Urban walkability considering pedestrians’ perceptions of the built environment: a 10-year review and a case study in a medium-sized city in Latin America

ABSTRACT

Numerous methodologies measuring walkability have been developed over the last years. This paper reviews the Walkability Index (WI) literature of the last decade (2009–2018) and highlights some limitations in the current approaches. Only a few studies have evaluated walkability in Latin America, mainly in big cities but not in medium and small-sized cities in the region, which present their own urbanisation dynamics, security issues, sidewalk invasion problems, and poor planning. Furthermore, most WIs in the literature use objective mesoscale variables to assess walkability in a given area. This paper contributes to filling these gaps by generating new evidence from a medium-sized city in Latin America to question if characteristics of the built environment encourage walking trips, as found in the literature, are transferable among regions. The study also proposes a novel index comprised of microscale and mesoscale built environment variables to assess walkability using virtual tools and considering users’ perceptions. The WI estimation relies on ranking probability models. The results of the case study suggest that subjective Security and Traffic Safety are the most crucial factors influencing walkability in these kind of cities, which is different from what is found in the literature from cities in developed countries where Sidewalk Condition and Attractiveness are the most important factors. Security appeared to be strongly associated with a subjective dimension, represented by the fear of crime or perceived risk for crime, instead of the actual occurrence of crimes. This result evidences the importance of the physical attributes of the real world and how they are captured, judged, and processed by pedestrians. Then, regional transferability of WIs needs to be done carefully. Finally, results in this paper highlight the importance of microscale built environment characteristics in the WI formulation in these cities. Results are in line with other research in some cities of the region, which found that microscale variables such as pavement quality and presence of obstacles on the sidewalks are relevant components to promote walkability.     

A copula-based approach for estimating the travel time reliability of urban arterial

Estimating the travel time reliability (TTR) of urban arterial is critical for real-time and reliable route guidance and provides theoretical bases and technical support for sophisticated traffic management and control. The state-of-art procedures for arterial TTR estimation usually assume that path travel time follows a certain distribution, with less consideration about segment correlations. However, the conventional approach is usually unrealistic because an important feature of urban arterial is the dependent structure of travel times on continuous segments. In this study, a copula-based approach that incorporates the stochastic characteristics of segments travel time is proposed to model arterial travel time distribution (TTD), which serves as a basis for TTR quantification. First, segments correlation is empirically analyzed and different types of copula models are examined. Then, fitting marginal distributions for segment TTD is conducted by parametric and non-parametric regression analysis, respectively. Based on the estimated parameters of the models, the best-fitting copula is determined in terms of the goodness-of-fit tests. Last, the model is examined at two study sites with AVI data and NGSIM trajectory data, respectively. The results of path TTD estimation demonstrate the advantage of the proposed copula-based approach, compared with the convolution model without capturing segments correlation and the empirical distribution fitting methods. Furthermore, when considering the segments correlation effect, it was found that the estimated path TTR is more accurate than that by the convolution model.     

基于PCA-聚类分析的高铁旅客购票行为特性研究

铁路运输中旅客购票行为是铁路客运运营策略制定的重要基础.旅客购票行为直接影响着列车能力的占用过程,是铁路客运票额组织的重要依据.根据贵阳—广州高速铁路的旅客购票统计数据,以高铁购票旅客为样本,运用主成分分析法购票行为的特征属性进行综合分析,获得购票行为中重要特征变量.结合单次购票强度提出基于模糊C均值的双重聚类算法,对购票旅客进行聚类,并利用模糊聚类有效性指标Xie-beni和分离系数法确定最佳聚类数.结果表明,高铁旅客购票行为的关键特性为单次出行旅客人数、购票提前天数、出行OD城市人均GDP和购票渠道;不同旅客类型的购票行为有明显特性.     

深海拖曳系统自稳定二级拖体姿态控制研究

二级深拖系统具有可控性强、母船扰动弱等优点,是重要的海洋探测平台。在实际工作中,二级拖体姿态稳定是保证探测数据准确的基本前提。本文以具有自主调节功能的二级拖体为例,对其姿态控制进行研究。首先建立了二级拖缆的“弹簧——阻尼”模型,并在此基础上建立了二级深拖系统的数学模型。其次根据该系统具有非线性、时变性等特点,设计了具有参数自修正功能的模糊自适应PID控制器,以实现在不同工况下对二级拖体的姿态进行控制。仿真结果表明,未加载控制器时,海况变化对拖体姿态有显著影响,其俯仰角和横滚角均会发生大范围波动。加载模糊自适应PID控制器后,拖体通过自主调节,能够使姿态波动控制在较小范围,从而满足工作要求,验证了拖缆数学模型的正确性和所采用的控制方法的可行性。     

A new approach for improving the performance of freight train timetabling of a single-track railway system

A new approach for improving the performance of freight train timetabling for single-track railways is proposed. Using the idea of a fixed-block signaling system, we develop a matrix representation to express the occupation of inter- and intra-station tracks by trains illustrating the train blocking time diagram in its entirety. Train departure times, dwell times, and unnecessary stopping are adjusted to reduce average train travel time and single train travel time. Conflicts between successive stations and within stations are identified and solved. A fuzzy logic system is further used to adjust the range of train departure times and checks are made to determine whether dwell times and time intervals can be adjusted for passenger and freight trains at congested stations to minimize train waiting times. By combining manual scheduling expertise with the fuzzy inference method, timetable efficiency is significantly improved and becomes more flexible.     

