The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), a research and training unit in collaboration with the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University (SJSU), recently published a research report that employed a systematic approach for identifying the best-located vertiport sites, based on a case study of the San Francisco Bay Area.
This report has established “a framework for a systematic approach to vertiport site selection and recommendations for how a region might plan their Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) network using Geographic Information Systems (GIS),” states a report summary. “This approach offers consistency in AAM site selection for a region while remaining flexible enough to allow for other local considerations that may differ between regions such as zoning or community preferences.”
It continues, “The study area encompassed the greater San Francisco Bay Area, which for this study included Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. This broad region was chosen to ensure the inclusion of a variety of different urban forms and built environments within a region that would likely have broad implementation of AAM where there is an air, rail, and transit network.”
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay Area (Credit: Max Whittaker)
And goes on, “With the potential for frequent low altitude UAM flights, long-range planning must demonstrate awareness, knowledge, and utilisation of geographic information science to select safe and just vertiport locations. This study summarises the AAM literature and offers planners a set of stakeholder-informed parameters to use in a no-cost preliminary GIS analysis when applied to urban, suburban, and exurban site suitability models.”
The report then says, “Parameters for this case study were identified under the considerations of safety, access, and equity for vertiport placement and given a high, medium, or low priority level to determine site suitability. The goals of this study are to establish a framework for the systematic approach to vertiport site selection and to provide recommendations for how a region might plan its AAM network, regulations, or best practices.”
And adds, “The approach established by this framework would ensure general consistency in AAM land use planning for a region while remaining flexible enough to allow for other considerations that may differ between regions, such as local zoning or state regulations. The study also highlights the importance of integrating a focus on land use planning when implementing AAM.”
