Urban transportation planning in transition

The research is based on the question of how can traditional cities cope with the demands of contemporary life? As the high efficiency of urban life in traditional cities or the so-called quality of life is the intended purpose of this paper. This goal can only be achieved by activating the health, social, economic and urban aspects of the place through prudent urban interventions in these environments. The research hypothesis confirms that urban infill projects, including deletions and additions, can improve the quality of life in these cities. Thus, the research problem summarizes the lack of studies dealing with improving the quality of life in traditional environments, which suffer from forced removal projects of some or all of the old tissue, and the difficulty of communicating with the requirements of contemporary life. The research was based on studying the phenomenon and making questionnaires for the study area of the old city of Najaf. Then, obtain conclusions that confirmed the research hypothesis and based on indicators that can be adopted to activate the quality of life in traditional cities.

The performance of public transport operations, land-use and urban transport planning in Hong Kong

In most parts of the world, cities have undergone an accelerated process of territorial and population dispersion over the last 50 years. The demand for new quality open spaces, as a result of the urbanization model, and the environmental changes it has caused, has also contributed to the search for a better quality of life in cities. Studies on urban quality of life focus more intensely on variables linked to aspects of human development, socio-economic aspects, and sustainability, but little has been studied on the influence of urban form on quality of life. This work aims to propose a reflection on the relationship between urban form and quality of life in the city, based on a current theoretical framework. The research method focused on a qualitative analysis of the selected theoretical framework. The research findings show that based on the concepts and studies carried out, it was observed that the spatial configuration of cities and their neighborhoods contributes directly contributes to the population, by allowing more sustainable urban spaces and practices. Thus, it has been observed that urban form is not sufficiently explored in quality of life indices and indicators, being presented superficially and on a broader scale. In the same vein, some studies that relate urban form and quality of life, even at the local scale, do not detail how these relate to other urban and human aspects, which may hinder a better understanding of the impact of the built environment on urban sustainability.

Growth of simulation methods in social sciences lead to a turn in the way we think about experimental approach in humanities. Simulation experiments inside artificial urban environments are one of the emerging research fields that may result in particularly interesting conclusions. The reason for this is straightforward link to the city governance and urban planning or, in general, the quality of life in cities. In this paper, we develop the universal conceptual framework for building agent-based models of the real cities: Complex Artificial Urban System (CAUSE). The geographical space in CAUSE is projected through GIS data. Agents’ behaviors in the virtual sandbox replicate the major economic activities of humans. By assumption, we focus on the labor market and real estate market—these two crucial urban markets are modeled through the agent-based matching function approach. Inhabitants of the artificial city try to achieve the highest possible level of satisfaction maximizing individual utility function. This function is based on geographically adjusted five-level Maslow’s pyramid. Analysis of such urban sandbox will help to address the vital questions about the role of physical city environment in both: the cities’ economic performance and the decisions made by their inhabitants. As a result, CAUSE-based models could support the decisions made by policy makers to improve the quality of city life.

The development of U.S. urban transportation policy over the past 50 years illustrates the changing relationship between federal, state, and local governments. This comprehensive text examines the evolution of urban transportation planning from early developments in highway planning in the 1930s to the concern for sustainable development and pollution emissions. Focusing on major national events, the book discusses the influence of legislation, regulations, conferences, federal programs, and advances in planning procedures and technology. The book offers an in-depth look at the most significant event in transportation planning—the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962. Creating a federal mandate for a comprehensive urban transportation planning process carried out cooperatively by states and local governments with federal funding, this act was crucial in the spread of urban transporation. Claiming that urban transportation planning is more sophisticated, costly, and complex than its highway and transit planning predecessors, the book demonstrates how urban transportation planning evolved in response to changes in such factors as environment, energy, development patterns, intergovernmental coordination, and federal transit programs. It further illustrates how broader concerns for global climate change and sustainable development have braided the purview of transportation planning.

The four-step transportation planning methodology—trip generation, distribution, modal split, and traffic assignment—was developed decades ago and is still largely the platform of many existing models in practice. Nevertheless, in the past decade, new approaches have been developed to augment and improve components of this platform or to seek new modeling paradigms. It is timely to take inventory of what we have so far and to provide a preview of what lies ahead. In fact, in terms of methodological advances, improving the planning process to make it more accurate and reflective of reality is one important aspect. It is often criticized that the sequential four-step planning procedure, lacking feedback between steps, comes-up short of capturing actual behavior. Another aspect in methodological advances, equally important, is to broaden the consideration to include vital elements that were ignored in the past. Planning procedures that incorporate environmental and sustainability considerations are such good examples. This special issue is the first part of two issues on this topic. This special issue focuses on recent methodological advances in urban transportation planning; the upcoming issue pertains to emerging techniques for urban transportation planning. Four papers are contained in this special issue, as summarized below. The paper by Boyce, ‘‘Is the Sequential Travel Forecasting Paradigm Counterproductive?’’ provides an overview of the historical development and applications of the sequential travel forecasting procedure. The author questions the validity of the current paradigm, pointing to the shortcomings of considering the procedure as individual steps. The author then proposes a new travel-forecasting paradigm that integrates travel choices, leading to an integrated, internally consistent travel and route choice model. The paper by Black et al., ‘‘Sustainable Urban Transportation: Performance Indicators and Some Analytical Approaches,’’ begins by stating the importance of considering sustainability in urban transport planning and the lack of analytical tools for this purpose, including the lack of appropriate sustainability indicators. The authors then propose a study framework, define sustainability indicators, and depict tools for the analysis, using Sydney, Australia as a case study for illustration purposes. EDITORIAL

