Automated Tool for Geographic Information Systems That Supports Transit Network Design by Identifying Urban Activity Centers

Abstract

Public transit is central to sustainable multimodal transportation systems; however, designing an effective transit network remains an analytically challenging and complex task. Given the spatial nature of the problem, geographic information systems (GISs) can support transit network design by identifying subsections of urban areas within and between which very high travel demand exists. Once these corridors are identified, local knowledge and expertise may be used to develop routings that satisfy these demands. This paper presents a spatial approach to assist in designing transit networks and describes the development and application of an automated, spatial multicriteria aggregation algorithm implemented as a user-friendly GIS tool coded by using the Python scripting library (ArcPy). Using population and employment densities, spatial adjacency, and geographic and administrative boundaries, the GIS tool leverages readily available demographic data to classify and merge traffic analysis zones into larger urban activity centers. The tool then aggregates regional origin–destination matrices to visualize only the flows associated with the activity centers. The results show that this approach significantly reduces the number of origins and destinations to be considered in designing the network but retains a large proportion of regional trips. This paper demonstrates how the tool can be applied through an example from the region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where the local transit agency is developing a transit network to support a central light-rail transit line.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Filion

, Hoernig

, Bunting

, and Sands

. The Successful Few: Healthy Downtowns of Small Metropolitan Regions. Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 70, No. 3, 2004, pp. 328–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944360408976382.

Bertolini

, Clercq

F. le

, and Kapoen

. Sustainable Accessibility: A Conceptual Framework to Integrate Transport and Land Use Plan-Making. Two Test Applications in the Netherlands and a Reflection on the Way Forward. Transport Policy, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2005, pp. 207–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2005.01.006.

Simard

, Springate

, and Casello

J. M.

. The Development and Deployment of GIS Tools to Facilitate Transit Network Design and Operational Evaluation. URISA Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2011, pp. 41–51.

Farahani

R. Z.

, Miandoabchi

, Szeto

W. Y.

, and Rashidi

. A Review of Urban Transportation Network Design Problems. European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 229, No. 2, 2013, pp. 281–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2013.01.001.

Thill

J.-C.

Geographic Information Systems for Transportation in Perspective. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Vol. 8, No. 1–6, 2000, pp. 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-090X(00)00029-2.

You

, Nedović-Budić

, and Kim

T. J.

. A GIS-Based Traffic Analysis Zone Design: Technique. Transportation Planning and Technology, Vol. 21, No. 1–2, 1998, pp. 45–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081069708717601.

Openshaw

The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem. Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography. Geo Books, Norwich, United Kingdom, 1984.

Kok

, and Veldkamp

. Evaluating Impact of Spatial Scales on Land Use Pattern Analysis in Central America. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 85, No. 1–3, 2001, pp. 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(01)00185-2.

Wrigley

, Holt

, Steel

, and Tranmer

. Analysing, Modelling, and Resolving the Ecological Fallacy. In Spatial Analysis: Modelling in a GIS Environment ( Longley

and Batty

, eds.), GeoInformation International, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1996, pp. 25–40.

10.

Chang

K.-T.

, Khatib

, and Ou

. Effects of Zoning Structure and Network Detail on Traffic Demand Modeling. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2002, pp. 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1068/b2742.

11.

Casello

, and Smith

. Transportation Activity Centers for Urban Transportation Analysis. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, Vol. 132, No. 4, 2006, pp. 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9488(2006)132:4(247).

12.

O’Kelly

, and Bryan

. Agricultural Location Theory: von Thunen’s Contribution to Economic Geography. Progess in Human Geography, Vol. 20, No. 4, 1996, pp. 457–475.

13.

Alonso

Location and Land Use. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1964. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674730854.

14.

Mills

E. S.

An Aggregative Model of Resource Allocation in a Metropolitan Area. American Economic Review, Vol. 57, 1967, pp. 197–210.

15.

Muth

R. F.

Cities and Housing. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill., 1969.

16.

Anas

Residential Location Markets and Urban Transportation: Economic Theory, Econometrics, and Policy Analysis with Discrete Choice Models. Academic Press, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., 1982.

17.

Redfearn

C. L.

The Topography of Metropolitan Employment: Identifying Centers of Employment in a Polycentric Urban Area. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 61, No. 3, 2007, pp. 519–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2006.08.009.

18.

Bertaud

, and Malpezzi

. The Spatial Distribution of Population in 48 World Cities: Implications for Economies in Transition. Center for Urban Land Economics Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2003.

19.

You

, Nedović-Budić

, and Kim

T. J.

. A GIS-Based Traffic Analysis Zone Design: Implementation and Evaluation. Transportation Planning and Technology, Vol. 21, No. 1–2, 1998, pp. 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081069708717602.

20.

Miller

H. J.

, and Shaw

S.-L.

. Geographic Information Systems for Transportation: Principles and Applications. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2001.

21.

Giuliano

, and Small

K. A.

. Subcenters in the Los Angeles Region. Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1991, pp. 163–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-0462(91)90032-I.

22.

Bogart

W. T.

, and Ferry

W. C.

. Employment Centres in Greater Cleveland: Evidence of Evolution in a Formerly Monocentric City. Urban Studies, Vol. 36, No. 12, 1999, pp. 2099–2110. https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098992566.

23.

Pushkarev

B. S.

, and Zupan

J. M.

. Where Transit Works: Urban Densities for Public Transportation. Urban Transportation: Perspectives and Prospects ( Levinson

H. S.

and Weant

R. A.

, eds.), Eno Foundation, Westport, Conn., 1982, pp. 341–344.