"So go downtown": simulating pedestrian movement in town centres

Pedestrian movement models have been developed since the 1970s. A review of the literature shows that such models have been developed to explain and predict macro, meso, and micro movement patterns. However, recent developments in modelling techniques, and especially advances in agent-based simulation, open up the possibility of developing integrative and complex models which use existing models as 'building blocks'. In this paper we describe such integrative, modular approach to simulating pedestrian movement behaviour. The STREETS model, developed by using Swarm and GIS, is an agent-based model that focuses on the simulation of the behavioural aspects of pedestrian movement. The modular structure of the simulation is described in detail. This is followed by a discussion of the lessons learned from the development of STREETS, especially the advantages of adopting a modular approach and other aspects of using the agent-based paradigm for modelling

The usage and perception of pedestrian and cycling streets on residents’ well-being in Kalamaria, Greece

Pedestrian zones are public spaces intended for the continued and safe mobility of pedestrians and people with disabilities, and they provide multiple benefits to urban areas. They counterbalance the densely built-up areas, decrease atmospheric pollution, increase available green or social space, increase walking and cycling rates, and facilitate active play for children. Done properly, pedestrianization may also increase local business sales. Greece boasts open public spaces and the pedestrianization of common roads. The economic crisis that Greece has been experiencing since 2008 has led people to give up their vehicles and use the pedestrian streets more frequently. The purpose of this paper was to investigate residents’ perceptions and satisfaction rates concerning the pedestrian streets of Kalamaria, Greece, and evaluate their importance for residents’ well-being. Following a random sampling method, 400 residents were interviewed. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted. The survey showed that the urban residents visited pedestrian zones in Kalamaria at least once a week, and the visits lasted 46–60 min. The improvement of urban landscape aesthetics and people’s health and well-being were evaluated as important functions of pedestrian zones. The results also indicate that residents were not satisfied with their quality of life and the existing green infrastructures of the pedestrian streets, even though they have a positive disposition toward the construction or transformation of pedestrian streets. The residents expressed their unwillingness to pay more public taxes for the construction and maintenance of pedestrian and cycling streets. The safety and convenience of the mobility of residents were the most important advantages of the pedestrian streets. Meanwhile, overspill parking and difficulties with finding parking spaces were the main disadvantages for the residents. Local authorities can use the results of the present survey to manage the city’s green infrastructure and use this information in the urban planning framework.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Developing a 3D City Digital Twin: Enhancing Walkability through a Green Pedestrian Network (GPN) in the City of Imola, Italy

Predominantly, dense historical cities face insufficient pedestrian-level greenery in the urban spaces. The lack of greenery impacts the human thermal comfort on the walking paths, which contributes to a considerable reduction in pedestrian flow rate. This study aims at developing a model to assess pedestrian-level thermal comfort in city environments and then evaluate the feasibility of creating a green pedestrian network (GPN). Imola, as a historical city in Italy with a compact urban pattern, is selected as the case study of this paper. To accomplish this, a three-dimensional digital twin at city scale is developed for the recognition of real-time shade patterns and for designing a GPN in this city. The 3D model of the proposed digital twin is developed in the Rhinoceros platform, and the physiological equivalence temperature (PET) is simulated through EnergyPlus, Honeybee, and Ladybug components in grasshopper. This study provides the city with a digital twin that is capable of examining pedestrian-level thermal comfort for designing a GPN based on real-time PET in the compact urban morphology of Imola. The PET model indicates that during the hottest hour of the 25th of June, pedestrians in open spaces can experience 3  C more than on narrow shaded streets. The results are validated based on in situ datasets that prove the reliability of the developed digital twin for the GPN. It provides urban planners and policy makers with a precise and useful methodology for simulating the effects of pedestrian-level urban greenery on human thermal comfort and also guarantees the functionality of policies in different urban settings

From urban planning techniques to 15-minute neighbourhoods. A theoretical framework and GIS-based analysis of pedestrian accessibility to public services

