Retail Mobility Environments: A methodological framework for integrating retail activity and non-motorised accessibility in Zaragoza, Spain

Abstract

While adequate integration of land use and transport is seen as crucial for achieving sustainable outcomes, the reciprocal interconnection between retail activity and non-motorised accessibility is yet to be adequately examined. To address this gap, this paper proposes the concept of Retail Mobility Environment (RME) and develops a methodological process for identifying and mapping RMEs, using the city of Zaragoza, Spain, as a case study. The concept of RME is developed through three methodological phases: (i) definition of non-motorised Accessibility Zones (AZs), using three indicators (walking accessibility, bicycling accessibility, betweenness); (ii) definition of Retail Zones (RZs), also using three indicators (retail density, retail diversity, retail contiguity); and (iii) definition of RMEs, where both retail activity and non-motorised indicators were weighted and combined using multi-criteria analysis. In total, four RMEs were identified and mapped: short-distance environments, motorised environments , non-motorised environments, and long-distance environments. The paper concludes with a discussion on the need to unravel the relationships between retail activity and non-motorised accessibility, in order to reach sustainable planning goals, as well as the potential usefulness of RMEs for transport policy-making.

Jane Jacobs en Barcelona: las condiciones para la vitalidad urbana y su relación con la movilidad cotidiana

“…Es por este motivo que los estudios que han tratado de llevar a la práctica las ideas teóricas de Jacobs han relacionado las condiciones de la vitalidad urbana con los patrones del caminar cotidiano a distintas escalas urbanas (Nadai et al, 2016;Delclòs-Alió et al, 2018;Sulis et al, 2018;Sung et al, 2013. Esto está estrechamente relacionado con la corriente académica que vincula el entorno construido y los desplazamientos a pie (Valenzuela-Montes y Talavera- García, 2015), tanto desde la óptica de un planeamiento urbano que garantice una mayor accesibilidad (Arranz-López et al, 2017;Southworth, 2005) así como las reflexiones proporcionadas por el urbanismo feminista, que ponen de claro relieve el acento en la vida cotidiana y en la dimensión del barrio.…”

Medidas básicas de accesibilidad territorial. Enfoques, evolución y utilidades

“…En primer lugar, cabe indicar que la accesibilidad se encuentra determinada, principalmente, por los patrones de uso del territorio y por la naturaleza del sistema de transporte existente (Hansen, 1959; Xuan y Suxia, 2004), así como por su capacidad o estructura (Rodrigue, Comtois y Slack, 2017). Por lo tanto, se debe considerar la influencia del sistema de transporte -viario, ferroviario, aeroportuario, marítimo, combinado o intermodal-, al igual que del modo de desplazamiento -motorizado, no motorizado o combinado-(Arranz -López, et al, 2017) y la configuración espacial (Talavera-García y Valenzuela-Montes, 2012).…”

Making ‘Retail Mobility Environments’ visible for collaborative transport planning

“…isolated retail stores and inoperative non-motorised transport. Despite the growing progress regarding RMEs as transport planning concept at the city level (Arranz-López, SoriaLara, López-Escolano, & Pueyo Campos, 2017), there is still lack of understanding how RMEs can be mapped to be useful in the context of collaborative LUT planning paradigms, which this paper seeks to address.…”

“…Second, LUT integration requires maps to reveal the different dimensions of how land use relates to transport and vice versa. Limited attention has been traditionally paid to the combination between nonmotorised accessibility and retail activity at the city level (Arranz-López et al, 2017;Krizek & Johnson, 2006). For these reasons, the process of mapping RMEs is seen as a crucial aspect for LUT policy-making under the context of more collaborative paradigms.…”