基于概率密度演化的斜拉索多级变幅时变疲劳可靠度分析

拉索是斜拉桥的主要受力构件,在车辆、风等交变荷载作用下易发生多级变幅疲劳损伤,而经典可靠度方法预测多级变幅时变疲劳可靠度难度大且计算效率低。针对这一问题,提出一种高效的多级变幅斜拉索时变疲劳可靠度预测方法。基于Miner累积损伤理论,建立同时考虑荷载和材料随机性的变幅疲劳损伤概率演化模型;构建应力幅出现频率指标,解决多级变幅疲劳损伤演化过程中偏微分方程难以确定问题,通过概率密度演化方法精确计算多级变幅时变疲劳可靠度,并采用五级变幅材料试验数据和某桥梁斜拉索的模拟数据验证所提方法的可行性。结果表明:所提方法的计算效率远高于蒙特卡洛方法;在小概率失效时,其计算精度高于蒙特卡洛方法。     

基于语义挖掘的快递运输货品风险评价研究

为提高快递运输的风险监测管控能力，降低因快递货品风险导致城市安全事件发生的可 能性，本文基于语义挖掘方法将快递运输货品描述转化为风险的量化表征，为快递运输风险评价 提供可量化的客观指标依据。基于网络大数据资源提供的法院判决书数据，将物品词条与判决 结果相关联，通过隐狄利克雷分布模型挖掘物品风险主题，结合模糊均值聚类方法，实现对快递 货品语义风险的量化表征与柔性划分。与传统方法中依赖检视人员查验既定违禁品清单后的主 观判断方法不同，本文充分挖掘网络文本数据中的可迁移知识，并应用于种类繁多的快递运输货 品，有效避免人工评价造成的漏检、错检情况。研究结果表明，本文方法具有较高的准确率与较 低的误报率，获得的风险评价值不再是0或1的是非判断，有利于开展多样化、针对性的风险预警 及应对措施。     

基于模糊聚类分析的船体分段类型分类方法和应用研究

为提高现阶段船体分段制造过程的标准化水平,实现分段装配工序和工时的标准化,推动船体分段制造数字化发展,本文以船体分段作为分类成组的研究对象,应用模糊聚类分析方法,建立了模糊聚类分析模型,通过输入分段工艺生产数据信息,实现了对船体分段的定量化分类,验证结果表明,应用模糊聚类分析形成的分段族类符合实际工艺需求。     

Assessment of factors associated with travel time reliability and prediction: an empirical analysis using probabilistic reasoning approach

Significant efforts have been made in modeling a travel time distribution and establishing measures of travel time reliability (TTR). However, the literature on evaluating the factors affecting TTR is not well established. Accordingly, this paper presents an empirical analysis to determine potential factors that are associated with TTR. This study mainly applies the Bayesian Networks model to assess the probabilistic association between road geometry, traffic data, and TTR. The results from this model reveal that land use characteristics, intersection factors, and posted speed limits are directly associated with TTR. Evaluating the strength of the association between TTR and the directly related variables, the log odds ratio analysis indicates that the land use factor has the highest impact (0.83) followed by the intersection factor (0.57). The findings from this study can provide valuable resources to planners and traffic operators in their decision-making to improve TTR with quantitative evidence.     

基于模糊综合评价法的城市综合管廊结构健康评价方法研究

为解决城市综合管廊结构健康状况评估结果无法量化和指导运维的问题，通过分析模糊综合评价理论在交通隧道结构健康评价方法研究中的应用，依照类比思想，利用该理论建立城市综合管廊结构健康状况评价体系。首先，依据有关养护规定和调研结果，基于不同需求分别建立管廊结构的本体完好状况和本体结构状况评价指标体系； 其次，以交通隧道和综合管廊养护经验为基础，划分各指标的分级判定标准； 然后，采用层次分析法，计算评价指标的权重分配； 最后，采用柯西分布型隶属函数和矩阵型隶属函数确定各指标的隶属度，建立一级和二级模糊综合评价模型，赋予评价向量中各评语相应分值，将评价向量单值化，判定管廊结构健康状况。采用所提出的评价方法应用于实际工程，所得评价结果与经验评判得到的结果相同。