This page has a collection of my academic papers that have been published after a peer-review process. I hold a PhD in urban geography from Tel Aviv University. You can follow my academic profile here.
My main research interests lie in pedestrian movement, traffic safety, transportation policy and sustainable urban development.
1. Visualizing Space Syntax Analyses for Decision Makers: Lessons from Israel
This paper was presented at the 11th International Space Syntax Symposium held in July,2017 in Lisbon. It deals with actual planning projects Planet Consulting has worked on in Israel and the way visualizations can help engage policy makers. An explanation on the work done for this paper can be found here.
2. How Central is the Rail Station? Incorporating Rail Centrality with Development Potential
This paper was presented at the 11th International Space Syntax Symposium held in July,2017 in Lisbon. It deals with evaluating rail stations and the potential for development around them based on extensive spatial analysis. The case study is the entire Israeli rail system.
3. Evaluating Crash Risk in Urban Areas Based and Vehicle and Pedestrian Modeling
Omer, I., Gitelman, V., Rofè, Y., Lerman, Y., Kaplan, N. and Doveh, E. (2017), Evaluating Crash Risk in Urban Areas Based on Vehicle and Pedestrian Modeling. Geographical Analysis doi:10.1111/gean.12128
This paper combines space syntax methods for pedestrian and vehicular movement modeling together with crash risk evaluation methodologies. The outcome describes street segment propensity for relative risk to their individual users according to the actual number of (predicted) road users.
4. Urban area types and spatial distribution of pedestrians: Lessons from Tel Aviv
Lerman, Y. and Omer, I. (2016) “Urban Area Types and Spatial Distribution of Pedestrians: Lessons from Tel Aviv”, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 55:11-23. doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2015.09.010
This paper presents several major findings from my PhD dissertation. The research took place in 4 areas in the city of Tel Aviv each divided to a contemporary and tradition urban sub-area. The findings show the association between pedestrian movement and the type of urban area as well as its spatial, functional and physical characteristics. An expansion about this paper can be found here.
Omer, I., Rofè, Y. and Lerman, Y. (2015) “The Impact of Planning on Pedestrian Movement – Contrasting Pedestrian Movement Models in Pre-Modern and Modern Neighborhoods in Israel”, International Journal of Geographic Information Science, 29(12):2121-2142. doi: 10.1080/13658816.2015.1063638
This paper presents research done on in 14 neighborhoods in Israel with regards to pedestrian movement and its predictability. The findings show that there is lower pedestrian movement volume in modern neighborhoods and that this movement is less predictable than movement in pre-modern neighborhoods. An expansion about this paper can be found here.
6. Using Space Syntax to Model Pedestrian Movement in Urban Transportation Planning
Lerman, Y., Rofè, Y. and Omer, I. (2014), Using Space Syntax to Model Pedestrian Movement in Urban Transportation Planning. Geographical Analysis, 46: 392–410. doi: 10.1111/gean.12063
This paper describes an innovative transportation plan for the city of Bat Yam in Israel. This work focused on the creation of a pedestrian movement plan and using this model in the transportation master plan for the year 2030. A non-final version of the paper can be found here and an expansion about the paper is here.
7. The Effects of Configurational and Functional Factors on the Spatial Distribution of Pedestrians
Yoav Lerman and Itzhak Omer in D. Vandenbroucke et al. (eds.), Geographic Information Science at the Heart of Europe , Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography,DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00615-4_22, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013
This paper extends the research I did for my Master’s thesis. This study examined pedestrian volume movement in two adjacent areas in the city of Tel-Aviv through the analysis of the street network and land use distribution. One of the areas was built according to pre-modern concepts (prior to 1936 in Israel) and the other was built along more modern lines. It was found that the pre-moden area had over 50% higher pedestrian volume movement on average and that there were significant differences in the street netwrok structure and land use distribution between the two areas.
8. A Visual Analytics Approach for Assessing Pedestrian Friendliness of Urban Environments
Tobias Schreck, Itzhak Omer, Peter Bak and Yoav Lerman in D. Vandenbroucke et al. (eds.), Geographic Information Science at the Heart of Europe , Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography,DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00615-4_22, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013
This paper deals with a visual analytics method that can help in identifying pedestrian friendly places in the city. In this research pedestrian movement observations from the city of Tel Aviv and the city of Bat Yam (an inner suburb of Tel Aviv) were compared according to parameters related to street network and land uses. Significant differences were found between the places where high level of pedestrian movement was observed in the two cities. These differences may be a result of the different location in the metropolitan area of the two cities.
9. Analysis of Stated Preferences for Accessible Services and Commerce in a Walkable Distance from Home
Michael Olitsky, Yoav Lerman and Erel Avineri (2017), Analysis of Stated Preferences for Accessible Services and Commerce in a Walkable Distance from Home, Transportation Research Procedia, Volume 27, 2017, Pages 1001-1008.
10. Applying Space Syntax for Surface Rapid Transit Planning
Lebendiger, Y. and Lerman, Y. “Applying Space Syntax for Surface Rapid Transit Planning”, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 128:59-72.
11. Applying Space Syntax in Regional Planning: New Methods and Results
Lerman, Y., and Lebendiger, Y. “Applying Space Syntax in Regional Planning: New Methods and Results”, 12th International Space Syntax Symposium, Beijing Jiaotong University, July 2019.
Aleksandrowicz, O., Zur, S., Lebendiger, Y., and Lerman, Y. “Shade Maps for Prioritizing Municipal Microclimatic Action in Hot Climates: Learning from Tel Aviv-Yafo”, Sustainable Cities and Society, 53.
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