The Structural Accessibility Layer (SAL) : a design support tool for urban mobility management

Abstract

There is a widespread political and academic recognition of the need to integrate land use and transport policies for mobility management. Nevertheless, such integration is seldom put into practice. The lack of theoretically sound, as well as usable and responsive design support tools is pointed out as one of the reasons for this lack of integration. This research is based on the assumption that the concept of accessibility is able to frame the development of such design support tools. This paper presents the results of an application to Greater Oporto of the Structural Accessibility Layer (SAL) – a design support tool for integrated land use and transport policies based on a concept of structural accessibility. The local accessibility conditions and the resulting potential for sustainable mobility patterns are mapped and analysed. In addition, the SAL supported the design of policy recommendations. This tool was developed and tested in the scope of a PhD research. Having been tested within a wider context of research the SAL was found to be suitable for diagnosis and useful for strategy development, as well as, robust, useful and useable in planning practice. The geographical representations of comparative accessibility levels were found to provide a new insight on the representation of local mobility conditions and constraints for sustainability.