大阪大学大学院工学研究科　地球総合工学専攻　社会基盤工学コース　交通・地域計画学領域

Building of a “Barrier-free Cycle Town” with the north district of Senri New Town as the target

研究の背景と目的｜研究の概要 (英文）｜

	In order to solve global environmental problems and realize the normalizing society, the reduction of carbon dioxide from traffic and the provision of barrier-free mobility are global issues on the aspect of transportation.? However, there is a trade-off relationship between these two issues if they are pursued based on the motorization.? A basis of the idea in the methodology of this research is the recognition that, to overcome this situation, it is necessary to establish a new theory of transportation system planning which replaces automobiles with bicycles and buses as the main modes of transportation.? Another starting point of this idea is our hope to contribute to the society through the reestablishment of the north district of Senri New Town, where our university is located, as a town suitable for the new century.? 　 Aimed at building a “barrier-free cycle town” in the north district of Senri New Town, this research has studied the three main topics of “transformation into a cycle town,” “transformation into a barrier-free town,” and “methods to assess sustainability.” The main methodological feature of this research is in the attempt to integrate the study of transformation into a cycle town with the study of how to ensure mobility with community buses, which we have conducted as a pioneer, by use of sustainability indicators.
	The study of transformation into a cycle town aims to revise the conventional town planning which recognizes automobiles as the main mode of transportation and place bicycles as the main mode. Houten, a new town in the Netherlands, has been studied as reference. In Houten, cycle roads run through the center of the city, and it is convenient to use bicycles. Automobiles can enter the city only via the peripheral roads. Envisaging the creation of such a town, this research has developed a theory of planning and design for changing the operation of existing roads. Specifically, we have developed several alternatives for the operation of road space in the north district of Senri New Town and assessed them with a simulation model. 　 The study of transformation into a barrier-free town has focused on the modes of transportation for people with limited mobility and developed a method of community transportation planning. With respect to the community bus plan, we have developed a method of transportation planning for an experiment of community bus operation scheduled in Suita City in consideration of the appropriate allocation of roles between the transfer services and community buses. To reduce burden of travels on slopes, we have learnt the level of such burden through an experiment on the use of wheelchairs on slopes with different grades and proposed a way of installing resting facilities depending on the grades, which has resulted in the actual installation of such facilities. 　 The study of methods to assess sustainability has examined a theory of assessing draft plans and designs for a cycle town or barrier-free town based on the integration of sustainability indicators reflecting the environmental, social, and economic aspects. We have extracted representative indicators for sustainability assessment from existing studies and examined the representative indicators that are important on a regional level. Among them, the indicators related to safety, air environment, health, and convenience are especially important, and we have therefore developed a quantitative method of estimating them. For the assessment of the north district of Senri New Town transformed into a barrier-free cycle town with sustainability indicators, we have also developed a GIS-based simulation model to describe the transportation activities of the local residents in details.