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The recent pandemic has changed the modal choices of users in the urban context, highlighting in the last two years an increase in the diffusion of electric scooters, which is not homogeneous in the Italian context. At the beginning of 2020, the first e-scooter services were launched in Sicily, with the city of Palermo leading the way. A survey was therefore conducted in Sicily involving approximately 550 regular users of e-scooter services. The descriptive statistical analysis undertaken compared three different periods pre, during and post pandemic, with particular attention to the gender and age gap and different trends in the diffusion of multimodality. The results provide not only some suggestions for the improvement of services by managers but some suggestions to local administrators for implementation of democratic and sustainable planning steps, as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 initiated a radical rethink of the urban planning process, focussing on a concept initially proposed by Carlos Moreno in 2016; the "15-Minute City" model, aiming at the improvement of quality of life by creating or rearranging cities so that residents' needs can be reached within 15-minutes on foot or by bicycle or by public transit. In continuation to a research in 2020, this paper quantifies the attractiveness of the model to residents in nine regions of Sicily in 2022. Based on statistical analysis concerning the respondents' opinion, the model examined promotes walking as an anti-stress method and improves the overall health conditions at a community level. Therefore, policy makers can revalue the existing planning process and create a blueprint for a healthier and car-free lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles in a short time will make up the majority of the fleet of vehicles used in general. This state of affairs will generate huge sets of data, which can be further investigated. The paper presents a methodology for the analysis of electric vehicle data, with particular emphasis on the energy consumption parameter. The prepared database contains data for 123 electric vehicles for analysis. Data analysis was carried out in a Python environment with the use of the dabl API library. Presentation of the results was made on the basis of data classification for continuous and categorical features vs. target parameters. Additionally, a heatmap Pearson correlation coefficient was performed to correlate the energy consumption parameter with the other parameters studied. Through the data classification for the studied dataset, it can be concluded that there is no correlation against energy consumption for the parameter charging speed; in contrast, for the parameters range and maximum velocity, a positive correlation can be observed. The negative correlation with the parameter energy consumption is for the parameter acceleration to 100 km/h. The methodology presented to assess data from electric vehicles can be scalable for another dataset to prepare data for creating machine learning models, for example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are often characterised by the presence of universities and by a greater number of students, often commuters, with an average age of less than 30 years. The study focused on the city of Enna (Italy), where the university students represent a significant percentage of residents and also a good rate of local travel demand. The survey campaign was conducted over a period of more than one year. A bivariate statistical method was applied highlighting significant variables regarding several features of a car sharing system. Additionally, non-parametric statistics and a before and after analysis were performed to evaluate the influence of implementation of the shared transport service. The results can also offer insights into the improvement of transport supply in urban context and the possible implementation of the co-creation actions between the companies managing the service with the end-users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the impacts of perception of infrastructure, sociodemographic characteristics, frequency of road use, and road user perception on safety, comfort, and chaos with respect to shared spaces. The case study area was the Via Maqueda, a shared street in Palermo, Italy. A face-to-face survey was conducted and the answers of 200 of the participants, who use three active travel modes, namely, walking, cycling, and micromobility, were analysed. The results obtained from the ordered logit models suggest that one-unit higher perception of infrastructure will increase safety and comfort perceptions for both walking and cycling. Females feel less safe while walking and less comfortable while cycling at shared spaces compared to males. Increasing the age group by one unit will decrease the safety and comfort perceptions for walking. The participants who use the shared spaces more frequently perceive that they feel more comfortable with cycling. Participants, particularly males, find the shared spaces less chaotic for walking when the perception of infrastructure is higher. Regarding the micromobility use at shared spaces, females feel less comfortable compared to males while using micromobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-lane roundabouts have been created in many European countries over the past few centuries and are now characterized by an unsafe geometric development and by a low sustainability capacity or level. In this regard, new double-lane geometries have been implemented to overcome to these critical points. This article shows a comparison of two nonconventional double-lane roundabout schemes defined as elliptical and turbo. Considering this research on the unsafe and congested conditions for each road schemes at grade, the microsimulation approach allows comparing schemes of intersections not yet realized in order to be able to evaluate the critical issues. A symmetric traffic distribution and an identical vehicle mix for both design solutions are considered. The research was conducted considering two different double-lane roundabout-turbo roundabout and the elliptical roundabout. By comparing their geometry and technical elements, this article assumes that turbo roundabout