Analyzing the urban mobility. The case study of Cluj-Napoca Rozalia M. Boitor1, Mihai Iliescu2, Dago Antov3, Harri Rõuk4 1 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Baritiu Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, e-mail: melania.boitor@cfdp.utcluj.ro 2 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Baritiu Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, e-mail: Mihai.Iliescu@infra.utcluj.ro 3 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Street, Tallinn, Estonia, e-mail: dago.antov@ttu.ee 4 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Street, Tallinn, Estonia, e-mail: harri.rouk@ttu.ee Summary: Analyzing the urban mobility is a laborious process, on the account of the subject’s complexity on one hand, and on the account of the large number of tasks involved, on the other. This could be a plausible explanation for the situation of the Romanian urban centres, which do not have recent mobility studies. In the present context, when an increased need to improve the urban mobility arose, the authorities face a multitude of deficiencies in resolving the problem. In this paper, the very beginning of the mobility assessment process, namely the data collection task, is presented under a new form of an integrated methodology. Thus, we conclude that the lack of knowledge we face at this moment from the urban mobility perspective, could be overcame in the future for the more liveable and sustainable urban centres in Romania. Keywords: urban mobility, mobility assessment methodology, travel survey, travel-related zones. Introduction The cities host a multitude of human activities. These activities are spatially separated but often clustered in land use zones. In a general sense, urban land use means the spatial distribution or geographical pattern of city functions – residential areas, industry, commercial areas, retail business, and the spaces set aside for governmental, institutional and leisure functions. (Blunden and Black, 1984) In order to take part in their activities, people need to overcome the distances between different locations and thus arise the need for movement or the mobility demand. Therefore, the mobility is the key factor for individuals and households to overcome their spatial restrictions and enhance their activity opportunities. (Williams, 2005) Transportation is defined as a derived demand, with the role to fulfill the mobility needs. There is an overall acceptance that the land-use transport system is the key to improve the mobility in the urban area. Furthermore the land-use transport system analysis did provide over time a useful tool for the urban planners. Using the principles of the integrated planning process, the travel-related zones method has been recently developed by Ristimäki et al. (2011). The outcome of this method provides a general frame of the urban mobility by dividing the city in smaller areas, characterized by the accessibility to the main mode of transport: pedestrian, public transport and car. The method considers the connections between urban form, the land use and the public transport services availability and divides the urban area into travel-related zones - pedestrian, public transport and car-oriented zones. Aspects as the population density, public transport supply and travel demand are studied. The data is assigned on a statistical grid of 250x250 m cells which provides the opportunity for detailed planning. The zoning provides also the means for developing the systemic analysis of the effects that transportation has on the society, environment and urban structure. For instance, in the case of Helsinki metropolitan area, the share of different modes and energy consumption were determined. The car-mileage per person and the emissions generated by the passenger traffic were also assessed by Ristimäki & Kalenoja (2011). The method stands as a sustainable-oriented planning tool by providing an integrated approach of the land-use and transport system, which is suitable for a more sustainable policy practice. Under these circumstances, redressing the urban sustainability from the local level becomes possible (EC, 2007). Considering the characteristics of the urban form and the land use, the size of the population and the density in smaller areas, the available modes of transportation and the environmental issues, as well as the local policy and urban planning orientation, the assessment of the urban mobility becomes a complex process. And thus it implies a laborious analysis. Although a very difficult task, it is of great importance to assess the urban mobility, especially in the current conditions when the administrative borders of the settlements have gradually lost their physical significance and when the urban sprawl and suburbanization have become big scale phenomena. In most of Romanian urban areas there are no previous data regarding the mobility issues or the information is unavailable, outdated or too general. The deficiencies encountered at the municipal level all over the country with the respect to urban mobility could be overcame by an enriched planning process that follows the new systemic perspectives (Boitor et al., 2013c), which may be suitable for Cluj-Napoca as well. Cluj-Napoca is the second major city in Romania and the largest urban centre in the North-West region. Cluj-Napoca is the capital of the Cluj county and the urban centre of the Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area. The administrative area of the city is 179.5 square kilometres, from which the incorporated area or the build-up area is about 99 km2 (City Hall of Cluj-Napoca n.d). The urban form of the city is single-cored and radial-shaped, spreading out from the city centre onto the surrounding hills as illustrated in Figure 1. There used to be 15 districts commonly considered in Cluj-Napoca, namely Andrei Mureşanu, Bulgaria, Bună Ziua, City Center, Dâmbul Rotund, Gheorgheni, Grădinile Mănăştur, Grigorescu, Gruia, Iris, Între Lacuri, Mănăştur, Mărăşti, Someşeni, and Zorilor, but the rapid development has resulted into the six new built areas developed in isolation from the city centre: Baciu, Sopor, Borhanci, Becaş, Făget, Zorilor Sud. The districts of Cluj-Napoca aren’t administratively independent so there is no detailed information available regarding their characteristics. Figure 1: Cluj-Napoca urban area (Source: EEA, n.d.). Data and Method The urban mobility analysis is based on a rigorous planning of the data collection task. During the process of the mobility assessment (Figure 2), a complex overview of the present situation has to be provided at first. Figure 2: Methodology for the mobility assessment. Some may argue on the availability of the data in the case of ex-communists countries which are now part of the European Union, as it is Romania. At this point, with the help of the European social statistics (Eurostat, n.d.), the situation has been ameliorated and the trend continues. The administrative sources may deliver complete databases from different official statistics regarding the urban form, land use, population, number of vehicles and their characteristics, etc. But this static data has to be interpreted and analyzed in order to provide the knowledge for its users. Researchers create the dynamic data by establishing the connections between the different datasets. For instance, how people travel in the urban area - how the individuals reach their activities’ location, by which means of transport, what are the available modes in different zones, how the individuals in the household share the cars etc. - represent real information about the mobility and its characteristics. Cluj-Napoca is a medium-sized city. In 2011 there were 324,576 inhabitants (INS, 2011 census) which taken to the administrative area of 179.5 square kilometres results in a population density of 1808 inhabitants per square kilometre. The population of Cluj-Napoca represents 47% of the total population of the Cluj county and 70.81% of its urban population. In a previous study (Boitor et al., 2013b) it was observed that the housing index has been constantly declining during the last two decades. Considering that the build-up area is larger whilst the population density has dropped, we can conclude that the city is less compact and thus, the urban fabric has been developed towards a less compact form. The land use is illustrated in the Urban Atlas (EEA, 2010) and in the local government databases (City Hall of Cluj-Napoca, n.d., a). Transportation is the second major consumer of land in the built area of the city (16%) after the residential areas (44%). Altogether economics, services and institutions hold a share of 22%. (Boitor et al., 2013a) At the moment, the accessibility and mobility plan is presented by the local government only for the metropolitan area, in which a summary of the infrastructure and transport facilities is highlighted (City Hall of Cluj-Napoca, n.d., b). At the municipal level the infrastructure for intra-urban passenger transport includes the street network, which also accommodates 2 kilometres of tram tracks, and to some extent the railway. The street network is accounting 662 km length of which 443 km equipped with paved road structure and public services networks. This means that there are on average 2 kilometres of roads for every 1000 inhabitants. Roughly 80% of the entire street network has at least one-way sidewalks, which is considered to offer proper conditions for the pedestrians. The dedicated pedestrian infrastructure can be found in small areas in the city centre, as for the dedicated cycling network this was implemented in the city centre and on the east-west axis along the river. The railway, although properly positioned in order to serve partially the intra-urban passenger transport, it is not used frequently. Considering the total number of registered cars in the city and the final results of the 2011 census the motorization index resulted into a value of 315 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. This is less than a previously presented value of 322 vehicles per 1000 inhabitants, calculated by Boitor et al. (2013a) according to the preliminary results of the 2011 census of 314500 inhabitants. Beside cars and other private motorized vehicles, in Cluj-Napoca there are available different modes of public transport, such as buses, trolleybuses, trams, and taxies. Among the non-motorized modes the major share is accounted for walking and bicycle. In the previous traffic study conducted in the city (Search, 2005) an average value for the mobility index of 2.32 trips per person was determined. Furthermore, the destination of the first trip was found to be the city centre for a major share of 31.3%. Second greater destination zone was Mărăști district, accounting a share of 12.2%, followed by Iris (7.7%), Gruia