Michela Tiboni

Managing mobility to save energy through parking planning

Energy saving is the most sustainable solution in the long run to achieve the 2020 goals and mobility is one of the highest energy-consuming activities in our towns. The way people move in the urban environment is manageable through several policies, strategies and actions. Parking management is an important strategy in most planning activities, those addressing land use management as well as traffic plans. Private parking lots (usually at the origin of trips) are planned with a minimum standard quantity in most countries, but there are some good examples where a maximum amount of parking is ruled by plans, in order to discourage residents from possessing too many cars! The availability of public parking places (at the destination of the trip) and their fees have a direct influence on modal choice and so on inter-modality, as the economic sustainability of private motorised mobility is also influenced by economic estimations. Several options in managing public parking regulations can influence mobility patterns, such as regarding location, parking fees and time-related policies. The paper proposes a methodology for the analysis of the space-time relations between public parking and individual travel choices. The methodology has been assessed in the case study of Brescia, in northern Italy. First of all, the location and the density of parking areas within the city have been mapped to show the spatial coverage of car parking supply. Then, the time variable has been considered, to illustrate the degree of use of each parking area during the day—thus showing modal choices and their variation in time and space. The results of the analysis can be extended to similar situations as the methodology has a broad application. The final goal of the research, rather than simply monitoring parking use, is to encourage sustainable mobility through the management of parking supply in urban areas and so to foster energy saving policies.

Analysing Space-Time Accessibility Towards the Implementation of the Light Rail System: The Case Study of Brescia

This paper proposes a methodology for investigation of the space–time relations of accessibility to public services and collective mobility. The paper assesses the space–time efficiency of local public transport facilities and makes an accessibility analysis as a baseline for evaluating future changes. It explains the potential for improvement and the effects on planning paradigms. Public transport accessibility greatly changes during day and night time so they should be assessed through multi-scaled and diachronic maps as a contribution to the timetable plan and overall planning strategies. The case study of Brescia, Italy is used to test the methodology. The new light rail system of Brescia entered into operation in 2013 and could change the entire form of urban mobility.

“Smart” Planning to Enhance Nonmotorised and Safe Mobility in Today’s Cities

The objective of “smart” planners is to improve the quality of life in today’s cities. That quality is not only a matter of land use, urban design and density, it is also largely linked to mobility patterns. Urban mobility should take place in comfortable and safe conditions for all users, satisfying people’s expectations (especially those of vulnerable users) and the right to move. The paper aims to merge safety and quality of public spaces as an inextricable scenario for a better quality of life in our cities. Past research developed on nonmotorised mobility will be reviewed, in order to address the topic of vulnerable users’ safety from a more comprehensive perspective. Designing streets to balance the needs of diverse users is proposed as the key to shape an enticing environment that ensures access, safety, comfort, and enjoyment for everyone.

Sustainable Development Policies for Minor Deprived Urban Communities and Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation

This chapter focuses on the topics and lessons of the COST C27 Sustainable Development Policies for Minor Deprived Urban Communities (SDPMDUC) Action (2006–2011) related to the conservation and revitalization of natural and cultural heritage. The COST C27 Action aimed to investigate “the range of threats to sustainable development faced by small communities and rural areas and the planning tools developed for them” as well as “the use of suitable indicators and parameters (planning tools, specific technical improvements) to analyze and assess the best practice case studies . . .” SDPMDUC topics, especially the growing environmental degradation and “severe income disparities, food crises and dysfunctional cities,” (WEF 2014) are crucial to the contemporary world’s economic critical asset. Moreover, it is well-known that the economic crisis affects not only developing countries but also concerns developed countries and even their wealthy areas. SDPMDUC therapies, or best practices, look at development perspectives that are quite different from “normal” ones. The Degrowth theory, for instance, which systematically criticizes the lack of a more comprehensive economic interpretation of current economic phenomena, proposes new tasks and actions. Deprivation phenomena are currently particularly acute because of the main facts that we assume to having been fully demonstrated: for instance, the pioneer research performed by Meadows et al. for the Club of Rome in 1972; the ever widening gap between gross domestic product and the index of well-being in rich societies after the 1970s; the growth of inequalities in terms of social and economic cleavages; the hopelessness of a constantly developing society. COST C27 research suggests a methodology to build a framework of knowledge by using and improving a varied and integrated system of analysis, synthesis, and monitoring tools. Case studies highlight, detect, and define good and coherent policies and practices in planning strategy and territorial government. One of the main topics is related to tourism-development experiences. For many territories that are rich in environmental, cultural, urban, historical, and particular social resources, tourism represents an opportunity for economic development along with risks, contradictions and threats. C27 research shows that government land use actions, including laissez faire ones, have a strong influence on development and deprivation. They can create conditions and improve tools to orient the way in which resources are used by both resident and occasional population. Only coordinated improved planning strategy action can generate long-term effects and social, economic, and beneficial environmental consequences.

Diachronic Analysis of Parking Usage: The Case Study of Brescia

The paper proposes a methodology for the investigation of the space-time relations between public services and individual mobility, by checking the space-time efficiency of the allocation of public and private parking areas. The methodology has been applied to the case study of Brescia, in northern Italy. The spatial distribution of car parking has been assessed as well as the usage variations during the day. First of all, the location and the density of parking areas within the city has been taken into account, and represented to show the spatial coverage of car parking supply. Then, the temporal issue has been considered, since the degree of use of each parking area varies within the time of the day. Therefore, the degree of use of each parking area has been mapped at three significant instant of the day (10.00 a.m.; 01.00 p.m. and 04.00 p.m.). This kind of analysis is particularly helpful to highlight the availability of parking areas during the day. The results of the analysis, even if referred to a case study, can be extended to similar situations as the methodology of the analysis has a broaden sound meaning. The aim of the paper is to illustrate a method to develop mobility policies and plans.