Assessment of urban territories transport accessibility conditions in Arctic cities

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of organization of transport services in the territories of cities located in the harsh conditions of the cold climate in the Arctic zone. The hypothesis of the study is that uncomfortable weather conditions affect the mobility of the population and form a special behavior of the population with minimal time spent in the open air. Also, people's transport behaviour will depend on the level of development of transport infrastructure that provides access to urban areas. As an evaluation criterion, the time of accessibility to the city centre as the focus of the population's labour trips was chosen. Using the example of three cities located in the Arctic zone, isochrones of accessibility of the urban centre by road and passenger transport, as well as on foot using GIS were shown. As a result of the study it is highlighted that the current transport system of the cities does not meet the transport demand of the population, taking into account the characteristics of climate and stay in open space: there is a problem of excessive use of personal transport, lack of development of passenger transport, low quality pedestrian traffic. Based on the results of the study, the main directions for the sustainable development of cities and their transport systems for the Arctic conditions have been formulated.