City Transport Analyzer: A Powerful Qgis Plugin For Public Transport Accessibility And Intermodality Analysis

This study presents the City Transport Analyzer (CTA) QGIS plug-in designed for analyzing urban public transportation (PT) networks, exploiting GTFS data to investigate their multimodal nature. GTFS, a standardized format for PT schedules and geographic information, enables accurate data sharing, crucial for service analysis. The plug-in extracts GTFS data and converts it into GIS layers for analysis. It constructs a graph data structure using NetworkX, representing PT routes, with edges indicating travel time and transport type. Two key analyses are conducted: Service Area for accessibility and Nearby Stops Path for intermodality. The accessibility analysis determines reachable areas within specified time frames via PT and walking from one or more source points. It provides comprehensive insights into service coverage and the potential reach of PT networks within urban areas. The intermodality analysis assesses street paths for modal changes beyond PT nodes, offering valuable information on connectivity and potential PT usage patterns. Tested on case studies in Milan and Rio de Janeiro, the plug-in demonstrates utility in understanding metropolitan PT networks, but also room for improving the overall accuracy, usability and performances of the tool. The CTA plugin offers a flexible and user-friendly tool for studying service coverage, accessibility, and connectivity, aiding urban infrastructure analysis and planning. Future work aims to extend analyses to the whole city, including other city contexts. Ultimately, the CTA plugin contributes to a deeper understanding of urban PT networks and areas, facilitating informed decision-making in urban planning and infrastructure management

Open Data Addressing Challenges Associated with Informal Settlements in the Global South

The United Nations estimates that 3 billion people living in urban contexts will need adequate and affordable housing by 2030. We urgently need alternative perspectives and methodologies for urban development that are environmentally sustainable and inclusive of the local community. This chapter illustrates the design and results of projects carried out by YouthMappers in Rwanda, Italy, and Kenya, focused on informal settlements in the Global South and the value of geospatial data for addressing SDG 1 No Poverty and SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Spatial pattern analysis through distribution metrics

Moving from the controversial results on the link between urban structure and performance aspect, this article wants to encourage the development of the independent research on urban structure, and more generally on spatial patterns, at different scales to enable future further correlations with a wider set of performance aspects (environmental, social, economic, medical). The work also exploits the potential of several unsupervised learning algorithms, whose performance and power are increasingly promising and whose use is becoming more widespread in different fields; but for which there are still many challenges concerning the correct application in urban areas and the interpretability of the results. We propose an approach for the creation of new spatial attributes and metrics (features) aiming to quantitatively describe the qualitative distribution of objects (e.g., buildings) in a 2D space. It explores an incremental bottom-up process for the creation of groups of objects (e.g., urban patches) and the evaluation of their physical properties alone and in respect with a sample area at each iteration. The process consists of 7 phases: data preparation, data processing, parameters collection, feature calculation, feature selection, clustering, results comparison. The results can be mainly divided in two. First, the feature selection allowed to extract a minimum set of non-redundant, valid, and consistent features that can explain qualitative distribution aspects of spatial patterns. Second, the comparison between feature-based and neural network clustering, gave useful insights for a preliminary understanding of unsupervised learning techniques internal mechanisms

URBAN BLOCKS AND ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY IN THE MILANESE CONTEXT

Proceedings of the XXV ISUF International Conference “Urban Form and Social Context: from Traditions to Newest Demands” (Krasnoyarsk, July 5–9, 2018)The paper concerns the analysis of a large number of urban blocks in the central area of Milan. It has been developed during the last year (course of: “Elements of Architectural typology”, prof. Michele Caja, coll: Carlo Biraghi and Sotirios Zaroulas). The theoretical elaborations by Aldo Rossi constitute the basic reference to this analysis. Moreover, some recent experiences are also considered, such as the research carried out by Steven Holl “The alphabetical city”. So, in addition to the four types of urban blocks that Aldo Rossi suggests – a block of houses surrounded by open space, a block of houses connected to each other and facing the street, a deep block of houses, and the houses with closed courts – it is suggested here some sub-categories of houses, such as the "L", the "H" house, or the "T" house, etc. In addition to a greater knowledge of the city of Milan, this operation has contributed significantly to the construction of the architectural project. In fact, the analysis offers the occasion for a greater familiarity with the terms of typo-morphological analysis and with the concept of block, which constitutes the minimum urban portion, and for this reason the basis for a study on the relationship between the city and its architecture

