Configurbanist: Urban Configuration Analysis for Walking and Cycling via Easiest Paths

Abstract

In a quest for promoting sustainable modes of mobility, we have revisited how feasible and suitable is it for people to walk or cycle to their destinations in a neighbourhood. We propose a few accessibility measures based on an 'Easiest Path' algorithm that provides also actual temporal distance between locations. This algorithm finds paths that are as short, flat and straightforward as possible. Considering several 'points of interest', the methods can answer such questions as "do I have a 5 minutes 'easy' walking/cycling access to all/any of these points?" or, "which is the preferred point of interest with 'easy' walking cycling access?" We redefine catchment zones using Fuzzy logics and allow for mapping 'closeness' considering preferences such as 'how far' people are willing to go on foot/bike for reaching a particular destination. The accessibility measures are implemented in the toolkit CONFIGURBANIST to provide real-time analysis of urban networks for design and planning.