Meta-analysis of the relationships between space syntax measures and pedestrian movement

ABSTRACT

Ample research has been conducted investigating the built environment impacts on pedestrian movement (PM). A clear division is also evident in the literature on this topic: one group tends to use geographic measures (metric distance) of the environment to explain pedestrian behaviour; the other group uses syntactic measures (visual distance). Many review articles have been published on the former. However, relatively little is known about the effect size (ES), directions, and consistency of syntactic measures in explaining PM. This paper fills this gap through a meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies on this topic spanning over 1975–2016, and answers the following five research questions: (a) What are the different measures used in the space syntax literature to explain PM?; (b) What are the magnitudes and directions of associations between space syntax measures and PM?; (c) Which space syntax measure has a more consistent relationship with PM?; (d) To what extent do the explanatory powers of different measures vary between their derivation methods?; and (e) What are the likely causes of variations of the reported results in prior studies? This research examined four syntactic measures (integration, connectivity, choice, and control) in a random effect model with 95% confidence interval (CI). The choice and integration measures were further investigated based on their operational approaches (topological, angular and metric). Results show that integration (ES?=?0.206, 95% CI?=?0.173–0.238, p?<?0.001), choice (ES?=?0.481, 95% CI?=?0.391–0.561, p?<?0.001), and connectivity (ES?=?0.305, 95% CI?=??0.225–0.696, p?=?0.257) measures positively influence PM with choice being the strongest predictor. Both connectivity and control (ES?=??0.001, 95% CI?=??0.117–0.115, p?=?0.990) were found to have a statistically insignificant impact. The choice and integration measures show stronger effects when derived using the angular approach (ES?=?0.493 for choice, and ES?=?0.502 for integration) compared to topological approach (ES?=?0.374 for choice, and ES?=?0.124 for integration). However, the reported results of all measures are highly heterogeneous, perhaps due to the differences in research design. The significance, magnitude, and consistency of integration and choice measures justify their relevance in built environment interventions to promote PM.     

Assessing urban sidewalk networks based on three constructs: a synthesis of pedestrian level of service literature

ABSTRACT

Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) models are widely used to assess walking facilities. These models have been in existence since the 1970s, wherein the process broadly consists of three steps, i.e. attribute selection, model calibration, and classification of model results into service-level categories, based on Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs). This paper reviews existing sidewalk PLOS studies based on their association with the three constructs of flow characteristics, built environment and users’ perception, which in combination represents the entire walking environment spectrum, as has been indicated by existing researchers. Forty-seven PLOS studies, along with eight review papers, written by authors from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, between the years of 1971 and 2019, are analysed in this review. The review finds that although 49% of the studies employed both qualitative and quantitative data for their respective methodologies, but none of them use all the three broad constructs in a combined fashion. Also, in selecting the attributes to be used for developing the PLOS, these studies have only referred to previous literature available at that point in time, and not employed any consistent and robust method in selecting context-specific attributes. When it came to the preferred analysis technique, 60% of the studies favoured the use of the regression technique while calibrating their model, whereas 22% used a points-based marking scheme. Finally, 89% of the studies manually classifies the PLOS model results to respective service levels (i.e. letter grades), as opposed to utilising a classification algorithm. In addition, this review could identify only one paper that describes a PLOS based on pedestrian route directness, which is a measure of pedestrian network connectivity. In view of these findings, the review paper suggests the need of a robust methodology in selection of attributes and the use of innovative modelling techniques, both of which could allow the utilisation of all three constructs. Also, such advanced modelling techniques could bypass the need for categorising service levels manually. Finally, the study advocates the use of network connectivity measures in developing sidewalk PLOS, as it is an important part of the built environment.     

Evaluation of pedestrian crosswalk level of service (LOS) in perspective of type of land-use

In India pedestrians usually cross the road at mid-block crosswalks due to ease of access to their destination or the development of adjacent land use types such as shopping, business areas, school and residential areas. The behaviour of pedestrian will change with respect to different land use type and this change in behaviour of pedestrian further reflects change in perceived level of service (LOS). So, it is important to evaluate the quality of service of such crossing facilities with respect to different land-use type under mixed traffic conditions. In this framework, pedestrian perceived LOS were collected with respect to different land-use type such as shopping, residential and business areas. The ordered probit (OP) model was developed by using NLOGIT software package, with number of vehicles encountered, road crossing difficulty as well as safety considered as primary factors along with pedestrian individual factors (gender and age), land-use type and roadway geometry. From the model results, it has been concluded that perceived safety, crossing difficulty, land-use condition, number of vehicles encountered, median width and number of lanes have significant effect on pedestrian perceived LOS at unprotected (un-signalized) mid-block crosswalks in mixed traffic scenario. The inferences of these results highlights the importance of land use planning in designing a new set of pedestrian access facilities for unprotected mid-block crosswalks under mixed traffic conditions. Also the study results would be useful for evaluating pedestrian accessibility taking into account different land-use type and planning required degree of segregation with vehicular movement at unprotected mid-block crosswalk locations.     

