Joint Accessibility Design

Luca Bertolini

(on behalf of : Thomas Straatemeier, Luca Bertolini, Marco te Brömmelstroet, Karst Geurs)

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Contents

1. Concept

2. Indicators used, input and output

3. Usefulness in practice

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Concept

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Why from planning for mobility to planning for accessibility?

• Can be more directly related to different economic, social, and environmental goals

• Gives better insight in people and place development opportunities and threats

• More clearly refers to qualities of both the transport system and the land-use system

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Why has planning for accessibility not taken off yet?

• Accessibility research focuses on developing ever more complex and disaggregate measures and pays little attention to implementation

• Mobility indicators and instruments are better institutionalized (e.g. level-of-service indicators and four-step transport model)

• Accessibility is not a very politicized issue yet, focus is on congestion relief, or on environmental impacts

• Need to link the development of accessibility instruments to the planning process

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Joint Accessibility Design:an interactive process involving researchers and practitioners

Step 1. Conceptualizing accessibility in the light of wider economic, social and spatial goals

Step 2. Collectively mapping, interpreting and analyzing the conception of accessibility

Step 3. Understanding changes in accessibility as a result of interventions

Step 4. Designing integrated solutions/strategies

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Indicators used, input and output(as developed in steps 1 to 4)

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Step 1. Relating planning goals to accessibility

• Opportunities …

• Modes of transport …

• Spatial scale …

• Time of day/week …

Planning goal …

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Step 1. Relating planning goals to accessibility

• Opportunities:

Jobs, social services, recreation, other people

• Modes of transport:

Public Transport and slow modes

• Spatial scale:

Neighborhood and City

• Time of day/week:

???

Integration of immigrants

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Planning Goal Accessibility Need

Strengthening economic clusters Access to jobs, markets (inhabitants, firms), knowledge (people, companies, institutions), other economic clusters, mainports (harbor, airport), and supplies (goods etc.).

Restructuring the existing urban areas

Multimodal access to jobs and (daily) services (education, health care, shops, recreation) on a local level (lower-income groups) and on a regional level (higher-income groups).

Preserving openness of the landscape

Number of inhabitants with access to open space. Direct access with bicycle and accessibility to entry points with public transport and car. Sometimes limit access by car to open space to prevent urban

Enhancing integration of immigrants

Access by slow modes to jobs, education, local services sporting clubs, and social clubs. Regional access by public transport to higher education.

Which accessibility measure is best to use?

Does every participant understand the measure?

Do we have the data and model to calculate the measure?

Step 2. Measuring an interpreting accessibility

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• Mostly composite contour measures, sometimes with a distance decay factor

• For example, goal “Strengthening the knowledge cluster in the Rotterdam The Hague area”

• Accessibility measured by combining:– Firms in the field of creative industries within 15 min

by bicycle– Cultural and catering services within 15 min by bicycle– Higher education and knowledge institutions within 30

min by car and 45 min by public transport– Labor with high education within 45 min by car and 60

min by public transport– Rotterdam Harbor and Schiphol Airport within 45 min

by car and 60 min by public transport

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Step 3. Understanding changes in accessibility

Accessibility to residents by public transport, before and after improvements

Good

Fair

Bad

Access to workforce with low education versus spatial pattern of the harbor complex and greenhouse farming

Facilitate current spatial dynamics? (ladder)

Enhance economic position in the urban network? (hub and spoke)

Step 4. Designing integrated strategies

Usefulness in practice

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• The production and use of accessibility indicators must be seen as a collective learning process, in which all participants should be involved

• Accessibility measures should directly relate to both policy issues or goals and to actual travel and location behaviour

• Insight in changes in accessibility as a result of changes in the transport and land-use system, ideally in real-time, is crucial to stimulate the policy design process

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Thanks!

Universiteit van Amsterdam