Road Safety in Sustainable Urban Transport

Dear Colleagues,

The urban context represents a complex area characterized by a high level of interaction between the different road users such as vulnerable road users (VRUs) and vehicles. Due to the space complexity and frequent interaction between different road users, urban roads represent the location of more than 50% of the total amount of crashes.

According to the Agenda 2030, one of the 17 goals is “SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. This target can be reached if a great effort is made in terms of (1) the ergonomic design of the urban space, (2) improving road safety according to the “vision zero” strategy, (3) improving the public transportation system according to the “people needs and desiderata”, (4) exploiting the new technology to improve the quality of the life, and (5) reducing the consequence of road crashes.

Currently, scientists’ efforts in road safety improvement are not enough to consistently decrease the number of crashes that occur in roads, especially in urban areas. Therefore, the topic has gained considerable attention in research, and various methodologies are used to design and assess road and urban areas in terms of road safety. Recent approaches to evaluating road safety, especially when the interactions between road users are consistent, also include the evaluation of human behaviors in different “road scenarios” to understand the main factors that increase the risk of an accident.

In this context, both road engineers and road authorities play a relevant role in the process, from the design to the management of the urban area, to offer safe and sustainable spaces.

This Special Issue will address the main topic concerning the achievement of safer and more sustainable urban areas, highlighting the main challenges to overcome. It welcomes high-quality original research and review articles that cover all topics related to road safety in/and sustainable urban transport. Research papers (case studies, reviews, and policy-related work) from different parts of the world are invited. A list of possible macro-topics includes the subjects listed below without excluding topics connected to the listed topic which could significantly affect, or be relevant to, the area of interest of the proposed Special Issue:

• Accident analysis in urban areas.
• New procedures for urban road assessment.
• Sustainable and safe transportation.
• Resilient, sustainable, and safe urban infrastructures.
• Use of new methodologies for road safety assessment in urban areas.
• Change in road safety using automated vehicles in urban areas.
• Road design standards and guidelines.
• Improvements in the safety of vulnerable road users.
• Traffic calming intervention.
• Virtual reality for road safety assessment.
• Road pavements for sustainable roads.
• Roadside element integrated design.
• Evaluation of existing conditions and sustainable maintenance.

Dr. Monica Meocci
Prof. Dr. Francesca La Torre
Dr. Alessandro Marradi
Dr. Francesco Pinna
Guest Editors

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• vulnerable road users
• traffic calming
• urban roads
• accident prediction model
• urban road design
• automated vehicles in urban roads
• inclusive and sustainable urban design