Interactive localisation System for Urban Planning Issues

The paper discusses the benefits of specific user’s oriented tools in urban planning processes, throughout the applications of an original system devised to define the localisation of urban services based on traffic distribution. Operative examples concern the Italian city of Pavia. The system ULISSE (Urban Location Interactive System for SErvices), created by the author, uses a static model of network optimization which minimizes the global access cost (in term of time) faced by clients of a predefined service location. With a client-server structure and a friendly user interface, ULISSE provides in one single process all the classical results such as minimum paths research, definition of services influence area and access time to reach each service. ULISSE is useful for planners to test traffic and environmental effects of localisation hypotheses, or to find the best localisation solution for specific urban functions in terms of accessibility. The paper shows examples of related applications on the city of Pavia: check of traffic pressure on environment; examination of efficiency of a new public mobility service (bus); best localisation of emergency services. After a brief presentation of the cultural background about localisation models and urban planning, author describes: the analogical network, the calculation model, the system ULISSE and its applications.