Planning for urban proximity is increasingly seen by academics, urban planners and policymakers as an effective way to achieve sustainable cities. The aim is to produce accessible cities – cities where all citizens can conduct their daily activities and meet their needs close to where they live -. Accessible cities have the potential to reconfigure everyday mobility towards short-distance travel and active modes of transport, a combination that can reduce energy consumption and emissions, create healthier behaviours and healthier cities, and contribute to transportation equity and justice. _x000D_
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Given the interest raised by the concept, it is important to determine to which extent living in high accessibility conditions may impact everyday travelled distances. The hypothesis is that different levels of accessibility in urban environments relate to the distances travelled by individuals living in those environments. It is expected that individuals living in high proximity environments will favour short-distance trips, travelling less in terms of kms, than individuals living in low proximity areas. _x000D_
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The study analyses 4 Spanish cities (Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, and Palma de Mallorca), using open data on mobility made available by the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Affairs (ministerio de transportes, movilidad y agenda urbana – MITMA) and accessibility data generated by the MOVACTES project. MITMA data used massive cell phone location data to trace the everyday mobility of residents in Spain at the census district level. By extracting all daily trips generated by residents of the 4 abovementioned cities and assessing the accessibility levels of their zones of origin, we can test whether living in close proximity to everyday destinations is associated with fewer distances travelled. To do so we use an accessibility index calculated at a 100x100m scale by estimating walking distances to different urban services and functions (healthcare, education,

Serena Mombelli, Carme Miralles-Guasch, Oriol Marquet Sardà
UAB

 
ID Abstract: 695