Within the objectives of the H2020 DIAMOND project, the paper investigates women’s needs and expectations as users of the bike-sharing service managed by Syndicat Mixte Autolib et Velib Métropole in the territory of Paris Region-Petite Couronne (France). The paper presents a thematic literature review focused on gender inclusion in bike-sharing schemes. The proposed methodological approach is based on (i) Geographic Information Systems for the analysis of geolocated open datasets related to land, sociodemographic and mobility characteristics of the areas surrounding each docking stations. This was aimed at identifying a short list of suitable bike-sharing docking stations, which were further characterized through: (ii) structured proprietary data focused on travel demand; (iii) onsite observations focused on universal design indicators; (iv) survey questionnaires focused on women’s concerns, needs and expectations; and (v) social media data from Twitter focused on the opinion of the end-users. Results showed that women use the VELIB’s bike-sharing service much less than men (about 30% of the total number of users), since they are more concerned about the following issues: accessibility (e.g., availability of bikes at the docking stations, distance to the nearest station, type and quality of the cycle paths); safety and security (e.g., perception of danger and insecurity while cycling and using the current bicycle infrastructures); social constraints (e.g., perceptions and cultural stigmatization associated with cycling and bike-sharing); weather and topography (e.g., impact of weather and the urban terrain on cycling and bike-sharing). The final aim of the H2020 DIAMOND project is to support the definition of guidelines and policies for the inclusion of women’s needs in the design of future bike-sharing services.
Utilizing GIS and location-based open data, this study examined the level of walkability for women in New York City. As highlighted through a thematic literature review, women experience the city differently than men, since they are more concerned with security issues related to aggression and harassment, as a major inhibitor of mobility in public spaces especially at nighttime. The analysis focused on the level of usefulness, comfort, safety, security, and attractiveness of the city. The results of the proposed Walkability for Women Index helped to identify and characterize a short list of suitable urban areas where to prioritize interventions.
Much has been written on the fast-paced development of Dubai as a city and the favoring of car-oriented streets in the approach to road building. This paper offers a reading of the city using the most forward-driven technological approaches in urban and transport planning to derive patterns and insights into areas of critical concern for intervention. The approach stems from the idea of incremental retrofitting as opposed to toppling over the current infrastructure, as a way to significantly enhance the walkability and viability of Dubai’s streets for its residents using minimal resources, while drastically enhancing their ability to utilize public space.
The focal element of this collection of studies is the street. In full, the extensive research traces the functional structure of 36 streets within the city, offering various insights into their potential to deliver better walkable environments. From observations of field surveys to progressive applied methods, this collection of studies offers taxonomic categorizations of Dubai’s streets as well as possible concerted and planned retrofitting strategies designed to encourage safe and comfortable walking experiences in a timely manner, and reduce possibilities for contracting airborne diseases, such as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
This paper focuses on how the interplay of various interdependent components of urban infrastructure creates the conditions for Dubai’s street space to respond to walkability needs. Building on international practice and the latest disciplinary tools, this paper delves into the physical characteristics of Dubai’s streets and interrogates some of the critical areas whereby minimal intervention is perceived to have a huge impact on spatio-temporal urban quality. In effect, the study highlights avenues for activating Dubai’s most overlooked latent public spaces: its streets.
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