This new Manual is a guide for evaluating peoples' ability to access services and activities, and therefore the performance of transportation and land use configurations.
Transportation planning is shifting from evaluating mobility (physical movement) to accessibility (people's ability to reach desired services and activities), which expands the range of solutions that can be applied to transportation problems. For example, mobility-based planning assumes that the preferred solution to traffic congestion is to expand roadways so motorists can travel faster and farther. Accessibility-based planning considers roadway expansions, improvements to non-auto modes (such as bicycle improvements and grade-separated transit), development reforms to reduce the distances that people must travel, pricing reforms and commute trip reduction programs that encourage use of more space-efficient modes, plus mobility substitutes such as telework and delivery services. Access-based analysis is more complicated, but better reflects what want want overall: the ability to reach desired services and activities. It leads to more multimodal transportation systems and more compact and connected communities.
This new book, Transport Access Manual: A Guide for Measuring Connection between People and Places, provides practical information on how to measure these impacts. It is a guide for quantifying and evaluating access for anybody interested in truly understanding how to measure the performance of transport and land use configurations. It contains enough information to help transport and planning professionals achieve a more comprehensive look at their city or region than traditional transport analysis allows. It provides a point of entry for interested members of the public as well as practitioners by being organized in a logical and straightforward way. It is now available as a free PDF document, or as a hard-copy book.
Thanks to Professors David Levinson and David King for their great leadership on this project.
FULL STORY: Transport Access Manual: A Guide for Measuring Connection between People and Places
An International Comparison of Transportation Modes
Access (the ease of reaching desired destinations) is a key factor in transport, sustainability, and urban planning. This new study applies multimodal accessibility analysis to 4 modes in 117 cities in 6 countries, illustrated graphically.
New York City Subway Pledges To Increase Accessibility
After two lawsuits, the New York subway system has announced a 33-year timeline for making 95 percent of its stations fully accessible.
How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Cities
The social and economic upheaval of the last two years accelerated a shift in thinking about how we use public space and organize the urban realm.
The Surprising Oil Tax in the Inflation Reduction Act
President Biden has made reducing gas prices paramount in his administration, so it was likely a surprise to hear a Republican senator last Sunday warn TV viewers that a revived and increased oil fee in the climate bill will increase their gas costs.
The Tide Has Turned Against Open Streets
Once a promising development for advocates pushing for a less car-centric future in cities, the open streets movement has ceded significant ground to cars since the height of the pandemic.
San Antonio Office Tower To Become Residential
With the building more than half vacant, the new owners of the Tower Life Building plan to convert the historic tower into residences that could include affordable housing.
Department of the Interior Forced to Intervene on the Colorado River
More questions than answers on the Colorado River this week as the federal government failed to deliver on threats to force Southwest states to cut back on water use.
Explaining Rent Inflation
The delayed effects of changes in rent costs make rent inflation a difficult figure to pin down.
Dallas Names 66-Mile Bike and Walking Trail
When complete, the newly named DFW Discovery Trail will incorporate 50 miles of existing trails into a regional ‘super highway.’
San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Cohousing Association of the US
City of Crystal River
Sun City Center Community Association, Inc
City of Mesa
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
