PHOEBE has recently published the deliverable D1.2, which is pivotal for the project, as it provides the overall methodological framework in this project and the underlying connections and interactions between its different components. You can access D1.2 ‘Theoretical principles and methodological approach of the PHOEBE framework and selection of tools’ here. We also invite you to read our other publications in our PHOEBE library.
The framework in the document resembles a giant clock consisting of five components:
- travel demand models
- traffic microsimulation
- human behavioural models
- road safety assessment
- socio-economic impact assessment.
Each of these components ‘receives’ input data from another component, applies models on these data, and ‘gives’ output data to another component. The ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’ process between PHOEBE components resembles all the gears inside that giant clock.
The framework is looped in a longitudinal fashion i.e. it starts at a baseline scenario and iterates after a change has occurred in the transport system. As such, there is an inter-play of data and models between all five components. In addition, within the deliverable, a list of safety indicators is also provided for the safety assessment and to compare different scenarios (baseline vs. future). Finally, The technical development preparation is also described within the deliverable for the implementation of the framework.
The deliverable serves two main purposes:
- to be a new research and development framework that advances the state-of-the-art and can be used by other researchers and scholars for dynamically performing the road safety assessments through integrating the existing, emerging, and future changes within the demand models, traffic microsimulation, behavioural models, and road safety assessment models.
- to be a “blueprint” for how cities can establish and apply the predictive safety assessment framework efficiently and cost-effectively, providing a practical guide on how it works and how to implement it through the knowledge products such as socioeconomic analysis model, urban road safety assessment, human behaviour and demand modelling.
The PHOEBE framework will be implemented through three pilot cities including Athens (GR), Valencia (ES), and West Midlands (UK) through testing different urban mobility scenarios. Additionally, through research and development part of the project, further refinement and enhancement of the models within the framework is envisioned for broader use.