Mapping Risk Factors to Build Inclusive Roads: A Systematic Diagnosis for Enhancing Vulnerable Users and Persons with Reduced Mobility Safety

Sustainable transport has been a growing focus for several decades, particularly following the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the Glasgow Climate Pact in 2021. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 promotes accessibility, safety, energy, efficiency and use of sustainable public transport. Access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation is fundamental for social inclusion, education, healthcare, and employment. Building on these global initiatives, this research aims to identify critical road safety risks and proposes targeted interventions to improve mobility for vulnerable road users (VRUs) and persons with reduced mobility (PRMs) in Italy. It applies principles of social sustainability in transportation to assess road safety in Rome’s Nomentano-Tiburtina area through three interrelated studies. First, the accident analysis identifies high-risk “black points” by mapping accidents involving VRUs through Geographic Information System (GIS) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE). Then, the vehicle-infrastructure interaction analysis evaluates road infrastructure risks using floating car data (FCD) to analyze driver behavior and correlates it with road accident data. Finally, the accident potential analysis assesses pedestrian accident risk by examining pedestrian flows and urban network structures, integrating configurational analysis with SpaceSyntax tools. Using FCD, multi-year accident data and pedestrian flow analysis, this research provides a comprehensive assessment of road safety risks in Nomentano-Tiburtina. The integration of the three quantitative information, allows the identification of critical areas and the development of targeted interventions. Findings offer actionable insights for policymakers and urban planners to enhance pedestrian, cyclist and vulnerable users’ safety and promote sustainable mobility in urban environments.