and Mănăștur (7%), Someșeni (6.2%) etc. The peak hour was determined between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. with the peak quarter 7:30-7:45 a.m. in the residential districts and 7:45-8:00 in the city centre. In several districts such as Mănăștur, Zorilor and Gheorgheni, the traffic during the peak quarter 7:30-7:45 a.m. accounted an additional 30 percentage against the other quarters of the peak hour (Roib, 2009). With the respect to modal share, some general data at the county were found and they are presented below (CJC, 2011): Figure 3: The modal share in Cluj County (CJC, 2011). The data presented so far represent the outcome of the investigation carried out over the existing and available official sources. Although the data presented above was gathered in the last updated form there are many general variables which define the urban mobility that are still missing. Other mobility patterns have to be determined, such as population in different areas and travel behaviour, vehicles and passenger car mileage, purpose of trips, time and duration of trips etc. Even though the administrative sources would be easier to access, would present more complex and constantly updated information, there is still need for more data in detailed and specific analysis such as in the case of the urban mobility. The travel surveys are being used in the data collection process for the last 40 years and proved to be highly meaningful in the context of transportation systems as a basis for the process of the design, management or strategic directions and policies. Thus surveys remain irreplaceable in the data collection process about households’ and/or individuals’ behaviours. (FHA, 2009) The Population Mobility Characteristics in Cluj-Napoca survey, was recently conducted this year by means of internet survey. The classical procedures of design and implementation were followed. Furthermore, the data collection management was conducted, also including the processing and geo-coding of the data. The survey was designed mainly to determine the travel behaviour for the mobility study. The 785 respondents of different ages volunteered to fill little personal information and to report their trips made during a 24-hour period in the middle of the week. From the total number of daily trips reported by the respondents, a value of 3.56 trips per day resulted. This classifies the travel behaviour among the average ones, but with a higher value compared to the results from 2005. The 2794 trips declared were made in order to complete basic activities such as work 34%, school 20%, shopping or services 24% and others 22%. The general modal share is illustrated in Figure 4. Compared to the county level, the major public transport availability in the urban area and the shorter distances to be travelled shape the modal split towards less car usage. In general, men showed the tendency to avoid ecological modes of transport and used the car even for the short trips. The modal share in comparison to other Romanian cities is illustrated in Figure 5 (EPOMM, 2011). With 30% of women who declared that they choose the non-motorised modes and 37% the public transport, only 33% of women used the car and mainly as passengers. Figure 4: The modal split in Cluj-Napoca (Boitor et al., 2013a). Figure 5: The modal split of Romanian cities (Boitor et al., 2013b). Figure 6: The car usage characteristics. Moreover, the peak periods were determine: the morning peak period, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. and the evening peak period, longer and more dispersed, from 15:00 to 19:00 p.m. As illustrated in Figure 7 a major share of 86% of the respondents declared to travel in average up to 30 minutes per trip. Anyway, it was concluded that the average duration was of 21 minutes per trip, which is comparable with the Estonian data, for instance, where roughly 50% of the respondents declared that they would be satisfied to spend up to 30 minutes per work-related trip and 70% up to 45 minutes (TU, 2011). Figure 7: Trip duration. The mobility characteristics of the population were identified by means of travel survey. But the actual form of the city, the land use and the infrastructure could be included in the analysis, as well, in order to create a mobility frame or a general picture of its characteristics across the different areas of the city. Therefore the zoning process was developed for the city of Cluj-Napoca (Boitor et al., 2013a). The following data were analysed: the population density in small clusters, the urban form, the land-use, especially the location of housing in connection with the services and institutions, the public transport stops’ locations and headways, the travel demand per modes. Then they were assigned on a statistical grid of 250x250 meter cells. The graphic outcome of the zoning is illustrated in Figure 8. The pedestrian zone (brown) corresponds to roughly the historic area. The main corridors of the public transport, including both intensive (blue) and good (green) public transport cells spread on the main axis of the urban form. The car-oriented zones (yellow) are surrounding the public transport and pedestrian cells. They are also highlighting the actual stage of the more dispersed urban form development. The cell’s colour indicates the mode of transport that presents the highest accessibility for the individuals living in the given area, on a scale that