营松路互通立交与服务区合并设置设计

在吉林省营松高速公路项目中,燕平互通立交与靖宇服务区合并设置,设计中通过方案对比,选定了适合本项目特点的互通立交型式、服务区位置及结合方式,充分发挥互通立交的功能,提高服务区水平,达到合并后的和谐统一。     

A systematic analysis of multimodal transport systems with road space distribution and responsive bus service

A smart design of transport systems involves efficient use and allocation of the limited urban road capacity in the multimodal environment. This paper intends to understand the system-wide effect of dividing the road space to the private and public transport modes and how the public transport service provider responds to the space changes. To this end, the bimodal dynamic user equilibrium is formulated for separated road space. The Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) model is employed to depict the dynamics of the automobile traffic for its state-dependent feature, its inclusion of hypercongestion, and its advantage of capturing network topology. The delay of a bus trip depends on the running speed which is in turn affected by bus lane capacity and ridership. Within the proposed bimodal framework, the steady-state equilibrium traffic characteristics and the optimal bus fare and service frequency are analytically derived. The counter-intuitive properties of traffic condition, modal split, and behavior of bus operator in the hypercongestion are identified. To understand the interaction between the transport authority (for system benefit maximization) and the bus operator (for its own benefit maximization), we examine how the bus operator responds to space changes and how the system benefit is influenced with the road space allocation. With responsive bus service, the condition, under which expanding bus lane capacity is beneficial to the system as a whole, has been analytically established. Then the model is applied to the dynamic framework where the space allocation changes with varying demand and demand-responsive bus service. We compare the optimal bus services under different economic objectives, evaluate the system performance of the bimodal network, and explore the dynamic space allocation strategy for the sake of social welfare maximization.     

Importance of user perception in evaluating level of service for bus transit for a developing country like India: a review

Assessment of service quality in bus transit planning has received due attention in recent years from the viewpoint of optimal service allocation. The concept of level of service (LOS) has emerged as an effective tool to measure quality of services. Service-quality assessment provides operators with knowledge on users' satisfaction with existing services and their expected LOSs. The importance of user perception towards assessment of LOS has been acknowledged by researchers. While LOS standards for public transportation have been established by the Transportation Research Board in the USA, researchers have questioned the applicability of these standards in the context of different geographic regions. Since the service delivery environment differs between developed and developing nations, the user perception of service quality varies between these economic regions. Substantial research has been carried out in the context of both developed and developing nations, to identify the bus transit service parameters that affect users' perceived service quality; however, little research exists that establishes LOS thresholds for bus transit, based on user perception. This paper reviews the concept of LOS, describes the importance of user perception in assessment of service quality and identifies the need to establish LOS thresholds for bus transit from user perception for developing countries.     

A macroscopic taxi model for passenger demand,taxi utilization and level of services

In most urban areas taxi services are subject to various types of regulation such as entry restriction and price control. However, effective intervention depends on generating and using suitable information on the demand-supply equilibrium of the taxi market. This paper develops a simultaneous equation system of passenger demand, taxi utilization and level of services based on a taxi service situation found in the urban area of Hong Kong over the last ten years. A set of variables is introduced including number of licensed taxis, taxi fare, disposable income, occupied taxi journey time as exogenous variables and daily taxi passenger demand, passenger waiting time, taxi availability, taxi utilization and average taxi waiting time as endogenous variables. These variables are coupled together through a system of nonlinear simultaneous equations whose parameters are estimated from survey data. The simultaneous equation system can be used to obtain useful regulatory information to assist with the decisions concerning the restriction over the number of taxi licenses and the fixing of the taxi fare structure as well as a range of service quality control. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Segmentation of paratransit users based on service quality and travel behaviour in Bandung,Indonesia

Using a data-set collected among paratransit users in Bandung, Indonesia, this paper explores the impacts of paratransit users' negative experiences and dissatisfactions with their paratransit usage pattern. Segmentation and ordered probit analyses are used to examine the impacts of users' opinions on service quality on their trip-making behaviour. The results indicate that users are divided into six segments – namely, the unlucky, the young user, the experienced, the adapter, the infrequent user and the captive. The results further indicate that paratransit users, especially women, perceive negative experiences related to on-time performance (departure and arrival time) and security issues related to vehicles. Despite these dissatisfactions and negative experiences, they are still likely to use paratransit as part of their daily life. Two paratransit market segments (the adapter and the captive) are also likely to result in more trips using paratransit. The study offers several strategies and recommendations that can improve the current paratransit system so that it can better serve local needs.     

Modeling effects of different air traffic control operational procedures,separation rules,and service disciplines on runway landing capacity

This paper deals with modeling the possible effects of different advanced procedures, existing, innovative, and new air traffic control (ATC) separation rules, and service disciplines on the ultimate landing capacity of a single runway. The first implies a combination and/or exclusive use of conventional and steeper final approach and landing procedures. The second includes the current horizontal, innovative mixed horizontal/vertical and new vertical distance‐based and time‐based separation rules. The last embrace the common First Come, First Served and innovative Priority service discipline. Such increasingly complex and challenging applications are assumed to be based on the new technologies on‐board the aircraft and at the ATC to be developed in the scope of the current United States Next Generation Air Transport System and European Single European Sky ATM Research programs. The convenient analytical models for calculating the runway landing capacity are developed and applied to the generic case of a single runway according to the “what–if” scenario approach. This enables carrying out the sensitivity analysis of the landing capacity with respect to the most influential factors – the ATC advanced operational procedures, separation rules, service disciplines, and aircraft fleet mix. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.