Thérèse Steenberghen

Intra-urban location and clustering of road accidents using GIS: a Belgian example

This paper aims to show the usefulness of GIS and point pattern techniques for defining road-accident black zones within urban agglomerations. The location of road accidents is based on dynamic segmentation, address geocoding and intersection identification. One-dimensional (line) and two-dimensional (area) clustering techniques for road accidents are compared. Advantages and drawbacks are discussed in relation to network and traffic characteristics. Linear spatial clustering techniques appear to be better suited when traffic flows can be clearly identified along certain routes. For dense road networks with diffuse traffic patterns, two-dimensional techniques make it possible to identify accident-prone areas. The operationality of the techniques is illustrated by showing the impact of traffic-calming measures on the location and type of accidents in one Belgian town (Mechelen).

A value-based monitoring system to support heritage conservation planning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to presents a conceptual framework for a value-based monitoring system that serves as the core element for heritage conservation planning of World Heritage Sites. It reports on the early stage of heritage management research within the PRECOM3OS framework, in collaboration with the University of Leuven in Belgium and the Universidad de Cuenca in Ecuador. A new management concept was developed throughout a five-year interdisciplinary and multi-actor growth process within an international setting. Design/methodology/approach – The application of the preventive conservation approach to world heritage management places the concepts of authenticity and integrity at the core of the heritage monitoring system. Moreover, the monitoring system is converted into a decision support tool for intervention and maintenance planning, beyond the mere purpose of inventorying or generating alerts. Findings – The regular update of information for condition, risks and value assessment st...

Controlling factors of the parental safety perception on children's travel mode choice

The travel mode of children changed significantly over the last 20 years, with a decrease of children travelling as pedestrians or cyclists. This study focuses on six to twelve year old children. Parents determine to a large extent the mode choice of children in this age category. Based on the analysis of an extensive survey, the research shows that traffic infrastructure has a significant impact on parental decision making concerning childrens travel mode choice, by affecting both the real and the perceived traffic safety. Real traffic safety is quantified in terms of numbers of accidents and road infrastructure. For the perceived traffic safety a parental allowance probability is calculated per road type to show that infrastructure characteristics influence parental decision making on the childrens mode choice. A binary logistic model shows that this allowance is determined by age, gender and traffic infrastructure near the childs home or near destinations frequently visited by children. Since both real and perceived traffic safety are influenced by infrastructure characteristics, a spatial analysis of parental perception and accident statistics can be used to indicate the locations where infrastructure improvements will be most effective to increase the number of children travelling - safely - as pedestrians or cyclists.

The role of indicators in the assessment of integrated land‐use and transport policies in European cities

This paper reviews the integration of land‐use and transport indicators in current European planning practice. Integrated land‐use and transport planning is considered to be one of the instruments to reduce car dependency in European cities and regions and to promote economic, social and environmental improvement. Within the framework of the TRANSPLUS project more than 20 cities were analysed in depth about their integrated transport and land‐use monitoring activities. The cities were selected taking into account geographical spread, size, innovative character of policies and the availability of information. It is found that most cities acknowledge the interrelation between land‐use planning and mobility planning, but in most cases an integrated monitoring system has not yet been set up. The general tendency in the cities investigated is a dominance of transport‐oriented monitoring. In a number of cities, ad hoc projects have been set up, involving both the transport and the land‐use department. In other cities, efforts in relation to integrated land‐use and transport monitoring are stimulated by higher policy levels. Whereas a number of cities try to combine land‐use and transport data, only a few of them monitor the institutional integration of the land‐use and transport departments. Integrated land‐use and transport models are hardly used, and efforts are directed mainly at developing integrated indicators. A number of good practices have been identified and two are discussed in this paper. The Cologne case illustrates the use of land‐use and transport data, combined with indicators, to monitor the planning and implementation of a car‐free neighbourhood project and the potential for the reduction of parking places. In Orléans the development of a mobility observatory acts as an instrument to monitor the implementation of the PDU (Plan de développement urbain) in an integrated way.

ESTIMATING EFFECT OF TIME-RELATED FACTORS ON TRANSIT USE WITH A LARGE-SCALE MOBILITY SURVEY AND TRANSIT INFORMATION

There is a strong interest among policy makers in measures intended to rationalize private car use. However, this requires prior assessment of the likely impact on car and public transport demand associated with each policy option. For example, what is the likely effect of a reduction of travel time by public transport on mode choice? Such effects can be quantified as elasticities, defining the percentage change in a response variable to a 1% change in an independent variable. The aim of this study is to provide a quantitative overview of the impact of travel time, its components, and its derivatives on transit demand. Data were used from a Belgian mobility survey that was supplemented with a database with a calculated public transport trip for each trip in the mobility survey, with the use of search engines and timetables from the public transport companies. Various functional models were applied to derive demand elasticities. An evaluation of these calculated travel times with public transport search engines shows considerable but reasonable differences with observed trips. Travel time ratios, comparing car and transit travel times, and generalized time estimations, weighting walking and waiting times, offer the best approach to identify the relation between travel time and transit use and result in strongly negative elasticities, particularly when captive travelers are separated. The study contributes to the discussion on the effect of travel time on public transport demand not by using a transport model but by using a survey and transit timetable information.

Merging and expanding existing ontologies to cover the Built Cultural Heritage domain

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an ontological model consisting of terms and relationships between these terms, creating a conceptual information model for the Built Cultural Heritage (BCH) domain, more specifically for preventive conservation. Design/methodology/approach The On-To-Knowledge methodology was applied in the ontology development process. Terms related to preventive conservation were identified by means of a taxonomy which was used later to identify related existing ontologies. Three ontologies were identified and merged, i.e. Geneva City Geographic Markup Language (Geneva CityGML), Monument Damage ontology (Mondis) and CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC-CRM). Additional classes and properties were defined as to provide a complete semantic framework for management of BCH. Findings A BCH-ontology for preventive conservation was created. It consists of 143 classes from which 38 originate from the Mondis ontology, 38 from Geneva CityGML, 37 from CIDOC-CRM and 30 were newly created. The ontology was applied in a use case related to the New cathedral in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Advantages over other type of systems and for the BCH-domain were discussed based on this example. Research limitations/implications The proposed ontology is in a testing stage through which a number of its aspects are being verified. Originality/value This ontological model is the first one to focus on the preventive conservation of BCH.