Panagiotis Georgakis

Micro-mobility refers to lightweight personal vehicles with a maximum speed of 45 km/h and a maximum weight of 350 kg. Effectively, this mode of transportation is widely used in modern cities and its safety represents one of the most critical concerns which may affect the adoption and sustainability of this travel mode. In this paper, we present a novel approach for enhancing the safety of micro-mobility including Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) such as cyclists and employees of courier companies. It introduces two data-driven services, Micro-mobility Hazards Mapper (MHM) and Speed Advisory Module (SAM), for detecting hazards and estimating safe speed limit respectively. Additionally, it presents a sensory kit which has been developed to collect micro-level data about micro-mobility. This data is used to train many machine learning (ML) models which will be responsible for detecting various types and severities of hazards, and predicting safe speed limits for road sections that involve hazards. Due to the lack of real sensory kit data, some publicly available open data has been used to test the functionalities of the MHM and SAM. These safety services can be implemented and integrated with a dedicated mobile application to visualize both hazards map and safe speed map.

Current routing applications allow for the selection of routes based on factors like cost, travel time, or distance but do not consider safety concerns with regard to different types of travel modes and travel times. This poses an issue for the safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs). To create safe route options, it is crucial to assess accident probabilities at various sections and intersections. Measuring only the accident frequency while ignoring the time-dependent traffic count at locations is insufficient, as it does not allow to assess a persons’ accident risk. Additionally, accident frequencies underly statistical fluctuations which requires the implementation of accident models. Another important consideration for VRUs is their sensitivity to detours. Safe route options might deviate from the shortest path, so a spatial weighting method is needed to balance safety benefits against longer or complex routes. In the EU-funded project “SOTERIA” statistical models as well as machine learning techniques are being used to assess road design variants, highlight accident-prone areas, and identify factors leading to accidents. These models will guide the creation of safe routes to provide users with information on possible safety benefits.

Logistics is at the core of modern society and essential to transport food and goods in the heart of cities, where most Europeans live. However, recent statistics show that only half of truckloads moved at maximised capacity in 2021 [1], and the rapid increase in the last mile deliveries - 78% by 2030 [2] - affects the economics of logistics and its externalities on the urban tissue, including high traffic, noise and air pollution. It is worth noting that last mile logistics represent 30% of the total CO2 emissions of logistics transportation. Amongst the EU Green Deal objectives, several aim to tackle this: 55% reduction of emissions from cars and 50% from vans by 2030 [3]. On a local level, there is also an increasing push for zero-emission zones in inner cities, as 26 of the world’s largest cities signed up to the Green and Healthy streets pledge [4]. To foster and accelerate this transition towards economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable city logistics, systemic changes in last mile delivery ecosystems are needed. The analysis of previous collaborative urban logistics experiences shows that future urban logistics consolidation frameworks must be built on six fundamental pillars to guarantee the success and sustainability of their generalisation: collaboration, sustainable business models and added-value services, urban integration and space management optimisation, regulation, digital infrastructure, and innovation transferability enablers.

Safe, accessible and sustainable transportation systems should be an accepted expectation for everyone. Unfortunately, vulnerable road users (VRUs), which include cyclists, e-scooters, motorcyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities, are often involved and severely injured or killed in road traffic accidents. A wide range of factors (including infrastructural, environmental and technical) influence the safety of VRUs. To date, limited studies have reviewed the psycho-behavioural aspects or the methodologies adopted that can assist in understanding the safety issues affecting VRUs. The aim of this work was to conduct a systematic review to reveal psycho-behavioural aspects that can influence the safety of VRUs and then use this information to identify cutting-edge methodologies to assess crucial factors influencing critical behavioural determinants that can support future road safety studies. Following a ‘preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses’ process, many articles were screened, selected (N = 91) and reviewed. These articles highlight key psycho-behavioural determinants, behavioural outcomes and research methodologies as themes that need consideration. Amalgamating this evidence can be used to identify gaps in research and practice and, in doing so, also emphasise the necessity for concerted actions that prioritise VRUs in urban planning and policy endeavours.

The UK Government’s Building Information Modelling (BIM) mandate has encouraged the utilisation of BIM within the Transportation Sector (TS), with research demonstrating positive effects of BIM. However, BIM processes are incipient to TS project implementation across the UK. This paper is carried out to understand the current BIM usage within the UK’s TS and how BIM practises and workflows contribute towards the government’s NZC approach. We used research questions derived from the population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO) system and inclusion and exclusion criteria to screen irrelevant information from a Systematic Literature review with 18 pieces of literature. We identified six key drivers: carbon reduction and BIM, BIM in transportation design, BIM uptake and usage in transportation, BIM in transportation construction and Digital Twins and BIM. It was identified that, with the integration of the Carbon Calculator Tool into Civil 3D, structural and material data can be obtained and areas of Embodied Carbon hotspots can be identified to contribute to reduce overall carbon across a project, which requires further collaboration between software providers and industry leaders for further streamlining the process. A limitation of this research is the requirement for wider study of differing disciplines within the TS, more qualitative research and a lack of information regarding other Carbon Calculator Tools and how compatible they are with Civil 3D.

