Dr Enrica Papa, Reader in Transport Planning, has received approximately €700,000 on behalf of the University for two research projects investigating methods to improve urban mobility, traffic management and planning. Her research and the successful external funding bids were made possible by seed funding from Westminster's Sustainable Cities and the Urban Environment (SCUE) research community.
The first project, titled ‘Experimenting with city streets to TRAnsform urban mobility (EX-TRA)’, is funded by JPI Urban Europe – ERA-NET Cofund Urban Accessibility and Connectivity (ENUAC) and aims to generate knowledge and draw attention to the shortcomings of sustainability challenges.
Across Europe, cities are attempting to radically reduce their reliance on car-based mobility to address this. However, two major shortcomings are hindering these efforts towards a post-car city. First, they lack proactive visions towards cities that are not only sustainable but also accessible without cars. Secondly, they lack effective strategies to deal with strong, built-in systemic resistance to a change of the status quo.
As a result, this project aims to generate knowledge to address these shortcomings through transition experiments in city streets which will proactively explore new ways to meet the goal of post-car cities. Utilising urban living labs in Amsterdam, Bologna, Ghent, Munich and London, the researchers will generate insights into possible combinations of physical design and regulation that increase the types of space usage and inclusivity amongst users of public spaces in city streets.
Insights include transport and land use conditions for improving walking and cycling accessibility in city districts; shared mobility platforms and micro-mobility options which compliment attractive streets and accessible districts; and strategies of change that accelerate the transition towards a post-car city.
The second piece of research, also funded by ENUAC, titled ‘GeoSence – Geofencing strategies for implementation in urban traffic management and planning’. The study, for which Dr Papa is Co-Investigator, elaborates on geofencing solutions, a virtual boundary around a geographic location, as a solution to improve traffic flow, safety and air quality.
It aims to tackle challenges on how to obtain user acceptance and useful improvements by designing, trialing and evaluating geofencing concepts and solutions for cases in cities and to propose new ways of successfully deploying geofencing technologies. Using London, Munich, Gothenburg, Dresden, Stockholm and Madrid as case studies, GeoSence will provide a strategic implementation guide with recommendations for integration in planning, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans (SULPs).
Talking about receiving funding for her research, Dr Enrica Papa said: “Receiving these grants is a great personal achievement but mostly a chance for the University of Westminster research community. The interdisciplinarity of the projects and the international perspective will enhance our European connections, our opportunities for new research, knowledge exchange, and societal impact.”
