The equity implications of TOD in Curitiba

In this paper we analyze how socio-spatial inequalities have been shaped by transport and land-use planning in Curitiba (Brazil), a city internationally recognized for its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) planning based on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). We examine how the spatial organization of the BRT system is associated with the distribution of population densities, socioeconomic groups, and real-estate values and its implications in terms of inequalities of access to employment and health services. The results show that Curitiba's TOD has had limited influence on population densities, but has shaped the concentration of high-income classes and premium real-estate along its main BRT corridors. These effects contribute to the peripheralization of low-income communities with limited accessibility benefits from the transit system. Our findings suggest that Curitiba’s success story should be seen as a cautionary tale about the consequences of TOD planning, which perpetuate the spatial concentration of resources and reinforce inequalities of access to opportunities.

DESARROLLO ORIENTADO AL TRANSPORTE PÚBLICO: UN MODELO URBANO PARA LA PÚBLICO:

La falta de planifcación urbana fomenta una movilidad no sostenible, frente a esto, el Desarrollo Orientado al Transporte - DOT1- surge como una herramienta de diseño urbano, basada en la alta densidad, diversidad de usos y una infraestructura urbana adecuada en torno al transporte público. Para esto se ha realizado una revisión de literatura sobre este modelo de desarrollo, a fn de entender, a profundidad, los aspectos importantes que lo conforman, como la defnición del DOT según varios autores, para obtener distintos puntos de vista acerca de lo que este concepto signifca. Segundo, el análisis de las dimensiones que lo estructuran. Acontinuación se llevó a cabo una revisión de ejemplos de implementación del modelo en distintas ciudades. Posteriormente se mencionan los efectos urbanos que el DOT ha generado o puede causar a futuro en las ciudades en las que ha sido implementado, yfnalmente, se analizan recomendaciones para su replicabilidad en otras ciudades, en función del contexto. Palabras clave: DOT, movilidad sostenible, espacio público, densidad, usos mixtos. AbstractThe lack of urban planning encourages unsustainable mobility. In view of this, Transit Oriented Development - TOD - emerges as an urban design tool, based on high density, diversity of uses and proper urban infrastructure around public transport. For this purpose, a literature review on this development model has been carried out, in order to understand in depth, the important aspects that make it up, such as: the defnition of TOD according to several authors to obtain diferent points of view about what this concept means. Second, the analysis of the dimensions that structure it together also a review of examples of implementation of the model in diferent cities. Subsequently, the urban efects that TOD has generated or may cause in the future in the cities where it has been implemented are mentioned, and fnally, recommendations for its replicability in other cities are analyzed according to the context. Keywords: TOD, sustainable mobility, public space, density, land-use diversity

APPROACHES TO ASSESSING TRANSPORT ACCESSIBILITY IN MEGACITIES: APPLYING GEOMARKETING TECHNIQUES

The article is devoted to the issues of modeling the accessibility of public transport and the formation of its criteria by using geographic information systems (GIS). The paper presents an analysis of the relationship between transport development and the development of large cities. The article analyzes the world and domestic experience of using transport availability indices in urban planning policy: public transport accessibility indices; a model of transit-oriented development, examples of its practical application in various cities worldwide. Based on the study of a number of methods based on objective and subjective assessments of the level of transport accessibility, it was concluded that there is currently no universal methodology for a comprehensive assessment of the transport accessibility in megalopolises (objective and perceived). The modern possibilities of solving the tasks set by geomarketing technology based on the use of big data are identified. The practical significance of the results obtained by the authors is due to the possibility of forming, on the basis of the studied methods, a system for analyzing the transport accessibility of capital objects in Moscow, differentiating the level of transport accessibility for different groups of the population.

Taking the high road: Retrofitting amenity onto urban arterial roads

<p>Amenity values on urban arterial roads are fraught. This is largely due to the traditional traffic capacity versus amenity trade-off. This trade-off implies that high-capacity roads must be inherently deficient in amenity due to issues of air quality, noise nuisance and the physical barrier of streams of traffic. However, a more nuanced position – and one adopted by this thesis - is that arterial roads can be both busy thoroughfares and active, enjoyable destinations. This design-led research explores retrofitting amenity values onto existing arterial roads, creating new spaces and improving qualities of a system not originally constructed with amenity in mind. Cuba Street in Lower Hutt is a regionally significant connector intended for future densified development. In addition to the current link function, this road needs to become more attractive as a destination and address. Consideration at the urban scale encourages broad, strategic planning to support amenity holistically. This urban planning addresses topics like desirable densification, transit-oriented development, walkable centres and how these affect the arterial road condition. In moving from urban-scaled to architectural design, the detailed implementation of the greater policies is tested. Architecture is engaged to respond to the immediate arterial road conditions with spaces and surfaces, protective buffers and layers. In this way - with architectural refinement and a comprehensive, coherent strategy - traffic capacity and amenity can be brought into balance.</p>

A New Zealand Superblock: Smart Planned Development

<p>Wellington city’s forecast, for the period 2011-31, is that the urban population will increase by 20,000 residents, including 60% increased demand for rental properties. This research investigation focuses on sustainable means of increasing housing density in the face of ever-increasing urban sprawl. The research proposes that Wellington City Council’s Smart Capital (2010) initiatives for urban expansion infrastructure projects—with aims to attain progressive urban growth with desirable characteristics—are good on some levels, but remedies such as infill and intensification that encroach on urban green spaces are unsustainable. The encroachments caused by urban sprawl can damage both environmental design characteristics and, the well-being of inhabitants. The thesis proposes that smart planned development (SPD) principles, when sustainably maintained, can be an effective alternative urbanisation method to WCC’s Smart Capital propositions. This investigation proposes a theoretical formulation supporting the construction of superblocks within New Zealand, using SPD as a process. For example, Lincolnshire Farm in Wellington is a site exemplar whose proximity and size would permit the city to construct alternative spatial configurations, in the form of a modified superblock for the New Zealand context. The Modern Movement reflected on the viability of superblocks of urban housing for population growth. Historically, these superblocks when built were problematic due to the detrimental attributes of automobiles, densities, and metropolitan expansions. This thesis proposes ways to mitigate these difficulties by merging relevant components of three environmental approaches: ‘Ecological Design’ principles by Sim Van der Ryn; ‘Green Urbanism’ principles by Steffen Lehmann; and framework of ‘Green Transit Oriented Development’ proposed by Robert Cervero and Catherine Sullivan. Once relevant aspects of these principles are assimilated, the research examines them within the context of Kevin Lynch’s principles for a good city form (GCF), to help contribute to the development of new sustainable criteria for superblocks in New Zealand. As case studies, the comparative methodology of this investigation evaluates the achievements of Woodberry Down in London, Discovery Bay in Hong Kong, and Linked Hybrid in Beijing, and Hobsonville Point in Auckland.</p>