A Promising Methodological Approach to Identifying Areas with the Greatest Potential for the Development of the City Cycling Infrastructure

Abstract

The purpose of the research presented in this article is to develop a methodology for identifying promising areas with the greatest potential for the development of cycling infrastructure (CI). This problem is among the most urgent in modern urban planning, giving the context of the issues of “green” and “sharing” economies that influence the practice of planning and development of CI. At the same time, paradoxically, at the moment there are no institutionalized methodological approaches to solving these issues, and the problems of planning and development of CI are solved in a situational way in the vast majority of cases.Materials and methods. The research is based on a broad analysis of both domestic and foreign scientific and practical works devoted to the approaches for CI planning and development. It is worthnoting that these sources lack any significant methodological unity, and approaches to the issues under consideration differ significantly. Among the methods used in this study, it is necessary to distinguish the methods of the theoretical group: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, application of analogies, classification, formalization. Empirical methods (observation, comparative analysis) were also used in the study.As the most significant results of this study, it is worth mentioning the development of a holistic and universal methodology for identifying promising areas with the greatest potential for the development of CI. Created on the basis of an in-depth analysis of foreign experience, this methodology provides an opportunity to find optimal “growth points” of the city cycling infrastructure within the frameworkof a systematic approach. The methodology is presented in the form of an algorithmic scheme, as well as a detailed description of its constituent stages. Although the methodology described in the article was developed for use on the territory of a large city (Moscow in particular), its provisions are universal. This allows, with some refinement, to adapt the methodology for the local needs of a particular urban or rural settlement, urban agglomeration etc.Thus, this technique can be considered as universal tool in solving the problems outlined above.Due to its practical orientation and limitations of journal publication, the article does not contain a pronounced conclusion. At the same time, the developed methodology suggests the possibility of further improvement, especially if it is used as a basic one in solving issues of CI planning and development.