S.T.I.T.: asystem of mathematical models for the simulation of land-use and transport interactions

In order to evaluate long-term impacts on travel demand due to changes in transport supply, it is not possible to disregard the effects that such changes have on “land-use” and, indirectly, on travel demand. The problem of simulating such effects has been tackled by different modelling approaches, labelled in literature as “integrated land-use/transport models”. The term “land-use” covers a variety of topics including urban activities such as residing, and working, the outcomes of market processes such as property or land values, and so on. All these topics can be influenced by changes in transport supply, and may affect travel demand. In this paper the focus is on the impacts that transport supply has on the distribution of urban activity locations (e.g. residents, services, commerce,…), and, consequentially, on travel demand (e.g. spatial distribution, modal split and so on). Emphasis is given to how zone accessibility impacts on residential and other economic activity and on the competition among urban activities for the acquisition of urban spaces.