Methodology for Identifying Optimal Pedestrian Paths in an Urban Environment: A Case Study of a School Environment in A Coruña, Spain

Abstract

[Abstract:] Improving urban mobility, especially pedestrian mobility, is a current challenge in virtually every city worldwide. To calculate the least-cost paths and safer, more efficient routes, it is necessary to understand the geometry of streets and their various elements accurately. In this study, we propose a semi-automatic methodology to assess the capacity of urban spaces to enable adequate pedestrian mobility. We employ various data sources, but primarily point clouds obtained through a mobile laser scanner (MLS), which provide a wealth of highly detailed information about the geometry of street elements. Our method allows us to characterize preferred pedestrian-traffic zones by segmenting crosswalks, delineating sidewalks, and identifying obstacles and impediments to walking in urban routes. Subsequently, we generate different displacement cost surfaces and identify the least-cost origin–destination paths. All these factors enable a detailed pedestrian mobility analysis, yielding results on a raster with a ground sampling distance (GSD) of 10 cm/pix. The method is validated through its application in a case study analyzing pedestrian mobility around an educational center in a purely urban area of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). The segmentation model successfully identified all pedestrian crossings in the study area without false positives. Additionally, obstacle segmentation effectively identified urban elements and parked vehicles, providing crucial information to generate precise friction surfaces reflecting real environmental conditions. Furthermore, the generation of cumulative displacement cost surfaces allowed for identifying optimal routes for pedestrian movement, considering the presence of obstacles and the availability of traversable spaces. These surfaces provided a detailed representation of pedestrian mobility, highlighting significant variations in travel times, especially in areas with high obstacle density, where differences of up to 15% were observed. These results underscore the importance of considering obstacles’ existence and location when planning pedestrian routes, which can significantly influence travel times and route selection. We consider the capability to generate accurate cumulative cost surfaces to be a significant advantage, as it enables urban planners and local authorities to make informed decisions regarding the improvement of pedestrian infrastructure.