Smart Pedestrian Network: An Integrated Conceptual Model for Improving Walkability

Abstract

Smart and sustainable mobility have recently emerged as a solution to the problems incurred by the intensive use of motorised transport modes. For many decades, cities have been planned based on the needs of vehicle traffic, neglecting basic human needs for active mobility and the adverse effects of motorised traffic on the natural environment. However, walking is an environmentally friendly transport mode and a healthy form of making physical activity. Thus, walking becomes an essential component of the transport and urban policies for achieving a more sustainable development process. This paper presents the research project Smart Pedestrian Network (SPN) that aims at promoting walkability as one of the critical dimensions of smart and sustainable mobility in cities. The paper analyses the various components linked to SPN that can make a pedestrian network "smart" and, therefore, a feasible alternative to motorised transport modes. Three integrated components are analysed: i) an urban planning component supported in a GIS-based multi-criteria model to assess the conditions provided to pedestrians and to support the adoption of planning policies; ii) a smartphone app for pedestrian navigation, displaying optional routes according to the pedestrian preferences and needs; and iii) a business component to estimate and disseminate the multiple benefits of walking as well as the market potential of SPN. By promoting an innovative linkage of these three components, SPN has a great potential for improving walkability and, therefore, for creating more sustainable and liveable urban spaces.

Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie

“…In view of the increasing predominance of the digital society, as well as the growing need for using innovative technologies, the few links between the guidelines and the smart city concept -taken into consideration only in the strategy developed for Wroclaw -seem to be one of the gaps which require filling. Moving in this direction is conditioned by strong technological development and, at the same time, in line with the contemporary trends of city development (Fonseca and in., 2019;Kimic, Maksymiuk and Suchocka, 2019;Suchocka, Kimic and Błaszczyk, 2019), including pedestrian-friendly public spaces, with particular emphasis placed on amenities for people with disabilities and senior citizens (Kimic, 2017). The share of information and communication technologies in the sustainable design of streets should be treated as an element supporting their social and environmental functioning.…”

Defining a Digital System for the Pedestrian Network as a Conceptual Implementation Framework

“…Walkability is a primary focus among the smart city elements that create transformative change in towns and cities as well as making it possible to achieve the three goals of the smart city. In addition to a multitude of health benefits due to walking, there are many economic benefits for developers, employers, and retailers [20,21]. After all, walking has the lowest carbon emissions, does not pollute the environment, is the cheapest and most reliable mode of transportation, and is a great social leveler.…”

Uptake and Dissemination of Multi-Criteria Decision Support Methods in Civil Engineering—Lessons from the Literature

“…In Turkey, a variety of weighted sum approaches (SAW) were applied to the choice of mode for transport to airports, with a case study applied to Istanbul, in which underground metro was the preferred choice [128]. Twenty-four factors that influenced the transport choice of walking in a city were integrated into a GIS-based multi-criteria planning system and demonstrated for the European cities of Bologna and Porto [129]. Scenarios of pedestrian transport in Ramallah were prioritized according to 13 criteria using group decision making with stakeholders and the AHP method [130].…”