considers the public transport the most desirable option since it could be used even for longer distances, followed by walking and finally, the private car. The visualization of the travel-related zones’ outcome provides by far the simplest image of the complex issue of the urban mobility. Figure 8: The travel-related zones in Cluj-Napoca. (Boitor et al., 2013a) The zoning criteria and the characteristics of the travel-related zones are presented in Table 2. Table 2. The zoning criteria applied for Cluj-Napoca (Boitor et al., 2013c). Travel zone Characteristics Area Population Mode accessibility Pedestrian zone clusters within 2 km of the city centre, with high-quality public transport services, accessibility to all modes 1% 2% walking and cycling public transport car Public transport zones 1) intensive 2) good clusters defined based on the peak period headway services and walking distance to the stops 1) 12% 45.3% walking and cycling public transport car 2) 8% 12.3% Car-oriented zones clusters characterized by the intense share of the personal automobile mode 79% 40.4% car Results and Discussion Along with the ongoing urban expansion an increasing need of mobility arise. The urban transport activity is thus continuously intensified and the energy consumption increases. Several important adverse effects are accounted on the urban structures and society, such as vicious and often irreversible cycles of sprawl, automobile mobility, and reduced accessibility (OECD 1996, Mäe et al. 2012, Mäe et al. 2013). More environmental and non-environmental impacts of the transportation are encountered, as well: emissions, noise, accidents, congestion etc. Thus the urban transport becomes cause of concern regarding the amount of energy consumptions and the effects on the whole urban system. In order to stop the expansion of the negative effects that transportation has on the urban area, the planners have to come up with a different approach and to orient the urban development process towards a more sustainable one. Under the circumstances the systemic planning which provides a more comprehensive analysis, is needed. This includes the urban mobility as well, starting from the first steps, which are the data collection and the mobility model definition. Moreover, the choices to improve the mobility, have to be presented to the authorities along with the collection of the effects that may occur in the urban system along with the solutions provided in the planning process. For instance, when the congestion appeared in the urban areas it was observed that the road infrastructure was enhanced in order to facilitate the transportation. The congestion seemed treated for a short period but in the end more car traffic arose. The traditional planning, with its car-oriented approach, did often choose to make changes in the settlement structure, which resulted, over time, in encouraging more motorized traffic, especially at the city border, and in creating the artificial demand for long distance trips. This provoked (1) enhanced automobile mobility and reduced accessibility; (2) more energy consumption and pollution, and thus increased the environmental and social negative impacts; (3) much less compact and dense cities; and (4) serious damage for the local scale - both the communities and the local economy were destroyed. As a conclusion building more and better infrastructure could have more adverse effects on the urban area than to solve the transport problems. The mobility remains constant in the transport system since it is purpose-related, either considering the intra-urban and the inter-urban trips, or when considering all modes of transport (Knoflacher, 2007). Therefore, shifting the modal choice from private car to more benign modes or even ecological ones is one possibility to improve the urban mobility while reducing the negative effects of transportation on the community, urban structure, and environment. Furthermore, if roughly equal trip duration could be provided for both the users of private cars and public transport, especially for the work-related trips, then it is expected that a share of the car users would shift to the public transport services. On the other hand, the development of the residential areas along the public transport corridors would also be supported, hence the more compact cities and less urban sprawl. As a final result, at least the short distance trips for shopping, services, leisure and others, would be taken by the non-motorised modes. Conclusions It is essential to study smaller areas in order to build up the accurate picture of the mobility as identified in the travel-related zones methodology. In this purpose a new methodology of the mobility assessment has been developed for the case study analyzed in this paper. The data collection and analysis processes have been conducted according to the research method of the travel-related zones and by means of internet travel survey, to some extent. Several deficiencies were identified in the data collection task but by juxtaposing the outcome of both travel-related zones and travel survey, the missing elements were identified and the general characteristics of the urban mobility assessed. On the other hand, a reliable, well documented and fair planning process of the urban area is considered the key to a more sustainable orientation of the urban development. This also refers to an improved mobility. A rigorous