Measuring walking accessibility to public transport for the elderly: the case of Naples

Demographic ageing represents an essential challenge for local authorities and public transport providers. Decision-makers should not ignore the speci c needs of this weak segment of the population and should implement appropriate policies. This paper develops a GIS-based method to analyse public transport accessibility of elderly people to support policies and planning strategies. To test the proposed method, we propose an application to the city of Naples in Italy. We selected this study case because it represents an example of high population density, complex urban structure and low level of quality of life, especially for the elderly. The application to the city of Naples showed that the urban accessibility changes dramatically for different age segments. Results also reveal patterns of public transport coverage that are signi cantly low particularly in suburban settings. The structure of this paper is organised into four sections: in the rst section, we introduce the main topic of mobility of elderly; in the second section, we describe and discuss the GIS-based method proposed; in the third section, we report on the application to the city of Naples; in the last section, we analyse the results and discuss future research developments

A strategy for the design of skyrmion racetrack memories

Magnetic storage based on racetrack memory is very promising for the design of ultra-dense, low-cost and low-power storage technology. Information can be coded in a magnetic region between two domain walls or, as predicted recently, in topological magnetic objects known as skyrmions. Here, we show the technological advantages and limitations of using Bloch and Neel skyrmions manipulated by spin current generated within the ferromagnet or via the spin-Hall effect arising from a non-magnetic heavy metal underlayer. We found that the Neel skyrmion moved by the spin-Hall effect is a very promising strategy for technological implementation of the next generation of skyrmion racetrack memories (zero field, high thermal stability, and ultra-dense storage). We employed micromagnetics reinforced with an analytical formulation of skyrmion dynamics that we developed from the Thiele equation. We identified that the excitation, at high currents, of a breathing mode of the skyrmion limits the maximal velocity of the memory

Testing a gravity-based accessibility instrument to engage stakeholders into integrated LUT planning

The paper starts from the concern that while there is a large body of literature focusing on the theoretical definitions and measurements of accessibility, the extent to which such measures are used in planning practice is less clear. Previous reviews of accessibility instruments have in fact identified a gap between the clear theoretical assumptions and the infrequent applications of accessibility instruments in spatial and transport planning. In this paper we present the results of a structured-workshop involving private and public stakeholders to test usability of gravity-based accessibility measures (GraBaM) to assess integrated land-use and transport policies. The research is part of the COST Action TU1002 “Accessibility Instruments for Planning Practice” during which different accessibility instruments where tested for different case studies. Here we report on the empirical case study of Rome

The learning process of accessibility instrument developers: Testing the tools in planning practice

Many planning support tools have recently been developed aimed at measuring and mod- elling accessibility (Accessibility Instrument or AI). The main difficulty for tool developers is designing an AI that is at the same time technically rigorous and usable in practice. Measuring accessibility is indeed a complex task, and AI outputs are difficult to communi- cate to target end-users, in particular, because these users are professionals from several disciplines with different languages and areas of expertise, such as urban geographers, spa- tial planners, transport planners, and budgeting professionals. In addition to this, AI devel- opers seem to have little awareness of the needs of AI end-users, which in turn tend to have limited ability for using these tools. Against this complex background, our research focuses on the viewpoint of AI developers, with two aims: (1) to provide insights into how AI devel- opers perceive their tools and (2) to understand how their perceptions might change after testing their AI with end-users. With this in mind, an analysis of 15 case studies was per- formed: groups of end-users tested different AI in structured workshops. Before and after the workshops, two questionnaires explored the AI developers’ perceptions on the tools and their usability. The paper demonstrates that the workshops with end-users were crit- ical for developers to appreciate the importance of specific characteristics the tool should have, namely practical relevance, flexibility, and ease of use. The study provides evidence that AI developers were prone to change their perceptions about AI after interacting directly with end-users

Urban Form and Sustainability: the Case Study of Rome

This paper investigates the relation between sustainability and urban form. To this aim a system of Land-Use and Transport Interactions (LUTI) models has been designed and applied to the metropolitan area of Rome, to understand the interdependence of key variables such as travel behavior, transport supply, property values, jobs and residential location. The models represent the behavior of both dwellers and transport users and how they react to changing conditions. A system of assessment indicators has been defined to systematically test and compare alternative scenarios of urban form and to evaluate to what extent different locations and density distributions of activities achieve sustainability in terms of transport performances, social and environmental impacts

Classifying day and night station areas: application of the node-place model in Greater London

In many countries around the world, cities are looking for ways to promote the integration of public transport and urban development or “transit-oriented development” (TOD). Often, however, these integration attempts are limited to a particular station site, instead of being based on a comprehensive strategy encompassing the whole urban region and public transportation network. This is especially true in the case of Greater London, where the transformation of station areas lacks a much broader space and time horizons vision. With the aim of supporting long-term integrated land-use and transport strategies at the regional scale, this paper analyses and classifies the station areas system in Greater London. In fact, TOD has also been widely advocated and applied in London; however, so far no study has systematically developed a TOD typology in the London context. This paper fills this gap using an approach based on the node-place model, introduced by Bertolini (1996, 1999) to chart ‘node’ and ‘place’ components for station catchment areas. The main innovation of this application of the node-place is that it is applied in the day hours and the night hours, considering the opening hours of the London Tube. Using GIS, the paper proposes a system of indicators for the day and night hours, including network connectivity (‘node values’) and geographically detailed data on amenity levels, job and employment densities (‘place values’). Drawing on these confrontations, opportunities for (i) land-use densification within catchment areas or (ii) increased network connectivity of the stations are suggested both for the day and night hours, supporting the 24hours London economy