What is the role of urban mobility in livability enhancement actions?

Ziele/Ideen

A method should be developed for exploring urban mobility patterns and how the city is used by the people by distinguishing different transportation modes and the purpose of a trip. Measuring accessibility is also an important aspect especially when someone is walking or cycling. Another aspect is that outdoor free time activities demand better urban environmental qualities. All of these aspects should be considered along with the perception and expectations of the people towards the urban environment and what functionalities it provides.

Kurzbeschreibung

Sustainability is an elusive concept, hard to grasp by the individual, difficult to operationalize for the planner, and challenging to implement at local scales (Ruth and Fraklin 2014). Livability, in contrast, is about the “now” or “about to be.”Livability seems more immediate and tangible, and thus more achievable. Therefore we should study livability in order to use this knowledge for sustainability planning.
However, when it comes to the enhancement of livability in a specific place it is still a broad and complex concept. Planners should focus on highly practical aspects and solely the concept of livability cannot provide direct information for that e.g. the usage patterns of an area or what are the perceptions of the people. In my research, I intend to develop methods for livability assessment to bridge this gap between theory and practice by the integration of mobility.

Resultate

Helping to define areas where urban form or urban functionality can be improved in order to enhance livability. In a livable envrionment every function according to the person's needs can be found within shorter distance (both for optional and necessary activities) - and the environment is human-scaled (Gehl, 2010) which in terms of mobility means that cycling and walking is promoted.

Which were the results and outcomes so far? (Give quantifiable results if possible)
There is a defined set of factors what we should measure regarding urban life and urban environmental quality (urban form, urban functions). I have developed a tool for measuring these, but analyzing mobility can reveal the real usage patterns and refer to mobility.

Partner

GI_Mobility Lab Z_GIS - University of Salzburg: general cooperation in terms of data and developing concepts.