Selection criteria and assessment of the impact of traffic accessibility on the development of suburbs

Abstract

When defining criteria that have an influence on traffic accessibility in suburbs, it is necessary to take into account the specificity of a concrete urban unit. In existing scientific papers, the authors have dealt with the impact of the remoteness of settlements and their accessibility from the city center. The main aims of this paper are to define and quantify the criteria that have the greatest influence on traffic accessibility in suburban areas, that is, to develop a model of traffic accessibility. This model refers to traffic accessibility in suburban areas, where an urban public transport system is operational and represents a qualitative approach to research. Research has shown that factors such as a network of public transport (PT) lines, a network of accessible roads in a settlement, travel time, and timetables are of great importance in the description and generation of a new model. This model was tested in 23 suburban districts with regard to the needed walking time. The Fuzzy AHP (FAHP) method, one of the most popular methods for multi-criteria decision making, was used. Based on the results presented in this paper, it is expected that the application of this model will enable development and sustainability in suburban areas, as well as greater social equality and involvement of dwellers (especially the younger generation) in social activities, in view of achieving a better quality of life.