due to its physical separating traffic lanes in the central circulatory carriageway will enable potentially better traffic safety conditions. This article has the following main goal: a comparison of traffic safety using VISSIM microsimulator and SSAM tools. The results can provide to show safety level on investigated scenario considering level of service (LOS) and also the possibility of obtaining time to collision (TTC) and postencroachment time (PET) through the use of surrogate parameters obtained by SSAM tool. In fact, the surrogate safety parameters allows evaluating the possible collision scenarios between them, according to the trajectories of the single vehicles. This assessment is useful in order to be able to evaluate by the local authorities which of the examined schemes can provide greater negativity in the construction and operation phase. Therefore this comparative analysis allows reducing, in the preliminary phase, possible security impacts and also economic ones for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vital mode of transportation for short term mobility is paratransit. There are several studies on paratransit safety in developed nations but the developing nations like Bangladesh pay less attention to the issue. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of paratransit using the perceptions of riders and drivers. Negative binomial model (NBM) was used to calibrate the safety of paratransit using 451 responses in Chittagong city. The study's findings highlight the significance of perceptions of travel safety in enhancing accessibility during the routine travel. Vehicle speed limits (km/h), which reduce the chance of accidents and having an institutional driver's license are among the variables that have emerged for the betterment of safety. Therefore, identifying factors that can makes these transportation systems safer will allow service managers and controllers to optimize passenger and driver safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility since 2000 has undergone enormous changes due to new modes of transport and related technologies as well as catastrophic and pandemic events. Several strategies have been implemented by European states to mitigate impacts and assess possible risks in a preventive way. Today, mobility pursues the objectives of sustainability and resilience through a series of short-, medium- and long-term strategies that encourage the collaboration of the population to the choices of urban planning and design. Among the different modes of transport that have had a rise in recent years are scooters. Such modes are well suited to connecting spaces within the first and last mile. Similar to other modes of transportation, scooters are also characterized to date by reduced gender equity. The present work investigates through the administration of an online survey the participants' perceptions concerning the factors that most affect this gender balance considering the metropolitan areas of Catania and Palermo in Sicily. The development of an ordinal regression model revealed the most influential factors of the gender equality variable. Specifically, age, job occupation and perceived safety level of micromobility modes play the most important role. The present findings can be effectively utilized in the planning stage of e-scooter services towards the bridging of the gender gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of urban strategies for the reduction of environmental impacts and decarbonization requires ongoing monitoring from the local scale and further deployment of actions to improve transport demand (user characteristics and modal choice) and supply (infrastructure and services). The analysis of pollution sources and the evaluation of possible scenarios are preliminary to the mitigation of impacts. In particular, the study of geometrical and functional characteristics of infrastructures through micro-simulation allows understanding of which schemes can support the reduction of emissions and guarantee high levels of service (LOS), reducing the problem of vehicular congestion in urban areas. The present work focuses on the small-scale analysis of vehicular traffic emissions at a multi-lane roundabout road intersection and the comparison of geometric schemes (current and design) and use with a turbo roundabout scheme as traffic volumes changes. These volumes have plummeted due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that the geometric-functional modification of the roundabout intersection from a multi-lane to a turbo-roundabout intersection allows a reduction of up to 30% of the emissions considering the current composition of the traffic fleet in the city of Rzeszow in Poland. The proposed comparative analysis methodology can contribute to the drafting of sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) proposing a set of investments for new road works and considering a number of scenarios with interventions that can be implemented in the medium and long term that can provide the incentive to reduce road congestion and vehicular emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations close to road infrastructure are particularly exposed to harmful exhaust emissions from motor vehicles and this problem is exacerbated at road intersections. Roundabouts are one of the most popular intersection designs in recent years, making traffic flow smoother and safer, but especially at peak times they are subject to numerous stop-and-go operations by vehicles, which increase the dispersion of emissions with high particulate matter rates. The study focused on a specific area of the city of Rzeszow in Poland. This country is characterized by the current composition of vehicle fleets connected to combustion engine vehicles. The measurement of the concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) by means of a preliminary survey campaign in the vicinity of the intersection made it possible to assess the impact of vehicle traffic on the dispersion of pollutants in the air. The present report presents some strategies to be implemented in the examined area considering a comparison of current and project scenarios characterized both by a modification of the road geometry (through the introduction of a turbo roundabout) and the composition of the