Purpose: In alignment with the European Union’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate road fatalities by 2050, leveraging technological advancements becomes crucial for addressing the challenges of vulnerable road users (VRUs), and for mitigating the impact of human error. Despite increasing scholarly interest in applications of extended reality (XR), a research gap persists, particularly in the role of XR in transportation safety. Therefore, the aim of the study was to fill this gap through a systematic literature review to evaluate comprehensively the potential scope and practical applicability of XR technologies in enhancing the safety of VRUs. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review was undertaken, following PRISMA guidelines meticulously, in which 80 relevant articles from databases, such as Scopus and Science Direct, were identified and analysed. Findings: The results of the analysis revealed the potential of XR beyond pedestrians and cyclists, and highlighted a lack of research about the impact of XR with regard to the personal traits or abilities of VRUs. The results of a thorough analysis confirmed the potential of XR as a promising solution for an approach to collaborative co-creation in addressing the safety challenges of VRUs. In addition, the integration of eye-tracking with virtual reality emerged as a promising innovation for enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users. Research limitations/implications: Theoretical implications include enhancing the understanding of applications of XR in VRUs’ safety and providing insights into future research possibilities and methodological approaches. Valuable insights into search strategies and inclusion-exclusion criteria can guide future research methodologies. Practical implications: Practically, the findings from the study offer insights to assist urban planners and transportation authorities in incorporating XR technologies effectively for VRUs safety. Identifying areas for further development of XR technology could inspire innovation and investment in solutions designed to meet the safety needs of VRUs, such as enhanced visualisation tools and immersive training simulations. Originality/value: The findings of previous research underscore the vast potential of XR technologies within the built environment, yet their utilisation remains limited in the urban transport sector. The intricacies of urban traffic scenarios pose significant challenges for VRUs, making participation in mobility studies hazardous. Hence, it is crucial to explore the scope of emerging technologies in addressing VRUs issues as a pre-requisite for establishing comprehensive safety measures.

Earthship buildings are marketed as being an epitome of sustainable alternative housing. Built by reusing or repurposing mostly reclaimed urban waste products, their design includes the utilisation of low-embodied-energy materials, passive solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic power systems, rainwater harvesting and solar hot water heating, along with black- and greywater-treatment systems. This study explores stakeholder opinions of whether Earthship buildings can contribute towards the future of alternative housing in the UK. Opinions were sought through a questionnaire completed by UK members of online social media groups whose shared focus is related to sustainability (n = 50). The results reveal that the public believe that the main benefits are their minimal environmental impact and also their reliance on renewable energy resources, while the main barriers are identifying suitable building plots and obtaining the necessary planning permissions. Notwithstanding that the participants included in this study already have sustainability interests, it is surmised that the public deem that the general principles of Earthships are an acceptable choice of alternative home/living. However, while the uptake of Earthship homes proves increasingly popular in some parts of the world, the utmost concern within the UK setting is the reality of finding somewhere suitable to build an Earthship and acquiring necessary authorisations to construct the building.

Purpose: The anticipated strong growth of the infrastructure industry over the coming decades will require more modern, digital approaches to create data-centric infrastructure that allows infrastructure to be monitored and managed throughout its lifecycle. Digital twins (DTs) are currently at an early stage in terms of their implementation on infrastructure projects across the United Kingdom (UK). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current uptake of DTs in delivering infrastructure sector projects and how DTs can help contribute towards strengthening the industry.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review approach has been conducted with the research questions derived from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) article screening tool. In addition to this, inclusion and exclusion criteria have been used to screen irrelevant information and help streamline research documents. Following a screening of relevant information, 36 pieces of literature were reviewed in order to identify the key drivers, barriers, enabling technologies and use cases.Findings: DTs have the potential to transform asset design, production and maintenance. However, to further advance the digital innovation in the UK infrastructure sector, further study is necessary. An emerging technology must be considered on a broader scale than just its technical aspects, particularly when it comes to DTs. With enabling technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and artificial intelligence (AI), the uptake of DTs appears promising. While current literature indicates that DTs offer clear benefits in the infrastructure sector, the uptake is low and hindered by both technical and non-technical challenges.Originality/value: This paper provides a rich insight into the understanding and awareness of the DTs in delivering infrastructure sector projects and how the infrastructure sector has evolved in order to develop new ways of designing, constructing, operating and monitoring infrastructure assets. This study contributes towards informing leaders in the sector of the current uptake of DTs within the UK's infrastructure sector as well as how DTs can contribute towards strengthening the industry.