With the growing rate of urbanization in India from 19.9 % in 1971 to 30.02 % in 2001 and projected 38.21 % in 2021 (Vaidya C, Urban issues, reforms and way forward in India. Working paper No.4/2009-DEA, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi, 2009), there is an ardent need to adopt human value-based planning approaches in order to foster livability and quality of life in the neighborhoods of ever-expanding cities. Planning a neighborhood is not just arranging buildings for multiple functions. This needs deep insight of the everyday routine and the social and economic restraints of the society that divide people. The proper provision of amenities, living and working spaces, keeping in mind the above links, will lead to better-designed spaces which in turn lead to an interactive and a healthy society. Thus, the livability and quality of life in cities would reach a desired criterion. This paper deals with planning-oriented approaches, where options can be provided with respect to factors like social mix, affordability and adaptive use, level of interaction, spatial organizations, degree of enclosures, and sense of option. A city has to grow together – from economically weaker sections to higher income groups. Otherwise, only mere cities can be created and not “livable cities” (Evans P, Livable cities?: Urban struggles for livelihood and sustainability. University of California Press, Berkeley/Los Angeles, 2002). This paper focuses on a typical module which can be studied by developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations to create a basis for urban study to improve the quality of life.

La riorganizzazione del sistema della mobilità è spesso una delle chiavi interpretative più rilevanti nelle scelte di governo delle trasformazioni urbane. Nella gran parte degli interventi di trasformazione urbana orientati alla riqualificazione della città il ruolo delle scelte connesse al sistema della mobilità è sempre più incidente anche per la definizione del disegno urbano delle aree di trasformazione, ma soprattutto per migliorare l’efficienza e la vivibilità del sistema urbano. Il ruolo della pianificazione del sistema della mobilità rappresenta l’oggetto di questo lavoro. In particolare, l’articolo si sofferma su alcuni piani urbanistici di recente produzione elaborati per città italiane di grandi dimensioni (Roma, Bologna, Milano) per i quali la pianificazione del sistema della mobilità ha costituito l’occasione per rilanciare una nuova visione della città. Gli esempi riportati in questo articolo rappresentano il tentativo di mostrare come, in qualche misura, la pratica urbanistica stia rispondendo alla necessità di integrare obiettivi di sviluppo urbano ed esigenze della pianificazione dei trasporti orientandoli verso obiettivi comuni tesi al raggiungimento di una maggiore vivibilità.

The provision of urban green areas has long been associated with an improvement of the quality of life in cities. In order to achieve a sustainable urban development for a livable city, it is significant to measure urban Green Infrastructure (GI) at micro-scale level as it provides various urban ecosystem services. Grounded on Object Based Image Analysis we distinguish classes of urban trees and obtain a detailed differentiation of GI in an urbanized environment. Our integrated Remote Sensing mapping tools give a possibility to measure and assess urban GI at more detailed resolutions, and thereafter link urban GI to its functions for a multifunctional GI, through which we can, hence derive a better understanding of the contribution of GI for a better urban quality of life.

Integrating social equity into urban transportation planning: A critical evaluation of equity objectives and measures in transportation plans in North America

In recent years, many cities have experienced high summer temperatures, with the entailed impact on health and wellbeing. Implementing climate-sensitive strategies has become crucial to address this challenge and improve thermal comfort and quality of life in cities. Green spaces have emerged as a particularly effective solution, providing cooling and multiple other benefits such as improved drainage systems and biodiversity. However, the implementation of adaptation measures is still slow due to several factors, including the lack of practical tools to facilitate their application. This study presents the preliminary results of a research project supporting the Department of Urban Planning of the Municipality of Trento, Italy, to facilitate urban regeneration with climate-responsive solutions. Specifically, the focus is on summer outdoor thermal comfort using multiscale qualitative and quantitative approaches. This paper investigates the variability of cooling effects given by green elements depending on their type and size. Design scenarios with different Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are assessed in terms of thermal comfort predictors in two neighborhood typologies (LCZ 5 and LCZ 8). The process of configuring the scenarios (green roofs, tree lines and green elements in parking lots) included workshops with decision-makers, in order to select solutions that could be applicable in the context and integrated into existing urban morphologies. A comprehensive assessment of the cooling intensity and duration was carried out, encompassing a comparative analysis of microclimate parameters and Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) across diverse scenarios within the two study areas. This approach was undertaken to determine the most effective configuration for each neighborhood. The indices are calculated with the Envi-met software tool and simulate a hot summer day. The findings are strongly practice-oriented as they provide a practical guideline to understand suitable solutions for the context and give directions on the necessary updates in the urban planning tools.