The enthusiasm with which several metropolises have promoted and embraced the idea of the '15-minute city' may now provide a useful opportunity to reflect once again on the well-known relationship between urban planning and mobility planning. Urban policies and plans are recently rediscovering a new focus on the proximity dimension and active mobility, progressively excluding the obsolete car-centric model. In this perspective, the paper aims at assessing 15-minute neighbourhoods through a GIS-based model to evaluate pedestrian accessibility to urban services and spaces. The implemented methodology integrates the assessment of walking distances and the mapping of the resident population distribution. The method is then applied to measure the current performance of an existing neighbourhood in Parma, assessing accessibility based on home-facility travel times and the resident population within reach. A reflection is proposed on what has been learned and on the possible contribution that the method can bring to urban monitoring and planning

Towards a walkability model for strategic evaluation of policy action and urban active transport interventions

This article presents a recently developed walkability modelling tool that draws on a number of UK national datasets to construct a statistical picture of the potential of streets to be used for walking. Using components common to standard North American models, but adapted for the UK context, the model is novel in its integration of space syntax analysis as a measure of network accessibility as well as in its use of large data surfaces that are not constrained by geographical administrative units. The study area of Greater London is used to validate the model against actual pedestrian activity measurements from across the city. A range of results from the analysis are presented. This approach enables the integration of the model with numerous other datasets and spatial data structures used in transport applications, expanding its capabilities from research into the realm of active travel infrastructure planning and evaluatio

Performance assessment of urban precinct design: a scoping study

Executive Summary: Significant advances have been made over the past decade in the development of scientifically and industry accepted tools for the performance assessment of buildings in terms of energy, carbon, water, indoor environment quality etc. For resilient, sustainable low carbon urban development to be realised in the 21st century, however, will require several radical transitions in design performance beyond the scale of individual buildings. One of these involves the creation and application of leading edge tools (not widely available to built environment professions and practitioners) capable of being applied to an assessment of performance across all stages of development at a precinct scale (neighbourhood, community and district) in either greenfield, brownfield or greyfield settings. A core aspect here is the development of a new way of modelling precincts, referred to as Precinct Information Modelling (PIM) that provides for transparent sharing and linking of precinct object information across the development life cycle together with consistent, accurate and reliable access to reference data, including that associated with the urban context of the precinct. Neighbourhoods are the ‘building blocks’ of our cities and represent the scale at which urban design needs to make its contribution to city performance: as productive, liveable, environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive places (COAG 2009). Neighbourhood design constitutes a major area for innovation as part of an urban design protocol established by the federal government (Department of Infrastructure and Transport 2011, see Figure 1). The ability to efficiently and effectively assess urban design performance at a neighbourhood level is in its infancy. This study was undertaken by Swinburne University of Technology, University of New South Wales, CSIRO and buildingSMART Australasia on behalf of the CRC for Low Carbon Living

Agent-Based Modeling of Physical Activity Behavior and Environmental Correlations: An Introduction and Illustration

Purpose: To introduce Agent-Based Model (ABM) to physical activity (PA) research and, using data from a study of neighborhood walkability and walking behavior, to illustrate parameters for an ABM of walking behavior. Method: The concept, brief history, mechanism, major components, key steps, advantages, and limitations of ABM were first introduced. For illustration, 10 participants (age in years: mean = 68, SD = 8) were recruited from a walkable and a nonwalkable neighborhood. They wore AMP 331 triaxial accelerometers and GeoLogger GPA tracking devices for 21 days. Data were analyzed using conventional statistics and highresolution geographic image analysis, which focused on a) path length, b) path duration, c) number of GPS reporting points, and d) interaction between distances and time. Results: Average steps by subjects ranged from 1810-10,453 steps per day (mean = 6899, SD = 3823). No statistical difference in walking behavior was found between neighborhoods (Walkable = 6710 ± 2781, Nonwalkable = 7096 ± 4674). Three environment parameters (ie, sidewalk, crosswalk, and path) were identified for future ABM simulation. Conclusion: ABM should provide a better understanding of PA behavior\u27s interaction with the environment, as illustrated using a real-life example. PA field should take advantage of ABM in future research