Georgia Pozoukidou

Land use transport interaction models: Application perspectives for the city of Thessaloniki

Land use patterns and transport system are considered to be the two basic components of the urban development process, and as such they have been in the core of spatial planning policies for the last 4 decades. Land use transport interaction models are computer tools that could help us understand land use changes and organization of human activities in relation to existing or planned transport infrastructure. In this context this paper examines the perspectives of applying a land use transport interaction model for the city of Thessaloniki. Obtaining, preparing and validating socioeconomic data is a crucial part of the modeling process, therefore an extensive search of the required data was performed. The quest for appropriate and suitable data concluded with a detailed recording of emerged problems. In response to the inability of finding suitable data to perform the first step of the modeling process i.e. calibration, the paper concludes with some thoughts related to data availability, organization and standardization issues. Last but not least, the paper stresses out the significance of data availability for utilization of land use transport models, so as not to remain purely academic products but tools with practical value in planning.

Facilitating land use forecasting in planning agencies

History and current circumstances suggest that regional planning organizations will be major actors in the planning arena over the coming decades. Amongst other responsibilities they are now accountable for transportation and land use planning decisions which requires assessing the impacts of their transportation policies on land use development. Hence, these agencies are mandated to use sophisticated information management tools and complex land use modeling methods. Existing planning methods have proved to be extremely complex for use by regional agencies’ untrained staff, which results in the inability of planning organizations to systematically assess the implications of their planning decisions. It has been proposed that Knowledge Based Systems (KBS) can be used as a tool to improve planning practice by allowing untrained agency personnel to make effective use of complex planning methods. In this paper, we explore the role of KBS in assisting agency staff who lack modeling experience to make effective use of a sophisticated land use model. The hypothesis is that KBS can help us increase the usability of urban models by replicating the decision making process performed by land use model experts; increased usability will, in turn, increase their applicability in planning practice. The Transportation Economic and Land Use model (TELUM) was the software developed to demonstrate how KBS can refine existing land use models and create easy and simple to use planning support systems. The research concluded that under certain conditions KBS could be used as a method to create a buffer between the complexity of a land use modeling system and the inexperienced user.

Integration of LUTI models into Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs)

A literature review indicates that there is an increasing number of Land Use/Transport Interaction (LUTI) models being used in policy analysis and support of urban land use, transport and environmental planning. In this context, LUTI models are considered to be useful for the development of scenarios during the preparatory stage of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs). A SUMP can be defined as a strategic planning framework, proposed by the European Commission, for planning and design of an urban multimodal transport system, which combines multi-disciplinary policy analysis and decision making. The objective of a SUMP is to achieve sustainable urban mobility, i.e. accessibility for all, safety and security, reduction in emissions and energy consumption, efficient and cost-effective transport and an improvement in the urban environment. Based on the overall conceptual and methodological framework of LUTI models (Geurs and van Wee 2004), the scope of the proposed research is to fully integrate a LUTI model into a contemporary transport planning framework and, more specifically, into the SUMP structure. This paper focuses on the configuration of the integration pattern, according to which a LUTI model may evolve and interact with the planning process throughout the eleven elements of the SUMP, as well as the evaluation of the benefits and drawbacks from the implementation of the proposed pattern for the enhancement of SUMP and overall promotion of sustainable urban planning.

Application of an integrated transport land use model: an empirical approach

Spatial allocation of households and regional employment are the most significant data inputs in land use forecasting development and transportation modeling. Therefore obtaining and validating socioeconomic data and forecasts are becoming crucial tasks for any planning organization that wants to utilize land use forecasting models as planning analysis tool. This paper presents the results of an ongoing research investigating the application of an integrated transport land use model in small and medium sized metropolitan planning organizations. To this purpose it uses FHWA’s freely available Transportation Economic Land Use Model for Ada and Canyon counties of Boise, ID. The paper concludes with the strengths and limitations of the model in the context of data requirements and calibration process.