Assessing Link of Urban Morphology and Health: A case study in Milan

Despite some previous efforts to study the relationship between urban design and health, the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted more attention on this topic, including all living beings. It has also created awareness of the urgency of reconsidering how cities are designed and lived in. Therefore, the ways of design more resilient cities and rehabilitate them by transforming them into healthier ones and making them become prepared for any possible similar risks in the future are fundamental for post-pandemic cities. This link between cities and health (including mental and physical) might be related to urban morphology, besides environmental and social parameters. This study aims to evaluate the role of the built environment on health and well-being, which affect not only the process of the spread but also the recovering process. In order to achieve this aim, the problem is precisely investigated by focusing the health-related subjects in the context of IMM (Integrated Modification Methodology), which is a holistic, model-based, and objective methodology. In a nutshell, IMM considers the city a complex adaptive system and investigates the integration between its components (i.e., volume, void, links, and types of uses). Key categories represent a functional symbiosis between all the components regarding the functional interdependency between them. Each Key Category is represented by a radar diagram with six quantitative metrics and maps. Performance indicators are the tools that are useful to measure the performance of the existing system. In further steps, Design Order Principles (DOP) is a network of targets aimed to achieve by design. This article will present the metrics (the selected quantitative spatial values that both affect the adaptation and mitigation of the pandemic and contributes to resilient urban design), indicators (e.g., levels of air contaminators, accessibility to open green areas by cycle or foot, features related with biking roads, etc.), to understand the weak parts of the existing structure, and DOPs (e.g., activating an urban metabolism, enhancing biodiversity, promoting walkability and cyclability, etc.) which could be the items in the design process of a more healthy and resilient city for the post-pandemic era. The abandoned railway yard of Farini and surrounding in Milan has been selected as a case study to implement the methodology and eventually make evident how to improve a proposed masterplan

The Application of IMM Methodology and SMART Model to Climate Vulnerable Secondary Cites in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Case of Quelimane, Mozambique

This research proposes a paradigm for enhancing urban built environments’ resilience to various climatic risks using adaptable design solutions in sub- Saharan Africa (SSA). The study identifies dysfunctional components of the built environment using the Integrated Modification Methodology (IMM) and directs the choice, prioritization, and integration of design methods. The SMART model, developed from the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the IMM, is used as a flexible design tool tailored with prototype projects to address the specific requirements of vulnerable areas. The research is applied toQuelimane, a coastal city in Mozambique, using a thematic model called SMART that includes green roofs, urban farming, communal gardens, rainwater collecting, and low-impact development. The suggested framework and the Quelimane case study demonstrate how an integrated, holistic, and multi-scaled methodology can be used to improve the capacity of urban built environments to adapt to multiple climate hazards, particularly in low-income countries where active strategies may not be practical

IMM Urban Diagnostic: A Decision Support Tool for the Sustainable Urban Development of Dakar Region

This study presents the application of the urban diagnostic process of the integrated modification methodology (IMM) for the whole city of Dakar within the framework of the Dakar Régénération Verte (Dakar REVE) project. The goal of this process is to detect and prioritize potential intervention areas suggesting specific actions to themunicipality for improving the overall urban system performances.This is obtained dividing the city into cells, evaluating each cell according to IMM key categories (KCs) and overlapping the result with opportunities, constraints, and risks of the local context. The result achieved will support the preparation of a strategic document to orient the sustainable urban development of the Dakar Region in the actual climatic transition scenario. The creation of an east–west axis connecting mainly the communes of Hann-Bel-Air and Mermoz Sacré Coeur is suggested, focusing mainly of the improvement of Proximity and Accessibility aspects. All the phases ranging from data collection, preparation, processing, and interpretation are here presented to give an overview of the methodology, applicable to any urban system