Αναζητώντας την ισότητα στις μετακινήσεις με έμφαση στην πεζή μετακίνηση. Η περίπτωση του Δήμου Αιγάλεω

Cities in Greece suffer from a serious lack of pedestrian accessibility.At the same time, proposed planning and design solutions, do not intrinsically consider the social characteristics of urban and suburban neighborhoods.In this framework, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the pedestrian accessibility level in a suburban area in Athens Metropolitan Area and to explore future scenarios for road space allocation schemes.To assess the existing conditions, the study followed a geospatial analysis approach that incorporated various criteria such as sidewalk width, quality of sidewalk, the existence of crosswalks, tactile paving, and the number of curb ramps.Afterwards, five further scenarios were developed through considering socioeconomic characteristics and the preliminary assessment of the current conditions.The new scenarios are the following: a) the active mode corridors in the approved Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of the municipality, b) conventional interventions (ramps and crosswalks), c) land useoriented based interventions (improvements around transit stations and basic amenities), d) social-oriented interventions in areas with high share of disadvantaged groups (e.g., no car households, unemployed residents, elderly, etc.) and e) enhanced social-equity strategy focusing on areas with low accessibility and high share of disadvantaged groups.The analysis of the scenarios was conducted at a local level utilising groups of blocks and the socio-economic data obtained from Hellenic Statistical Authority.Equity implications were examined through the lens of both the horizontal and the vertical approach.For the former, the well-known Gini index was employed, while for the latter, the Bivariate Moran's I index provided was incorporated.Applied to the municipality of Egaleo, a suburban area in the western part of the Athens Metropolitan Area, the Gini index demonstrated that the SUMP, which proposes a wide network of green routes connecting the main points of interest delivers the most equitable conditions.On the other hand, the Bivariate Moran's I analysis, which evaluated the scenarios through identifying clusters with low accessibility and high share of disadvantaged groups, indicated that the enhanced social equity strategy, is the most effective in promoting equity at the local level.These intriguing outcomes strongly note that if communities strive for social equity in pedestrian accessibility, they should emphasize socio-economic data in planning.Otherwise, planning schemes might not address social exclusion or might even exacerbate current inequities.Tellingly, the method and the findings of this study could be useful for stakeholders, policymakers, and planners that envision more equitable and inclusive urban or suburban spaces.