrastructure and concludes the need to trigger processes of urban renovation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving Pathways to Transit for Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities can achieve a greater degree of freedom when they have full access to a variety of transit modes, but this can only be achieved when the pathways to transit – the infrastructure and conditions in the built environment – allow full access to transit stops, stations, and vehicles. Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, many transit agencies and governmental jurisdictions have made significant progress in this area. Policy initiatives, incremental enhancements, modifications, and other measures undertaken by transit agencies and their partners have significantly improved access to transit for persons with disabilities, others who rely on public transportation, and individuals who chose to utilize these services. This research study explores, through case study work, efforts that have been effective in improving pathways to transit. Interviews and site visits were conducted with five transit agencies, along with their partners, that are actively engaged in improving pathways to connect transit consumers – particularly people with disabilities – with transit stations and stops. These agencies are: Broward County Transit (Broward County, FL), Memphis Area Transit Authority (Memphis, TN), NJ TRANSIT (Newark and New Brunswick, NJ), Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland, OR), and Link Transit (Wenatchee, WA). Promising practices and/or lessons were identified through the case study analysis; these should be considered by any transit agency seeking to create improved access to its services for persons with disabilities

Housing and Mobility Toolkit for San Mateo County

Since the end of the Great Recession, San Mateo County has attracted new workers at a record rate without building anywhere near enough housing. This jobs-housing imbalance drives the cost of housing up and forces many moderate and lower-income employees and their families out of the County. A lack of access to quality affordable housing in the County and the entire Bay Area along with limited transportation options means that an increased number of employees drive in and out of the County every workday. The resultant congestion, gridlock, and long commutes along with other negative environmental, social, and economic impacts create a major concern for communities in the County and beyond. Clearly, this problem has two distinct but interrelated dimensions: housing development and transportation planning. A select group of Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) Research Associates worked closely with representatives from the San Mateo County Home for All initiative to help address this challenge by developing a toolkit of successful case studies with a holistic approach to housing development and transportation planning

The Role of Urban Morphology Design on Enhancing Physical Activities and Public Health

Along with environmental pollutions, urban planning has been connected to public health. The research indicates that the quality of built environments plays an important role in reducing mental disorders and overall health. The structure and shape of the city are considered as one of the factors influencing happiness and health in urban communities and the type of the daily activities of citizens. The aim of this study was to promote physical activity in the main structure of the city via urban design in a way that the main form and morphology of the city can encourage citizens to move around and have physical activity within the city. Functional, physical, cultural- social, and perceptual-visual features are regarded as the most important and effective criteria in increasing physical activities in urban spaces based on literature review. The environmental quality of urban spaces and their role in the physical activities of citizens in urban spaces were assessed by using the questionnaire tool and analytical network process (ANP) of structural equation modeling. Further, the space syntax method was utilized to evaluate the role of the spatial integration of urban spaces on improving physical activities. Based on the results, the consideration of functional diversity, spatial flexibility and integration, security, and the aesthetic and visual quality of urban spaces plays an important role in improving the physical health of citizens in urban spaces. Further, more physical activities, including motivation for walking and consequently, the sense of public health and happiness, were observed in the streets having higher linkage and space syntax indexes with their surrounding texture

The importance of design characteristics in walking from student's perspective: a case study in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Walking is a common form of physical activity, which has a lot of both social and recreational impacts. It is studied as a way of achieving sustainability. Many researchers recommend that walking can increase mental and physical health. Spectators of new urbanism recommend that the good design will encourage walking. There are several characteristics for designing walkable communities, which were frequently described in researches by many authors. In this paper, the four criteria noticed for making walkable university campus include connectivity, accessibility, safety/security and comfort. These criteria have been assessed by gathering survey in the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to find out if these criteria can cause or affect walkability in university campus and it has been supported by previous studies. The result of the survey shows that these criteria are important from students’ perspective as high numbers of the students consider these characters as important for walking activity. The conclusion is to achieve walkable university campus as it will be necessary to evaluate present walking conditions, research walking behavior in different settings and consider these four criteria in designing campus for improving walking condition

Planning and Designing Walkable Cities: A Smart Approach

Walking may be considered one of the most sustainable and democratic ways of travelling within a city, thus providing benefits not only to pedestrians but also to the urban environment. Besides, walking is also one of the means of transport most likely subjected to factors outside an individual\u2019s control, like social or physical abilities to walk and the presence of comfortable and safe street infrastructures and services. Therefore, improving urban conditions provided to pedestrians has positive impacts on walkability. At the same time technological solutions and innovations have the power to encourage and support people to walk by overcoming immaterial barriers due to a lack of information or boring travel and they give to decision makers the possibility to gain data to understand how and where people travel. Merging these two dimensions into a unique approach can drastically improve accessibility, attractiveness, safety, comfort and security of urban spaces. In this context, this paper aims to draw a more multifaceted context for walkability, where new technologies assume a key role for introducing new approaches to pedestrian paths planning and design and thus for enhancing this mode of transport. Indeed, by combining more traditional spatial-based and perceptual analysis of the urban environment with technological applications and social media exploitation there will be room to better support the decision on and to enhance satisfaction of walking as well as to easier plan and design more walkable cities

