Delso, J.; Martín, B.; & Ortega, E. 2018.
A new procedure using network analysis and kernel density estimations to evaluate the effect of urban configurations on pedestrian mobility. The case study of Vitoria–Gasteiz. Journal of Transport Geography, 67, 61-72.
Walking as a stand-alone transport mode has recently been the focus of attention by researchers, urban planners and the public. The reasons are multiple and involve health, economic, social and environmental issues. City planners are implementing new urban configurations aimed at providing global solutions for environmental and mobility challenges by improving the availability and quality of the public space for walking. The aim of this paper is to provide a procedure to evaluate the impact of obstacles to pedestrian mobility and walkability —understanding obstacles as street crossings where pedestrians must wait to continue their route. The procedure combines the calculation of travel time on minimum cost routes and network kernel density estimations. The implementation of a new urban configuration in a medium sized city in northern Spain —the superblocks model in Vitoria-Gasteiz city— serves as a case study. The main results show that the implementation of the superblocks reduces pedestrian travel times by approximately 4–5%, and that the greatest improvements in pedestrian mobility due to the reduction of obstacles are found in areas in the city centre or in streets linking important residential areas with the centre. The procedure has been demonstrated to be useful for urban and transport planners to identify priority areas of action and to evaluate pedestrian movements and walkability under new urban configurations.

Delso, J.; Martín, B.; Ortega, E. & Otero, I. 2017
A Model for Assessing Pedestrian Corridors. Application to Vitoria-Gasteiz City (Spain). Sustainability, 9(3), 434-449 (acceso libre)
From a mobility perspective, walking is considered to be the most sustainable transport mode. One of the consequences of motor-oriented urban configuration on pedestrian mobility is urban fragmentation, which affects sustainability in cities. In this paper, we use a natural-based approach to landscape fragmentation and connectivity (inherited from landscape ecology) for pedestrian mobility planning. Our aim is to design a useful methodology to identify priority pedestrian corridors, and to assess the effects of implementing barrier-free pedestrian corridors in the city. For this purpose, we developed a method that integrates Geographical Information Systems (GIS) network analysis with kernel density methods, which are commonly used for designating habitat corridors. It was applied to Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain). Pedestrian mobility was assessed by comparison of travel times between different scenarios. Results show that the implementation of pedestrian corridors reduces travel time by approximately 6%. Thus, an intervention in a small percentage of the city’s street network could considerably reduce pedestrian travel times. The proposed methodology is a useful tool for urban and transport planners to improve pedestrian mobility and manage motorised traffic

Ortega, E; Martín, B.; Nuñez, E. & Ezquerra, A. 2015
Urban fragmentation map of the Chamberí district in Madrid. Journal of maps, 11(5), 788-797.
High levels of mobility have given rise to land-use patterns that are difficult to navigate for non-motorised transport users. Fragmentation in a transport system can be considered as a lack of connectivity (or permeability), as infrastructures reduce the connectivity between places. Fragmentation has been extensively studied in landscape ecology, and can be understood as a loss of connectivity. Connectivity is defined as the degree of permissiveness offered by the landscape for the displacement of organisms, energy flows and dispersive movements. This article presents a map of urban fragmentation for pedestrians using a habitat fragmentation indicator. It represents difficulty for pedestrian mobility as a function the of the accumulative cost distance over a cost surface under the current motor traffic-oriented street/mobility layout. The map is developed for the Chamberí district in Madrid (Spain). The process consists of first developing the resistance matrix of the territory database. The resistance value is the time taken to travel through the streets. The street axis network is converted into pavements, as this is the part of the street used by pedestrians, including pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. The resistance value –travel time – is calculated, including waiting time. Once the resistance matrix has been created, GIS functions are used to calculate the least accumulative cost distance for each origin to a set of attractive locations/destinations for pedestrians.