Search Results (2)

Micromobility responds to urban transport challenges by reducing emissions, mitigating traffic, and improving accessibility. Nevertheless, the safety of micromobility users, particularly cyclists, remains a concern in urban environments. This study aims to construct a safety map and a risk-averse routing system for micromobility users in diverse urban environments, as exemplified by a case study in Lisbon. A data-driven methodology uses object detection algorithms and image segmentation techniques to identify potential risk factors on cycling routes from Google Street View images. The ‘Bikeable’ Multilayer Perceptron neural network measures these risks, assigning safety scores to each image. The method analyzed 5321 points across 24 parishes in Lisbon, with an average safety score of 4.5, indicating a generally safe environment for cyclists. Carnide emerged as the safest area, while Alcântara exhibited a higher level of potential risks. Additionally, an equation is proposed to compute route efficiency, enabling comparisons between different routes for identical origin-destination pairs. Preliminary findings suggest that the presented routing solution exhibits higher efficiency than the commercial routing benchmark. Risk-averse routes did not result in a substantial rise in travel distance or time, with increments of 7% on average. The study also contributed to increasing the existing amount of cycle path data in Lisbon by 12%, correcting inaccuracies, and updating the network in OpenStreetMap, providing access to more precise information and, consequently, more routes. The key contributions of this study, such as the safety map and risk-averse router, underscore the potential of data-driven tools for boosting urban micromobility. The solutions proposed demonstrate modularity and adaptability, making them fit for a range of urban scenarios and highlighting their value for cities prioritizing safe, sustainable urban mobility. Full article

This paper deals with the confrontation between the forms of urbanisation of Lisbon, Portugal, that extends its fringes over the Alcântara Valley. This same Valley—topography and hydrography—plays as determinants of the occupation that will assume distinct narratives. This gradual process is explained through three narratives about (1) the urbanisation of the margin driven by industrialisation and the construction of a stigmatised periphery, (2) the imposition of large capacity infrastructures far beyond what is local, (3) the system of open spaces and landscape projects and the urban brink that the valley claims. The debate focuses on the answers that the urban and landscape project, necessarily going through urban planning and its practical and theoretical scopes, i.e., Urbanism and urban planning thinking, especially in a broad present seeking to discuss both sides of the coin: on the one hand, an urban rehabilitation with public space for all, on the other hand, a qualified and central space that attracts real estate investment that may bring effects contrary to those expected. The article seeks to contribute (1) to a broader perception of the superimposition of processes that transformed the Alcântara Valley, (2) to a fuller dissemination of the urbanistic experiences in the city of Lisbon since this city is still vastly underrepresented in the international (primarily Anglo-Saxon) literature, (3) to deepen the debate between urban rehabilitation, urban regeneration, consequences and opportunities practiced is still trying to cope with. Full article