Filling in the spaces: compactifying cities towards accessibility and active transport

• Autor(a) principal: Monteiro, João Pedro Medina
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Para, Marvin, Sousa, Nuno, Jesus, Eduardo Natividade, Ostorero, Carlo, Rodrigues, João Coutinho
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/13518
• topic: Disposição urbana; Forma urbana; Compactação urbana; Sustentabilidade; Acessibilidade; Energia e transportes; Transporte ativo; Cidade dos 15 minutos; SIG; Urban layout; Urban form; Urban compactification; Sustainability; Accessibility; Transport energy; Active travel; 15-minute city; GIS; ODS::11:Cidades e Comunidades Sustentáveis

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.