A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TRAFFIC NOISE AND ANNOYANCE FOR DIFFERENT URBAN SITE TYPOLOGIES

The paper intends to analyse the different attitudes of residents in urban areas in regard to annoyance induced by traffic noise, account taken of the effects of the street configuration and of the presence of specific public transport modes in the definition of the dose-response curves. People’s annoyance was investigated through a campaign of noise and traffic measurements and an epidemiological survey, administered to a sample of 830 residents in the buildings close to the measurement points. An ordinal regression model taking into account environmental and urban characteristics was used to identify a dose-response relationship. The cumulative probabilities allowed to define two cut points on the dose-response curves (60 and 75 dB(A)), grouping people in three classes and making the representation of the dose-response relationships different from those traditionally defined that use only the percentage of highly annoyed people. The results show different people’s attitudes towards the annoyance in the urban sites while the dose-response relationship shows that the correlation between annoyance and noise is low. For the same value of day equivalent level, 10% more people are annoyed in L sections (broad streets) than in U sections (narrow streets). Furthermore, all the dose-response curves show a higher sensitivity of people living in L sections; this difference can be measured as a shift of about 4 dB(A). Noise levels are, arguably, a useful indicator, but they are not reliable enough to define the discomfort of the residents, while the site characteristics could shed light on annoyance variability

Users’ needs and business models for a sustainable mobility information network in the Alpine Space

The paper investigates what are the possible business models allowing to maintain a “Sustainable Mobility Information Network for the Alpine Space”. The starting point was the lack of an integrative door-to-door information system in the Alpine regions and the project aimed at providing travellers with comprehensive information about sustainable transport modes beyond regional and national borders. To this end a survey has been designed using a quali-quantitative method (web-questionnaire and focus groups) to investigate the needs of the tourist and transport operators. The sample included all the main actors in the transport and tourism field active in the territory of the five pilot regions: Piemonte (Italy), Rhone Alpes-Paca (France), Lake Constance and Lake Chiemsee (Germany), Gorizia (Italy) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia). The research has showed that there is not a single solution to define a unique business model for the tools developed by AlpInfoNet and has, likewise, developed specific actions and approaches according to the target users

Last mile freight distribution and transport operators’ needs: which targets and challenges?

The paper aims at investigating the needs of three sets of stakeholders – retailers and HoReCa, transport operators and local authorities – aimed at designing a dynamic and participatory platform of services and applications for the optimisation of the last mile urban logistics. The research has been carried out in the city of Torino where some integrated services will be introduced: a) management and booking of loading/unloading areas; b) experimental dropbox for collection and delivery; c) the introduction of dynamic access to the limited traffic zone (ZTL, Zona a Traffico Limitato); d) real-time dynamic optimisation of routes. To meet this goal a survey has been administered to a sample of transport operators, points of sale, public administration. The survey has been designed using a quali-quantitative method (web-questionnaire, interviews and focus groups). The results have showed a large gap between the needs of the operators (transport operators and retailers) and the strategies that the administration would seek to implement. A lack of interaction between the stakeholders has led to misperceive the problems that the carriers have to face daily and to overestimate the importance of the technology in solving the last mile issues. Prior to designing complex and expensive platforms, it is fundamental to implement some basic measures, closely related to the efficiency of the unloading and delivery of goods within the urban centre

Travellers' profiles definition using statistical multivariate analysis of attitudinal variables

This paper aims at presenting a set of travellers' typologies using attributes characterizing people's attitude, through an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and a subsequent cluster analysis (CA), based on the obtained latent constructs. The final goal is to contribute to deepen the knowledge on market segmentation in order to define more people-oriented transport policies, focusing on a medium size Italian city, Alessandria. Six factors have been defined on which the k-means cluster analysis has been applied finding four travellers' profiles. Results confirm certain hypothesis from behavioural psychological theories. Attitude-behaviour relationships loosen when habits, consolidated in time, do intervene; moreover in small-medium urban context, as opposed to large and dense cities, insufficient transport supply does not favour the use of alternative modes to the motor vehicle, if not to the cost of a great loss in efficiency. In fact, the study shows how significant constraints such as necessity, time saving, and low transport supply (mainly designed around students going to school) are in determining a behavioural change, so that the ‘‘right general attitudes'' are not sufficient to obtain a real modal shift. This leads to expect opportunistic behaviours, even within a overall positive attitude towards the environment. Actually, that overall positive attitude is not enough to prompt consistent behaviour unless a marked self-control and strong motivation are present. These two features seem to be missing in the interviewed sample of population, unlike what emerges from other studies undertaken in Northern Europe. The geographic location most likely plays a significant role in such a difference. Indeed, cultural background and the prevailing habits of the population may well explain the ‘‘slackening'' of the bond between moral norms and behaviour, and the subsequent search for surrogates (e.g. the high willingness to pay for environmental protection) to justify the unwillingness to forgo the private vehicle on behalf of more sustainable modes. Finally, our study seems to prove that education could play a key role in transport policy formulation but, moreover, in social policy, as individuals more akin to modal shift are those showing higher levels of instructio

MOBILITY STYLES AND ACCESSIBILITY IN NORTHERN ITALY: A FOCUS ON THE CITY OF TORINO

The paper, through the analysis of the relationships between residential location, mobility styles, and accessibility, aims at defining a set of travellers’ typologies based on perception of accessibility to urban services. In the city of Torino a survey was conducted on a sample of 699 households, including at least one under 16 child, and stratified according to the residential location (city centre, suburbs, and outer city). The goal was to investigate two main issues: a) mobility, travel behaviour (through a travel diary), and car availability and ownership; b) opinions about the accessibility to the work location and to the urban services. All the household characteristics, as well as socio-economical data and user behaviours were researched and analysed through the Exploratory Factor Analysis to find out the latent factors on which clustering the sample. The results show three travellers’ profiles differentiated by household size and accessibility perception. One group, formed by the largest families, spread over the three areas, shows lower travel-to-work times and mobility time budget but is unsatisfied in terms of accessibility to services and work. The cluster formed by medium-size families living in the suburbs is highly satisfied with accessibility to urban services. The last cluster is made up by the smallest households living in the outer city, declaring average scores of accessibility, even though showing the highest times to get to work. The results highlight the importance of the household composition and its socio-economical status, which induce different mobility patterns and accessibility perception. This allows decision-makers to define transport policies aimed at encouraging a more sustainable transport through tailored actions, information campaigns, and incentives targeted on the users attitudes and sensitivities

Clima acustico in ambito urbano: approccio sperimentale per la definizione di indicatori del rumore per una pianificazione sostenibile dei trasporti

Il paper propone un approccio sperimentale per la definizione di indicatori del rumore per una pianificazione sostenibile dei trasporti che tenmga conto anche del soundscap