vehicular flow with the forthcoming diffusion of electric vehicles. The study presents an exemplified methodology for comparing scenarios aimed at optimizing strategic choices for the local administration and also shows the benefits of an increased electric fleet. By processing the data with specific tools and comparing the scenarios, it was found that a conversion of 25% of the motor vehicles to electric vehicles in the current fleet has reduced the concentration of PM10 by about 30% along the ring road, has led to a significant reduction in the length of particulate concentration of the motorway, and it has also led to a significant reduction in the length of the particulate concentration for the access roads to the intersection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, the Italian road transport system has been characterized by severe and consistent traffic congestion and in particular Rome is one of the Italian cities most affected by this problem. In this study, a Leven berg Marquardt (LM) artificial neural network heuristic model was used to predict the traffic flow of non-autonomous vehicles. Traffic datasets were collected using both inductive loop detectors and video cameras as acquisition systems and selecting some parameters including vehicle speed, time of day, traffic volume and number of vehicles. The model showed a training, test and regression value (R² ) of 0.99892, 0.99615 and 0.99714 respectively. The results of this research add to the growing body of literature on traffic flow modelling and help urban planners and traffic managers in terms of the traffic control and the provision of convenient travel routes for pedestrians and motorists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People make numerous trips every day for a variety of purposes. Transport mode choice directly impacts travel time, congestion, and environmental conditions. It also depends on various economic, social, environmental, and personal related factors. This paper investigates the association between identity characteristics and transport mode choices in Thessaloniki, Greece. A customized questionnaire survey was carried out with 506 individuals in 2019 to collect data on nine self-declared personal statuses (affiliation with environment, place of residence, career, companionship, etc.) and trip frequencies of all available transport options in Thessaloniki. We ran latent class analyses to uncover three identity clusters. The Active individuals prefer public transport over private car, and they are mostly young, sporty, and with low incomes. Additionally, the Family-Oriented individuals are comparatively older, and they have greater access to private cars and higher incomes, while the Typical Urban population exhibits a slightly higher use of cars and public transport than the Active one. Trips on foot and by car (as passengers) are equally preferred by all latent classes' populations. Our findings highlight the role of individuals' identities in the development of travel behavior and may assist with the design of targeted policies and marketing strategies, which will facilitate sustainable urban mobility behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic congestion is one of the most significant problems in urban transportation. It has been increasing, especially in regions close to intersections. Several methods have been developed to reduce the traffic congestion. One of the analysis methods is social network analysis (SNA). This method, which has increased use in transportation, can quickly identify the most central intersections in transportation networks. Improvements to central intersections, identified in a road network structure, speed up the traffic flow across the entire network structure. In this study, the Istanbul highway transportation network has been examined and values for a series of network centrality measures have been calculated using the SNA. The accuracy and error scales of the centrality values were compared using a machine learning algorithm. The Bonacich power centrality has been the best performance. Based on the study results the most central intersections in Istanbul have been determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An integrated monitoring, of chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological parameters, was performed for a biotreatability study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—contaminated brackish sediments. Three slurry reactors were prepared, consisting of (a) a slurry with sediment and seawater called TQ slurry, to evaluate the intrinsic bioremediation potential, (b) a slurry with the addition of a selected microbial consotrium called BIO slurry, to evaluate the bioaugmentation effect, (c) a slurry with the addition of Soya lecithin called LEC slurry, to evaluate the effect of the addition of a natural surfactant. Biodegradation results showed that both BIO and LEC slurries enhanced PAHs removal, increasing the biodegradation rate for 5- and 6-ring PAHs. Furthermore, ecotoxicological response (Microtox® assay on whole sediment, aqueous extract and organic extract) demonstrated a detoxification of the PAHs initial mixture only for BIO slurry. The findings that aerobic PAHs degradation can be stimulated via inoculation with adapted sediment bacteria suggest that a bioaugmentation process may be a useful strategy for ex-situ treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aims to identify the travelers' adoption behavior towards electric vehicles (EVs) using the theoretical background of the Norm Activation Model (NAM) theory. A questionnaire was designed and conducted in Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 402 usable samples were obtained. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling methods. The factor analysis confirmed the hypothesis of the statements designed according to the NAM theory, that is, awareness of consequences (AC), ascription of responsibility (AR), and personal norm (PN). Other factor analyses resulted in the following reliable factors: social and economic values (SEV), personal preferences (PP), willingness to buy (Buy), and willingness to use (Use) of an EV. The results of SEM revealed that the AC, AR, and SEV are significant predictors of PN, whereas the PN and PP are also positive predictors of travelers' willingness to buy and use. The young travelers (≤30 years), motorcycle users, employees, and trip distance (>10 km) have significant and positive correlations with the PN. The car ownership status of travelers has a positive correlation with the ownership and usage of EVs. Suitable behavioral intervention techniques were derived to promote the ownership and usage of EVs in the context of developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work represents the first step to set up a toxicity testing procedure and to evaluate the sensitivity of the test microorganism to several classes of environmental pollutants. First, three different techniques were employed to standardise the microbial inoculum, then two different toxicity assessment protocols have been compared: Microtox® and a dehydrogenase (DHase) activity inhibition test.The main goal was the optimisation of a microbial bioassay based on the dehydrogenase activity (DHase) inhibition in Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterial strain ATCC 13525. Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) was used as electron acceptor and its reduction produces Triphenyl formazane (TPF).The P. fluorescens DHase inhibition bioassay was investigated for being a reliable and rapid method for assessing toxicity. The optimisation of the operating conditions resulted in a repeatable bioassay. Then, P. fluorescens and Vibrio fischeri sensitivity were firstly compared by testing Zn++, one of the reference compounds for Microtox® test. In addition, other compounds (Ni++, Cd++, Cu++, phenol) were also tested with both bioassays. A high statistical significance of data was obtained with the logistic curve.The present work has demonstrated that P. fluorescens is as sensitive as Microtox® culture (V. fischeri), for some of the metal ions. With reference to organic compounds, the lower sensitivity of P. fluorescens to phenol makes its use difficult in organic polluted samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the solutions to reduce environmental emissions is related to the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) with sustainable energy. In order to be able to increase the number of electric vehicles in circulation, it is important to implement optimal planning and design of the infrastructure, with particular reference to areas equipped with charging stations. The suitable analysis of the location of current electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) is the central theme of this document. The research focused on the actual location of the charging stations of five major EVCS companies in the province by selecting Istanbul as the study area. The study was conducted through a three-step approach and specifically (i) the application of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method for creating the weights of the 6 main and 18 secondary criteria that influence the location of EVCSs; (ii) a geospatial analysis using GIS considering each criterion and developing the suitability map for the locations of EVCSs, and (iii) application of the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) to evaluate the location performance of current EVCSs. The results show that the ratio between the most suitable and unsuitable areas for the location of EVCSs in Istanbul and the study area is about 5% and 4%, respectively. The results achieved means of improving sustainable urban planning and laying the basis for an assessment of other areas where EVCSs could be placed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the development of green bio-composite mortars, obtained reusing spent coffee ground (SCG), an agri-food residue, in the light of the Circular Economy approach. This process can boost the sustainability in Construction and proposes an alternative to SCG disposal in landfill, potentially dangerous to humans and the environment. For the first time, specimens were produced and compared using different blends of conventional hydraulic binders (ordinary Portland cement and natural hydraulic lime); SCG partially substituted sand (up to 15 wt%, with a 2.5% increment) for the aggregate mix. The manufacturing process was performed at ambient conditions (20 °C, 65% RH) resulting highly sustainable, and consisted of simple operative steps reproducible in a real building site. The prepared mixes were fully characterised to assess their technological potentials in construction. Morphology analysis, performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), showed SCG addition led to a more compact structure. Considering the functional properties, results widely range on binder blend base, offering various concrete applications; it was observed that with SCG addition, despite a decrease in the bulk density (up to 26%), the mechanical performance still remained suitable for proper masonry applications, according to the relevant standards (class of resistance M2.5-M10). A light water imbibition increase was registered (about 5%) while a significant decrease of the capillarity index was seen. Moreover, a robust thermal conductivity reduction was observed (up to 72%), making the mortars highly suitable for energy-saving uses in building. Finally, a reduction in the manufacturing cost (up to 8%) was calculated, granting significant financial saving in light of the industrial symbiosis. These encouraging results showed that reusing SCG not only provides numerous benefits to the overall building performance and management but it is also a valid alternative to usual SCG disposal. The high amount of reused bio-waste significantly widens the knowledge of greener and more efficient building sector, making the prepared mortars promising candidates for the Minimum Environmental Criteria certification, in light of the recent EU regulations, and in line with the principles of the Circular Economy. [Display omitted] • Spent coffee ground can effectively substitute silica sand in mortars manufacture. • Spent coffee ground reuse makes the preparation much cleaner and more sustainable. • Spent coffee ground based-mortars show superior energy saving behaviour. • The cost associated with mortars manufacture is lower to traditional ones. • Novel produced mortars are suitable for innovative architectural applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road