Rebalancing urban mobility: a tale of four cities

Abstract

The key of mobility in urban planning is not in dispute. Integrated strategies that take into account the interrelations among land use, transport supply and demand and the different transportation modes are more necessary than ever. In Europe, regulatory tools such as local mobility plans or traffic plans have been enforced for a long time, evolving into so-called sustainable urban transport plans (SUTP) -that is, plans that merge urban planning, mobility governance, social awareness and environmental safeguards to develop a vision based on sustainability and equity. Indeed, SUTP are aimed at solving typical problems in current land use, such as urban sprawl, which make clear the need for a paradigm shift from transport (or mobility) planning to land use (or city) planning, thereby producing urban mobility plans that are fully aligned with integrated urban development plans. This paper describes how SUTP are articulated across Europe according to four case studies: Peterborough (UK), Chambéry (France), Ferrara (Italy) and Pinto (Spain), to highlight variations and commonalities, both among the four national legal frameworks and the actual planning processes at the local level. Objectives, measures and indicators used in the monitoring and evaluation phases have been analysed and the results assessed. The main conclusion of the paper is that, as seen in these real-life examples, the lack of integration between spatial planning and transport strategies results in the unsustainability of urban areas and, therefore, in a significant loss of competitiveness.

Raised Pedestrian Crossings: Analysis of Their Characteristics on a Road Network and Geometric Sizing Proposal

“…A warning sign with an adequate speed limit sign should be installed before an undulation [1,18]. When 15% of traffic exceeds the speed limit by 8-16 km/h the enforcement band is not effective [19], and the road manager could evaluate the installation of SCUs and/or other traffic-calming systems.Raised pedestrian crossings (RPCs) are used in urban areas to increase the walkability of neighborhoods [20] and to reduce the probability of pedestrian injuries and fatalities after a crash, either within specific traffic-calming programs, or more generally within Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, with increased road safety being one of the main priorities in these regulatory tools [21]. The vertical profile of RPCs should comply with dynamic and geometric criteria adopted to designs as a vertical road alignment.…”

Os desafios para a efetividade da implementação dos planos de mobilidade urbana: uma revisão sistemática

“…Nesta revisão, 11 estudos identificaram as barreiras e dificuldades encontradas na implementação das estratégias propostas nos planos (Tabela 7) (Hrelja, 2011;Hull, 2005;López-Lambas & Leániz, 2010;López-Lambas et al, 2012;May et al, 2003May et al, , 2008May, 2015). As barreiras foram categorizadas e divididas A integração é um critério que depende da interpretação e dos interesses dos atores que representam as diferentes instâncias.…”

“…Ou seja, o Plano de Mobilidade Urbana, um plano setorial, exige uma série de outros planos. A pergunta que fica é como será realizada a tão necessária integração, uma das principais barreiras ao sucesso da implementação dos planos (Hrelja, 2011;Hull, 2005;López-Lambas & Leániz, 2010;López-Lambas et al, 2012;May et al, 2003May et al, , 2008May, 2015).…”

“…É um processo que depende do enfrentamento, pelos gestores, das pressões exercidas pela especulação imobiliária e pelos interesses econômicos, bem como da mudança e do apoio da população. As barreiras externas identificadas corroboram esta argumentação (López-Lambas et al, 2012;Hull;2005;Keblowski et al, 2014;Hrelja, 2011;May et al, 2008).…”

Benchmarking Smart Urban Mobility: A Study on Italian Cities

“…It is estimated that energy consumption in this sector will increase around 80% for 2030' [5]. Problems caused by the increase and by the indiscriminate use of private cars are widely recognized in the literature, and today there are numerous studies that discuss the issue of sustainable mobility [6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and of transport planning. Below, some studies on this topic are discussed.…”