More than transportation: An integrated framework to evaluate how streets serve all users

随着新技术、共享和按需服务的发展和采用，我们正处于交通运输模式的转变之中。这发生在许多北美城市的大规模更新和城市核心的密集化，以及这些城市推动更可持续和更积极的交通方式，以及整体宜居性的提高。***对于交通工程来说，这意味着从规划以汽车为主导的环境转向更多的多式联运和更好的综合运输系统和建筑环境。发生这种情况的原因是，除了其核心目标之外，运输系统和设施对越来越多领域的影响进行了评估：环境、经济和社会，包括公共卫生和生活质量。由此产生了一系列衡量运输系统和设施的绩效和影响的指标。这项研究涉及街道，包括沿街的公共空间，如人行道和公共广场。道路的主要功能是机动车辆的（通过）移动，在较小程度上是通往土地和建筑物的通道，与之相反，街道具有其他功能，并为具有不同能力和需求的更广泛的用户服务。第三个功能，即“场所”功能，可能是最重要的功能，也是区分街道和道路的本质。这与鼓励活动和社交的倾向有关，包括散步、玩耍、锻炼和购物。此外，在履行这些职能的同时，应尽量减少对公共卫生（包括事故伤害）和环境的负面影响。***虽然有规范和指南来设计街道，以满足其中的一些功能，但缺乏框架和工具，无法根据对所有用户的观察，快速、持续和系统地评估街道的实际运行情况。例如，用于非机动用户的新设施很少根据两个以上的标准进行评价，主要是安全性，并且没有对这些设施如何服务于其所有功能和所有用户进行综合诊断，也没有对其其他影响进行综合诊断。本研究计划的主要目标是开发一个原始框架和自动化方法，用于基于所有用户的观察，对街道的功能及其使用影响进行综合评估。

We are in the middle of a paradigm shift in transportation with the development and adoption of new technologies, sharing and on-demand services. This is happening during a sizable renewal and densification of urban cores in many North American cities and a push by these cities for more sustainable and active modes of transportation, and for overall improved livability.***For transportation engineering, this means a shift from planning for car-dominant environments to more multimodal and better integrated transportation systems and built environments. This is happening because, in addition to their core goals, the impacts of transportation systems and facilities are evaluated on a growing number of areas: the environment, the economy and the society, including public health and quality of life. A vast array of indicators have thus been derived to measure the performance and impacts of transportation systems and facilities.***This research deals with streets, including the public spaces along them like sidewalks and public squares. On the contrary to roads whose main functions are the (through) movement of motorized vehicles and to a lesser extent access to land and buildings, streets serve other functions and a larger variety of users with different abilities and needs. A third function, the "place" function, may be the most important one and essentially what distinguishes a street from a road. It is related to the propensity to encourage activities and socializing, including strolling, playing, exercising and shopping. In addition, these functions should be fulfilled while minimizing the negative impacts on public health (including accident injuries) and the environment. ***Although there are norms and guides to design streets to serve some of these functions, the framework and the tools are missing to evaluate quickly, continuously and systematically how streets actually operate, based on the observation of all their users. For example, new facilities for non-motorized users are rarely evaluated on more than two criteria, primarily safety, and there is no integrated diagnosis of how well these facilities serve all their functions and all users, nor of what their other impacts are. The main objective of this research program is to develop an original framework and automated methods for the integrated evaluation of the functions of streets and the impacts of their use based on the observation of all users.