transport contributes to almost a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions in the EU. To analyze the exhaust emissions generated by vehicle flows, it is necessary to use specialized emission models, because it is infeasible to equip all vehicles on the road in the tested road sections with the Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS). However, the currently used emission models may be inadequate to the investigated vehicle structure or may not be accurate due to the used macroscale. This state of affairs is especially related to full hybrid vehicles, since there are none of the microscale emission models that give estimated emissions values exclusively for this kind of drive system. Several automakers over the past decade have invested in hybrid vehicles with great opportunities to reduce costs through better design, learning, and economies of scale. In this work, the authors propose a methodology for creating a CO2 emission model, which takes relatively little computational time, and the models created give viable results for full hybrid vehicles. The creation of an emission model is based on the review of the accuracy results of methods, such as linear, robust regression, fine, medium, coarse tree, linear, cubic support vector machine (SVM), bagged trees, Gaussian process regression (GPR), and neural network (NNET). Particularly in the work, the best fit for the road input data for the CO2 emission model creation was the GPR method. PEMS data was used, as well as model training data and model validation. The model resulting from this methodology can be used for the analysis of emissions from simulation tests, or they can be used for input parameters for speed, acceleration, and road gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the solutions that make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, particularly in urban traffic conditions, are hybrid vehicles. The share of driving performed in electric mode for hybrid vehicles is highly dependent on motion resistance. There are different methods for determining the motion resistance function during chassis dynamometer testing, leading to different test results. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the effect of the chassis dynamometer load function on the energy demand and CO2 emissions of a full-hybrid passenger car. Emissions tests according to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) were carried out on a chassis dynamometer for three different methods of determining the car's resistance to motion. The study showed that adopting the motion resistance function according to different methods, results in differences in CO2 emissions up to about 35% for the entire cycle. Therefore, the authors suggest that in the case of tests carried out with chassis dynamometers, it is necessary to also provide information on the chassis dynamometer loading function adopted for the tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most important protective measure in the pandemic process is a vaccine. The logistics and administration of the vaccine are as important as its production. The increasing diffusion of electronic devices containing geo-referenced information generates a large production of spatial data that are essential for risk management and impact mitigation, especially in the case of disasters and pandemics. Given that vaccines will be administered to the majority of people, it is inevitable to establish vaccination centres outside hospitals. Site selection of vaccination centres is a major challenge for the health sector in metropolitan cities due to the dense population and high number of daily cases. A poor site selection process can cause many problems for the health sector, workforce, health workers, and patients. To overcome this, a three-step solution approach is proposed: (i) determining eight criteria using from the experience of the advisory committee, (ii) calculating criterion weights using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and performing spatial analysis of criteria using Geographic Information System (GIS), (iii) assigning potential vaccination centres by obtaining a suitability map and determining service areas. A case study is performed for Bağcılar, Istanbul district, using the proposed methodology. The results show that the suitable areas are grouped in three different areas of the district. The proposed methodology provides an opportunity to execute a scientific and strategic vaccination programme and to create a map of suitable vaccination centres for the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in other countries of the world, the Turkish government is implementing many preventive partial and total lockdown practices against the virus's infectious effect. When the first virus case has been detected, the public authorities have taken some restriction to reduce people and traffic mobility, which has also turned into some positive affect in air quality. To this end, the paper aims to examine how this pandemic affects traffic mobility and air quality in Istanbul. The pandemic does not only have a human health impact. This study also investigates the social and environmental effects. In our analysis, we observe, visualize, compare and discuss the impact of the post- and pre-lockdown on Istanbul's traffic mobility and air quality. To do so, a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach is proposed. Various spatial analyses are performed in GIS with the statistical data used; thus, the environmental effects of the pandemic can be better observed. We test the hypothesis that this has reduced traffic mobility and improved air quality using traffic density cluster set and air monitoring stations (five air pollutant parameters) data for five months. The results shows that there are positive changes in terms of both traffic mobility and air quality, especially in April–May. PM10, SO2, CO, NO2 and NOx parameter values improved by 21.21%, 16.55%, 18.82%, 28.62% and 39.99%, respectively. In addition, there was a 7% increase in the average traffic speed. In order for the changes to be permanent, it is recommended to integrate e-mobility and sharing systems into the current transportation network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]