analysis of the urban mobility and the possibilities to improve it has to be carried out in order to gain feasible solutions. Although a very complex process, the deficiencies in the mobility assessment may be overcame by a serious planning of the data collection as presented in this paper. Given the importance of the mobility in the urban area, the local government of Cluj-Napoca should show more concern for the mobility improvement starting from the very beginning with the assessment of its characteristics. References Blunden W.R., & Black, J. A. (1984). The land-use/transport system Second Edition. Boitor R.M., Antov D., Antso I., Iliescu M., "Analyzing the transportation accessibility for the city of Cluj-Napoca, a sustainable approach". In Ecology & Safety, 22nd International Symposium. ISSN: 1313–2563 7–11, 2013, Bulgaria. Boitor R.M., Antov D., Antso I., Iliescu M., "Analyzing the transportation accessibility for the city of Cluj-Napoca, a sustainable approach". In Ecology & Safety, 22nd International Symposium. ISSN: 1313–2563 7–11, 2013, Bulgaria. Boitor R.M., Kuszalik J., Antov D., Iliescu M., "Determining the population data in the transport planning process" In Materials and technologies in the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges and Traffic Safety Symposium, Cluj-Napoca, 2013. ISSN 2069-749X. (in Romanian) Boitor R.M., Antov D., Iliescu M., Antso I., & Mäe R., “Sustainable urban transport planning.” In Romanian Journal of transport infrastructure. Volume 2, 2013, Issue 1. Pp 39-50. Bucharest. ISSN 2286-2218, <http://rjti.rs.utcb.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/RJTI_v02_n01_a04.pdf> City Hall of Cluj-Napoca n.d., The Cluj-Napoca Master Plan, the version for approval February 2013. Cluj-Napoca, Romania. (in Romanian) viewed 12 April 2012, <http://www.primariaclujnapoca.ro/urbanism/regulament-PUG.html> City Hall of Cluj-Napoca, n.d., Accessibility and Mobility – The metropolitan area, (in Romanian) viewed 25 September 2013, < http://www.primariaclujnapoca.ro/zona-metropolitana.html?show=accesibilitate> County Council of Cluj (Consiliul Judetean Cluj, CJC) 2011, Marketing Study, Survey. viewed 6 February 2012, <http://www.strategiacluj.ro/Ancheta_in_randul_populatiei.pdf> County Department of Statistics n.d., Preliminary data of the 2011 Census of Population and Housing, viewed 15 November 2012, <http://www.cluj.insse.ro/cmscluj/rw/pages/index.ro.do> European Commission (EC), Green Paper: Towards a new culture for urban mobility Communication from the Commission to the Council and Parliament [COM(2007)55]. European commission, Eurostat, n.d., viewed 10 July 2013, <http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu> European Environment Agency (EEA) n.d., AirBase reporting stations (beta version), viewed 11 June 2013, <http://discomap.eea.europa.eu/map/EEABasicviewer/?appid=ef8841716da64dd5bc52f8d4cf046392> European Environment Agency (EEA) 2010. The GMES Urban Atlas. Copenhagen, viewed 15 November 2012 <Www.Eea.Europa.Eu/Data-and-Maps/Data/Urban-Atlas> European Platform on Mobility Management. The EPOMM Modal Split Tool, 2011, viewed 18 April 2013<http://epomm.eu/tems/index.phtml> Knoflacher, Hermann. "Success and failures in urban transport planning in Europe—understanding the transport system." Sadhana 32.4 (2007): 293-307. Mäe R., Antov D. and Antso I., "Urban sprawl: mobility potentials in suburban areas of Tallinn."The sustainable city VII: Urban regeneration and sustainability. Wit Pr/Computational Mechanics, 2012.Online ISSN: 1743-3541, Paper DOI: 10.2495/SC120812 Mäe R., Antov D. and Antso I., "Jobs created out of Tallinn have not reduced commuting." The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering. Vilnius: Technika, 2013, Vol 8, no 1, p. 58-65. Institutul National de Statistica (INS) National Institute of Statistics, The 2011 Census of Population and Housing, viewed 15 June 2013, <http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2/ > Ristimäki M., Kalenoja H. (2011) Travel-related Zones of Urban Form in Urban and SubUrban areas. Track 11 (Transportation, Infrastructure & Planning) at the 3rd World Planning Schools Congress, Perth (WA). Ristimäki M., Kalenoja H., & Tiitu M. (2011). Travel-related zones of urban form – zone criteria, urban form statistical profiles, and travel habits (in Finnish). Publications of the Ministry of Transport and Communications 15/2011. Helsinki. Roib A.V., Contributii la fluidizarea circulatiei rutiere din municipiul Cluj-Napoca, prin utilizarea unui sistem de gestiune modern de trafic, doctoral thesis, Cluj-Napoca, 2009. (in Romanian) Search Corporation Bucuresti, Studii de circulatie pentru municipiul Cluj-Napoca, 2005, Primaria Cluj-Napoca. (cited in Roib, 2009) Tartu Ulikooli sotsiaalteaduslike rakendusuuringute keskus RAKE (TU), Tööjõu Siseriikliku Mobiilsuse Uuring (National study of labor mobility), 2011. (in Estonian) The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 1996, Towards sustainable transportation: The Vancouver Conference Proceedings. Vancouver, Canada. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHA), 2009 National Household Travel Survey - User’s Guide, Version 2, Last Updated October 2011, <http://nhts.ornl.gov/2009/pub/UsersGuideV2.pdf> Williams, K. (2005). Spatial planning, urban form and sustainable transport. C60 International Conference ”Tradition and Innovation - 60 Years of Constructions in Transilvania”