Areas of Research
Reasearch Areas
The four research areas of the chair are closely interconnected with diverse dependencies and synergies. Research on mobility behavior and empirical survey methods forms the foundation for mobility modeling and simulation. Both contribute to the planning of sustainable mobility systems including safe and attractive street spaces for all modes of transport, and especially for walking and cycling.
Below you can find more information about our areas of research:
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The research area MV focuses on the analysis, prediction, and influencing of mobility behavior on the basis of empirical data and statistical, model-based methods, providing a foundation for data-driven mobility and transport planning in a social science context. At its core is the understanding and explanation of individual and collective mobility needs and behaviors, including their interactions with transport systems. In addition to an empirically grounded understanding of the causes of travel demand and mobility behavior, the research field also encompasses strategies for shaping the framework conditions that promote sustainable, safe, and socially equitable mobility. In doing so, it combines engineering approaches to transport planning with a social-science-based perspective on mobility behavior and societal developments. By integrating data-driven methods and insights from the sociology of transport, the research field helps develop and implement evidence-based strategies for future-ready mobility systems in planning practice. Accordingly, the research is structured into the following two pillars:
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The research area EM is dedicated to refining established methods and developing and evaluating new approaches, particularly for measuring people’s everyday mobility. It is closely linked to the existing methodological toolkit for mobility surveys, especially the instruments used in the System of Representative Travel Surveys (SrV) and in the resulting survey series Mobility in Cities – SrV.
This research area plays a central role in consolidating, coordinating, and strategically advancing the chair’s survey expertise over the long term. It is also essential for safeguarding the continuity of the SrV time series: emerging developments in methodological research must be identified early, new survey instruments must be tested, and their practical applicability and scalability must be assessed.
The research is organized into two pillars:
- Survey instruments, particularly for household travel surveys
- Modern application and further development of established methods for the valid measurement of everyday mobility
- Development of methods and tools for quality assurance
- Research on participation willingness, selectivity, nonresponse and method effects, non-reactive participation motivation, and innovative recruitment strategies
- Alignment of survey techniques and indicators with the requirements of SUMP, TEN-T, and national strategies for sustainable mobility
- Integration of self-collected and existing data sources, such as geospatial data, mobile phone data, floating car data, and social media data
- Innovative approaches to measuring mobility behavior
- Particular focus on combining cross-sectional and longitudinal data collection
- Use of GPS-based methods, including smartphone-based surveys
- Assessment of different survey techniques and recording strategies, such as trip-based versus stage-based approaches, the recording of daily routines and activities, and travel diaries versus automated trip detection from movement patterns and trajectories
- Improving the compatibility and integration of different measurement techniques for typical transport planning applications
This research field focuses on developing and applying innovative methods for analyzing mobility systems, with a particular emphasis on pedestrian and cyclist mobility. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the use of road space and traffic safety and, based on this, to develop strategies for safe, attractive, and sustainable mobility.
Our work is divided into the following three areas:
- Data collection
- Use of environmental and usage structures to estimate exposure data, especially for pedestrians and cyclists
- Derivation of information on road space and infrastructure from geodata and aerial images
- Development and application of automated methods for collecting and analyzing data in road space based on video observations – with a special focus on interactions between pedestrian and bicycle traffic
- Design of safe and attractive roads, paths, and squares
- Analysis of crash data, behaviour, and Safety perception to derive targeted measures for pedestrians and cyclists
- International practices in street design
- Vibrant, livable street spaces that promote pedestrian and bicycle traffic
- Development of flexible, sustainable concepts – for urban spaces, new uses, and automated traffic
- Strategic concepts for mobility planning
- Analysis of stakeholders, processes, and target systems in mobility planning with a particular focus on pedestrians and cyclists
- Strategic development of urban street networks to create safe and attractive conditions for pedestrians and cyclists
- Monitoring and evaluation of real-world laboratories and pilot projects for sustainable mobility measures
The main focus of the MMS research field is the further development of models, in particular simulation models, with the aim of using them to explore possible solutions to societally relevant problems.
The thematic focal points are:
- Methods for creating traffic simulation models based on Open Data and the transferability of the approaches
- Recording modes of active mobility in traffic simulation models
- Modeling of traffic and spatial effects in the overall city system
- Accessibility analyses
- Models as a participatory planning tool