No abstract

No abstract

Background COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge that the world had never encountered in the last 100 years. In order to mitigate its negative effects, governments worldwide took action by prohibiting at first certain activities and in some cases by a countrywide lockdown. Greece was among the countries that were struck by the pandemic. Governmental authorities took action in limiting the spread of the pandemic through a series of countermeasures, which built up to a countrywide lockdown that lasted 42 days. Methodology This research aims at identifying the effect of certain socioeconomic factors on the travel behaviour of Greek citizens and at investigating whether any social groups were comparatively less privileged or suffered more from the lockdown. To this end, a dynamic online questionnaire survey on mobility characteristics was designed and distributed to Greek citizens during the lockdown period, which resulted in 1,259 valid responses. Collected data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical tests, in order to identify mobility patterns and correlations with certain socioeconomic characteristics. Additionally, a Generalised Linear Model (GLM) was developed in order to examine the potential influence of socioeconomic characteristics to trip frequency before and during the lockdown period. Results Outcomes indicate a decisive decrease in trip frequencies due to the lockdown. Furthermore, the model’s results indicate significant correlations between gender, income and trip frequencies during the lockdown, something that is not evident in the pre-pandemic era.

No abstract

No abstract

Achieving sustainable urban mobility is a complex and multivariate issue that requires constant monitoring and evaluation of the existing situation and possible reconsideration and adjustment of objectives and strategy. The use of indicators is perhaps the most common methodological assessment tool for the sustainable urban mobility level achieved. Key performance indicators can provide in a simple way useful information for complex phenomena in an urban area (i.e. identification of the specific problems and their development over time). Thus, they contribute at a great degree to the decisions made concerning the prioritization of measures and policies toward achieving a goal. However, the use of indicators often constitutes a highly time consuming and costly process due to the large volumes of raw data required for their calculation. In recent years, a solution toward this problem is attempted to be given through the adoption of new technologies and approaches, such as the collection and export of 'big data' from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Social networks provide to their users a continuous and enhanced ability for communication, interface and interaction. Such networks are therefore an important potential tool for the promotion of research in the transport sector, as the amount of data generated in their context gives the possibility to analyse and investigate with greater precision critical issues (e.g. trips characteristics) of urban mobility. The present study is an attempt to link the indicators related to sustainable mobility with social networks. The main advantage resulting from the above link, beyond the possibility of a more precise evaluation of the indicators, is to highlight the society's position toward the prioritization of the various transport-related aspects and measures.

It has been proved that urban development patterns affect in various ways cities? environmental quality. To this purpose, one of the factors that have been examined is the role of urban green spaces, in balancing the effects of human activities in dense urban landscapes. One of the major external costs of dense urban environment is smog and greenhouse gas emissions that are heavily related to existing mobility patterns. High levels of concentration of such emissions along with high urban density are considered to be the main reason for cities? environmental degradation. In this context this paper presents the results of a study investigating how urban green spaces can improve air quality, in major transportation axis within the city of Thessaloniki. In order to do so, urban density along the axis, green space per capita, green space spatial distribution, mobility patterns and transport emissions volumes are being considered. Comparison of these indices among the transportation axis under study indicates that there is a positive relation between building density, urban density and volume of emissions observed, while a dispersed rather than a concentrated pattern of green spaces could better help improve cities? environmental quality.

No abstract