N ow urban rail transit (URT) plan in China has some problems such as inconsistent with urban overall plan (UOP) and urban transportation plan (UTP). According to such condition, trinity system of UOP, UTP and URT plan is advanced, among which URT plan should be focused on and its system structure is researched on from URT development strategy plan and URT overall plan, and URT overall plan is analyzed from network plan and network control plan. Therefore, URT plan is studied and good plan can produce good URT construction so that healthy and sustainable development of URT can be achieved.

Urban transformations resulting from technological and economic changes have contributed to the emergence of a pattern of urban dispersion. Rapid transportation based on private cars, along with investment in road networks and the decline in land values on the outskirts of cities, have helped to create the phenomenon of urban sprawl and expansion. This has led to the absence of connectivity between city areas and the separation of residential, industrial, office, retail, and recreational areas. In contrast, concerns have escalated about traffic congestion in cities, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and increased energy consumption allocated to transportation, which has enhanced interest in active mobility patterns as a sustainable solution. Therefore, the problem of our research is that the urban transportation planning process in the city of Kufa is characterized by randomness and lack of sustainability principles, with neglect of the vital role of urban transportation and its effects on the health and psychological state of the city's residents and its association with economic aspects. The research assumed that following the principles of the active city and applying them in the city's urban transportation plans contributes to improving the quality of life for residents and addressing the problems associated with urban transportation in the city of Kufa. The research aims to evaluate the current urban transportation system according to the principles of the active city. The study concluded that the horizontal extension of the city of Kufa, the abundance of infrastructure for private vehicles, and long travel distances led to a reduction in reliance on active transportation. The design of residential neighborhoods in the city of Kufa encourages horizontal extension. It lacks a strategy of urban compactness or compaction, which forced the residents of the city of Kufa to rely primarily on private motorized transportation in the process of transportation, and with a direct relationship that increased environmental impacts and run-over accidents. The absence of encouragement and education, along with social customs, made active transportation in the city of Kufa socially unpopular. Therefore, the planning of residential neighborhoods must be reconsidered, better communication must be provided, and infrastructure for walking and cycling must be provided according to the guidelines of sustainable urban planning. The wider spread of economic activities throughout the city may increase active travel and reduce the use of private motorized vehicles.

Traditional urban development has prioritized road infrastructure for automobiles, relegating pedestrian and bicycle mobility, which has negatively impacted the quality of life in cities (Gehl, 2010). Models such as Copenhagen's "Fingers Plan" (1947) have demonstrated the feasibility of integrating sustainable urban design by combining transportation networks and green spaces (López-Goyburu, 2017). In this context, the Mazatlán Malecón represents a key scenario for analyzing the progress and challenges in sustainable urban mobility. This study evaluates the current conditions of pedestrian and bicycle mobility on the Malecón, identifying strengths and areas for improvement to promote a more inclusive and efficient environment.

اهداف: کیفیت زندگی، مفهومی پیچیده و چندبعدی است که تحت تأثیر مولفه هایی چون زمان و مکان، ارزش‌های فردی و اجتماعی از سوی متفکران علوم شهری و سایر اندیشمندان علوم مختلف مطرح و مورد پژوهش قرار گرفته است. تحقیق حاضر با هدف بررسی شاخص‌های کیفیت زندگی و سنجش آن در شهر مرکزی زرین دشت (حاجی‌آباد) بر مبنای 4 گروه شاخص‌های اقتصادی، اجتماعی، خدماتی و کالبدی صورت گرفته است. روش: روش تحقیق، در این مقاله توصیفی- تحلیلی و ابزار آن پرسش‌نامه می‌باشد. روایی پرسش‌نامه با استفاده از نظرات متخصصان و پایایی آن با استفاده از محاسبه آلفای کرونباخ (72%) تعیین شد. جامعۀ آماری در این پژوهش7 محله از شهر حاجی‌آباد (20000نفر) می‌باشد که با استفاده از فرمول کوکران 377 نمونه انتخاب گردید و به‌صورت تصادفی در هر محله پرسش‌نامه توزیع شد. تجزیه و تحلیل پرسش‌نامه با استفاده ازآمار توصیفی، همبستگی و رگرسیون چندگانۀ خطی انجام شد و در نهایت از روش آنتروپی شانون جهت وزن‌دهی شاخص‌ها و تکنیک پرومتی جهت رتبه‌بندی محلات به‌کار گرفته شد. یافته‌ها/نتایج: یافته‌های پژوهش نشان داد که در شهر حاجی‌آباد، محلۀ فرهنگیان بالاترین سطح کیفیت زندگی شهری و محلۀ حسین‌آباد، پایین‌ترین سطح کیفیت را در بین محلات دارد. همچنین در بررسی ابعاد چهارگانۀ شاخص کیفیت زندگی همبستگی مستقیم و معناداری وجود داشته و هر یک از این ابعاد همبستگی معناداری با رضایتمندی نهایی از کیفیت زندگی دارند و از بین شاخص‌های کیفیت زندگی، شاخص اقتصادی بیشترین تأثیر را در کیفیت محلات دارد.