16-06 Vehicle-to-Device (V2D) Communications: Readiness of the Technology and Potential Applications for People with Disability

IEEE 802.11p was developed as an amendment to IEEE 802.11 for wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). While WAVE is considered the de facto standard for V2V communications, in the past few years a number of communications technologies have emerged that enable direct device-to-device (D2D) communications. Technologies like Bluetooth Smart, WiFi-Direct and LTE-Direct allow devices to communicate directly without having to rely on existing communications infrastructure (e.g., base stations). More importantly, these technologies are quickly penetrating the smartphones market. The goal of this research is to conduct extensive simulation and experimental studies to assess the efficacies of utilizing D2D communications technologies in transportation scenarios focused around pedestrians and bicyclists. Specifically, we design, develop, and experiment with Smart Cone and Smart Cane systems to evaluate the readiness of D2D technologies to support transportation applications

A Sustainable Assessment of the Codes and Plans for South Shore Central of Austin’s Lady Bird Lake

This project report provides valuable information surrounding the socioeconomic climate of Austin. Demographic and economic descriptions are coupled with plans for environmentally conscious future city development.The City of Austin has recognized that Lady Bird Lake (formerly named Town Lake) is a precious recreational resource in the heart of the urban core, which could be quickly overwhelmed if development along its shores is not carefully planned and regulated to provide a balance between accommodating growth in the urban core and preserving the character of the lakefront. The adoption of the 1985 Town Lake Corridor Study established foundational policies which were codified with the 1986 Waterfront Overlay Combining District (WOCD) ordinance. The ordinance established fifteen sub-districts (now sixteen sub-districts) within the overlay in order to calibrate the code to various locations along the 5.4 mile -long town lake corridor. The overall purpose of the ordinance was established “. . . to provide a more harmonious interaction and transition between urban development and the parkland and shoreline . . .” In 2007 the City Council appointed a Waterfront Overlay Taskforce to review the adequacy of the current waterfront ordinance in light of changes that had been made to the original ordinance over the years and to increasing development pressure along the shoreline. The Waterfront Task Force Report, 2008, made several recommendations, including the re-establishment of a Waterfront Planning Advisory Board (WPAB) with responsibilities that include recommending potential changes to the Waterfront Overlay Combining District ordinance, with particular instructions to develop bonus provisions that create clear, predictable methods for increasing development entitlements in exchange for clear, predictable community benefits, and to develop improved design standards. The WPAB has conducted this work since its appointment two years ago, but has had to carry out this task with limited support resources and without the benefit of consultant assistance The SDAT will provide an outside, professional review and assessment of the WPAB’s work to date and assist with recommendations for moving forward. Additionally, the SDAT process will help convene local resources and engage stakeholders to inform and assist with the work. In order to sharply focus the review and assessment process, the SDAT study will concentrate on one of the sub-districts of the Waterfront Overlay – South Shore Central – which is arguably the area along the waterfront most likely to face potential redevelopment prospects, and the adjacent sub-districts to the west and east which, respectively, introduce a major park land (Auditorium Shores) and an area with commercial transitioning to residential uses (Travis Heights). The South Shore Central sub-district is also adjacent to established neighborhoods. This area concentrates the issues of how to promote urban excellence while maintaining, enhancing, and connecting to parkland and neighborhoods.Waller Creek Working Grou

Exploring the 15-minute neighbourhoods. An evaluation based on the walkability performance to public facilities

Recent trends in urban policies are rediscovering a new focus on different urban life models that exclude the obsolete vehicle model and lead to renewed attention on the proximity dimension and active mobility. This vision takes concrete form in the concept of the 15-minute city model, focused on pedestrian accessibility from one’s home to nearby urban services and spaces. In this perspective, the paper aims at exploring the theme of 15-minute cities through a GIS-based model to evaluate pedestrian accessibility to neighbourhood facilities. The implemented methodology integrates the assessment of walking distances, considering the time factor as crucial, and mapping the resident population. The method is then applied to measure the current performances of an existing neighbourhood in Parma from the 15 minutes city perspective, assessing accessibility based on home-facility travel times and the resident population distribution within reach. A reflection is proposed on what has been learned and on the possible contribution that the method can bring to monitoring the 15-minute city and to urban planning