Abstract
As cities continue to grow, it is becoming more and more difficult to provide balanced mobility offerings while keeping sustainability, safety and accessibility in focus. Yet, to ensure the livability of dense urban centers amid unrelenting environmental pressures and growing health concerns, it is precisely these issues that urban planners must address. Among the principal issues that the current pandemic situation has highlighted is that the ability to travel freely on foot is of paramount importance to reduce risks of contagion associated with high contact and crowding. In that respect, cities will remain relevant and attractive places to live only if they offer the proper channels to connect their diverse sets of functions and services. Taking into account the urgency of the current situation, many cities around the world are now pushing agendas for promoting active modes of travel as an alternative to risky mass transit options, including both short and long-term interventions on transport infrastructures. In light of these initiatives and to support these efforts, Systematica conducted a rigorous study mapping the sidewalks in the city of Milan to provide a holistic overview of where interventions are most needed. The study follows a two-step approach: first, it identifies the level of safety of sidewalks across the city based on a predefined rating for sidewalk widths, and second, it identifies priority intervention areas based on a set of parameters that take into consideration concentrations of vulnerable population groups and areas of high activity. Starting from the recommended interpersonal distance by the national Italian government of one meter, all sidewalks across Milan were evaluated on the basis of their capacity to allow safe and comfortable pedestrian flows while maintaining this distance. This information was then overlaid with other parameters such as access to shops and public transit to provide a deeper understanding of contextual variances considering each area’s demographic and physical urban features. Demographic information of interest includes percentages of daytime population, employees and elderly populations. Physical aspects include distributions of shops in the vicinity, public transport stops and vehicle fluxes. Synthesizing all these aspects contributed to building a map of prioritized intervention areas sensitive to perceived levels of demand. The outcomes of this study showed that almost half (45%) of Milan’s sidewalks are not fit for physical distancing practices, and about half of these (47%) are considered high priority for intervention due to the concentration of elderly populations and high overall density in the immediate surrounding areas. In sum, 21% of all sidewalks in Milan were identified as priority areas for sidewalk expansion or reclamation. Of these, 13% (around 170km) were listed as high priority. In line with the Strade Aperte (Open Streets) plan of the Municipality of Milan, this investigation provides an initial framework for analyzing the efficacy of a city’s pedestrian infrastructure to support a level of walkability that allows for new norms and standards of safety while expanding on previous walkability aims centered around personal health and safety, comfort, accessibility and sustainability. Systematica’s framework is easily replicable beyond its current application to support similar studies carried out in other cities around the world.
