Level of Traffic Stress, Urban Pavement Service Index, and road slope combined for the evaluation of a 5-, 10- or 15-minute Neighborhood

Abstract

The X-minute Neighborhood (XmN) concept advocates the development of self-sufficient territorial units that encourage active travel, contribute to reducing dependence on private motorized vehicles, and mitigate urban sprawl. Despite its theoretical significance, the concept remains poorly systematized for large-scale application, a limitation largely stemming from the difficulty of developing a universal approach. The objective of this study was to combine key variables influencing bicycle use into a cyclability index to evaluate the adherence of spatial units to the XmN concept. To demonstrate the proposed approach, a case study was conducted in the Cidade Jardim neighborhood of São Carlos, SP, Brazil. The method comprised the geoprocessing of open and field-surveyed spatial data in GIS; georeferencing of bicycle Trip Attractors (TAs); assessment of Level of Traffic Stress (LTS), Urban Pavement Service Index (ISU), and road slope for cyclable road segments under mixed traffic; formulation and calculation of a cyclability index for these segments; and evaluation and mapping of 5mN, 10mN, and 15mN conditions. The results yield a straightforward visual and numerical interpretation of the cyclability potential and the XmN potential of the case study, reflecting an optimistic outlook for the studied neighborhood. However, none of the input variables account for motorized traffic flow when assessing the operational quality of cycling routes. Therefore, care must be taken to complement the proposed approach with methods and techniques that address this variable, such as updated versions of the LTS classification. Furthermore, not all TAs required to fulfill this framework are currently present within the neighborhood.