Public transportation for more livable cities: A proposal for Famagusta

ABSTRACT: Public transportation as a notion of accessibility is extremely affecting livability of cities, since accessibility is a dimension of livability. Providing appropriate modes of public transportation feed by suitable modes of private transportation would increase livability of cities by increasing their accessibility. A well organized transportation system would not only increase accessibility in a city, but also would cure many environmental, social and economical problems. As the city Famagusta, which is developing as car-oriented, is facing many problems related with accessibility like; urban sprawling, air pollution, congestion in traffic, car-parking, unhealthy communities, unsafe roads, unlivable streets etc., livability of the city has become questionable. Therefore, the city has been studied as a case in this research. Livability dimensions are composed of different quality aspects. One of these aspects, which is functional place quality, is focusing on the accessibility issues like, pedestrian journeys, public transportation and vitality and viability of services. Studying these issues could help to derive indicators of accessibility. In a livability survey these indicators could be used for measuring accessibility of cities. Such a measurement could provide the basis for achieving the most appropriate solutions for increasing accessibility and consequently livability of cities. In order to be able to propose the most appropriate solutions for accessibility problems, it is needed to understand the most appropriate modes of transportation which have been searched and illustrated in this study by analyzing examples. However, accessibility is not only a dimension of livability but also a notion of urban development, urban growth and urban structure. Thus, in addition to the accessibility measurement for proposing a new transportation system, urban development, growth and structure would also be analyzed and well comprehended. After understanding the concepts of livability and accessibility, and the modes of transportation, it has been shown that livability of a city can be questioned by measuring accessibility of the city. Analyzing and measuring accessibility of a city would provide required information for providing a well organized transportation system for increasing its livability. In this context, accessibility of Famagusta has been analyzed and measured, and a new transportation system has been proposed for increasing its accessibility and livability. Keywords: Livability, accessibility, public transportation. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………