Urban sprawl: mobility potentials in suburban areas of Tallinn

Abstract

The travel habits of commuters have a huge impact on sustainable development in general, as well as for certain regions or cities. This is also a case for the city of Tallinn, capital of Estonia, where important changes in mobility have been taking place over the last 20 years. These changes could mainly be described by the rapid motorization, growth of motorized traffic and decline in the usage of public transport, as well as by the sprawl of the city, where former agricultural areas are turned into residential ones. Thus, it is very important: i) to analyze present trends of mobility, not only in the city but in the bigger area of mobility around the city; ii) to develop modern and user friendly methods for the mobility outcome, especially based on public databases, which include data about land use characteristics, residencies and job location and mobility characteristics, including travel mode, time and length. The main goal of this research is to: a) investigate the main mobility characteristics between Tallinn and its suburban areas-commuting area; b) determine the commuting areas-represented in time and space units of the regular mobility near the city of Tallinn; c) find the main causes, which are affecting certain transport mode usages and how can we influence these choices; d) analyze the potentials of different mobility model usage for mobility forecasting in the commuting area of the city of Tallinn.

Visual analysis design to support research into movement and use of space in Tallinn: A case study

“…Over the last decade, rapid suburbanisation in Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) has changed the socioeconomic composition of the population in different parts of the metropolitan area. 1 Among other things, this has led to a marked increase in commuting behaviour between the suburbs and the city centre, 2 having a profound effect on the relationship between residents and their use of urban space, 3 with obvious implications for planning and service provision. This rapid development was largely ad hoc and unregulated, and thus not supported by infrastructural improvements.…”