Predicting the outcome of plans: retrospect and prospects of the use of models in planning

A planner who claims the quality and assets of his or her plans must be able to justify or even prove their anticipated outcomes. In the midst of the conflicting and sometimes contrasting views of how planning should be done, it seems that the use of models might be the most productive approach. Information technology and urban models entered planning around the 1950s, in a very dynamic but also unilateral way. This in fact created two large groups of planning oriented professionals with regard to the use of models in planning. On the one hand there were the planners that argued that sophisticated analytical tools could provide the foundation for the new science of planning. On the other, there were the more imaginative, creative and wilful planners that viewed the rationalization and mathematical nature of analysis (maybe even the role of analysis itself), with much distrust. Today there is still diversity in the way planners think about models and their role in plan-making. This probably results from the implicit assumption that models would somehow not aid but replace planners’ control over the process of planning. If someone seeks the reason for this misperception he will come to the conclusion that it results from planners’ limited understanding of what models as planning tools represent and that there has been little research for an appropriate role of information technology in planning. After 60 years of computers first entering planning profession, it won’t be an overstatement to say that despite their unambiguous significance in planning and plan-making, there has been little or no use of them in professional planning practice. This paper is an attempt to define or better redefine the role of models in planning and plan making. For that there is a review of information technology and its use in planning over the last fifty years followed by, a parallel exploration of the emerging philosophical needs and theories in planning discipline. The

Modeling urban dynamics: the case of periurban development in east Thessaloniki

Understanding cities and their development is a complex and multifaceted issue. Cities are places where individuals, households, companiesetc. concentrate to benefit from the agglomeration and proximity of urban activities. There are many ways to approach the critical questionof how urban activities are spatially organized and interrelated to produce space and create cities. Recently a great number of complexsystems were developed as part of the complexity theory approach in order to study urban dynamics, while mathematical models are seenas a new opportunity to explore the spatial relations via new evolutionary approaches. Taking into consideration that the world is complex and no model can incorporate all the possible factors that cause urban growth wefocus on the dynamics of land use and transportaiton infrastructure using a simple urban model for the periurban area of east Thessaloniki.Given the fact that there are no records of such models being used in studies of Greek cities over the last 25 years, makes this an importantcontribution to the use of models in a greek setting. Therefore, an applicability assessment of the model for the three different modellingsteps (data acquisition, calibration and forecasting) is conducted. The application of the model indicates that despite issues about theavailability of data, the calibration and forecasting results are promising for the use of urban models in greek cities. Furthermore it highlightsthe significance of using quantitative methods for understanding cities as systems, which in turn will enable us to make better planningdecisions about our cities in the future.

Land Use Models And Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans: An Integrative Approach For Strategic Planning

The notion of integrative and multidisciplinary approach in developing and implementing sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) has been prevalent in the transportation planning agenda for several years now. The benefits of such approach include preparing better and public legitimate plans and promoting cooperative planning culture. In this context, European Commission (EC) currently promotes the concept of the SUMP, which can be defined as a strategic planning framework for the urban multimodal transport system combining multi-disciplinarity, policy analysis and decision making, while its objectives concise with the main pillars of sustainable urban mobility. Furthermore application guidelines for SUMP propose a combination of appropriate techniques and tools, for successful conduction of the activities and fulfilment of the requirements of the planning process. In this context, this paper argues that the use of Land Use Transport Interaction (LUTI) models could enhance the prospect of successful implementation of such plans. Therefore, it explores the possibility of integrating LUTI models in the various phases of a SUMP cycle. To do so, it starts with an investigation and recording of the different types of land use models and their functionality. It then specifies the criteria that someone should use in order to choose the appropriate LUTI model and it proposes a framework for the integration of LUTI models into a SUMP cycle. Finally, it discusses the expected benefits and drawbacks from such integration. The paper concludes that integration of LUTI models into the SUMP cycle, could enhance the strategic and communicative aspects of SUMPs, mainly due to the fact that LUTI models can be used as testing and evaluating tools of alternative ‘mobility futures’, and as tools to communicate and ensure mutual understanding amongst involved stakeholders and individuals.

Potential contribution of LUTI models in contemporary strategic planning for urban mobility: a case study of the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki

The contemporary approach of strategic urban mobility planning aims at the cross-scientific analysis of the interactions between the transport system and urban structure, under the perspective of socio-economic and environmental sustainability. In this context, the European Commission currently promotes the concept of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), which can be defined as a strategic planning framework for the urban multimodal transport system combining multi-disciplinarity, policy analysis and decision making, while its objectives concise with the main pillars of sustainable urban mobility. SUMP guidelines refer to the potential use of Land Use and Transport Integrated (LUTI) models as tools for the development of strategic scenarios during the preparatory stage of the planning process. Based on the conceptual background of LUTI models, the current paper suggests that they could play an extensive role in the implementation of a SUMP. Therefore, it discusses the expected benefits and drawbacks from the implementation of a LUTI model in contemporary strategic planning for urban mobility and proposes a framework for the full integration of such a model into the SUMP cycle. An application of the proposed framework is attempted for Thessaloniki’s SUMP, recording the emerging problems and implementation issues. Finally, the paper concludes by outlying the potential added value from the full integration of a LUTI model to the SUMP cycle.