Evaluation of infrastructure: Application of TOD to Catania underground metro station

In recent years, the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) is increasingly applied to urban development based on the principles of smart growth and sustainable development. The growing complexity of urban systems and metropolitan areas requires an integrated strategic vision. This means addressing the issues of mobility and accessibility and their impact on the urban environment. Catania metropolitan area is characterized by a highly urbanized settlement with high percentage of urban sprawl. The General Master Plan of the city, shaped in 1964 and finally endorsed in 1969, severely reduced the opportunity for new developments by allocating areas for new urban facilities. The process of urban sprawl is mainly characterized by residential settlements. This aspect together with an inadequate road network and an insufficient public transport service brought to the growth of private cars on the roads, generating serious traffic congestion and making Catania based on a car-oriented model. Lately these conditions are changing as a consequence of the development of the underground metro network that connects the main city's service centers like the hospitals, the university (and soon also the Airport) to the city center. To achieve sustainable transportation and resolve the aforementioned problems, we have applied TOD criteria to some of the main city's transport junctions (selected using the Multi Criteria Decision Aid methodology) in order to fulfills the principle of sustainable transportation.