Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport
Compactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/12/3/120 |
| _version_ | 1797611420433514496 |
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| author | João Monteiro Marvin Para Nuno Sousa Eduardo Natividade-Jesus Carlo Ostorero João Coutinho-Rodrigues |
| author_facet | João Monteiro Marvin Para Nuno Sousa Eduardo Natividade-Jesus Carlo Ostorero João Coutinho-Rodrigues |
| author_sort | João Monteiro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Compactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportunities, smaller distances to them, and the potential for increased active mode shares, leading to less transport-related energy consumption and associated emissions. This article presents a GIS-based quantitative methodology to estimate on how much can be gained in that respect if vacant spaces within a city were urbanized, according to the municipal master plan, using four indicators: accessibility, active modal share, transport energy consumption, and a 15-minute city analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, in which the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and a compact version of itself are compared. Results show the compact layout improves all indicators, with averages per inhabitant improving by 20% to 92%, depending on the scenario assumed for cycling, and is more equitable. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:27:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb9b1848955a4413994ea87dc7522166 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2220-9964 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:27:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb9b1848955a4413994ea87dc75221662023-11-17T11:28:21ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642023-03-0112312010.3390/ijgi12030120Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active TransportJoão Monteiro0Marvin Para1Nuno Sousa2Eduardo Natividade-Jesus3Carlo Ostorero4João Coutinho-Rodrigues5Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment (CITTA), 4200-465 Porto, PortugalDepartment of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, ItalyInstitute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalInstitute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalDepartment of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, ItalyInstitute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, PortugalCompactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportunities, smaller distances to them, and the potential for increased active mode shares, leading to less transport-related energy consumption and associated emissions. This article presents a GIS-based quantitative methodology to estimate on how much can be gained in that respect if vacant spaces within a city were urbanized, according to the municipal master plan, using four indicators: accessibility, active modal share, transport energy consumption, and a 15-minute city analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, in which the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and a compact version of itself are compared. Results show the compact layout improves all indicators, with averages per inhabitant improving by 20% to 92%, depending on the scenario assumed for cycling, and is more equitable.https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/12/3/120urban layouturban formurban compactificationsustainabilityaccessibilitytransport energy |
| spellingShingle | João Monteiro Marvin Para Nuno Sousa Eduardo Natividade-Jesus Carlo Ostorero João Coutinho-Rodrigues Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information urban layout urban form urban compactification sustainability accessibility transport energy |
| title | Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport |
| title_full | Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport |
| title_fullStr | Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport |
| title_full_unstemmed | Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport |
| title_short | Filling in the Spaces: Compactifying Cities towards Accessibility and Active Transport |
| title_sort | filling in the spaces compactifying cities towards accessibility and active transport |
| topic | urban layout urban form urban compactification sustainability accessibility transport energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/12/3/120 |
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