Browsing by Author "De Silva, CS"

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item: Conference-Abstract
Application of open source hardware and software in assessing the varying levels of perceived safety in cities
De Silva, CS; Warusavitharana, EJ; Ratnayake, R
Although planning is said to be done targeting the people, plan-making processes in most instances are dominated by top-down approaches, giving very little regard to how people perceive or feel about the cities they live in. The perceptions or ‗emotions‘ urban areas trigger, and how these cause behavioural changes reflect the implications of planning and decision making upon them. Prior studies indicate that environmental factors are capable of triggering affective reactions in people. Thus, throughout the course of this study, it was attempted to understand how environmental factors affected University students‘ perceptions of safety, which were quantified on the basis of emotions, i.e. the calmness or stress felt, and walking speeds. Data on emotional states were captured in real-time by a technically-sound, low-cost device assembled using Free and Open Source Software and hardware. The study demarcated the areas perceived to be ‗safe‘ and ‗un-safe‘ by people, and ranked them based on their perceived safety. The reasons for this classification were then identified. The results concluded that the factors in the environment affected people‘s emotional states and walking speeds, as people walked faster in areas regarded as ‗unsafe‘ and slower in areas regarded as ‗safe‘. The data also explained the difference between the behaviour of males and females, when perceived safety was concerned, during different times of the day. This study introduced the chance to identify unconscious emotional reactions of people, which can be served as useful inputs for urban planning. Furthermore, the study will confirm the value of the real-time sensing device as a tool beyond traditional methods in
item: Article-Full-text
An examination of the temporal effects of environmental cues on pedestrians’ feelings of safety
(Elsevier, 2017) De Silva, CS; Warusavitharana, EJ; Ratnayake, R
Although plans are made with people as the target, plan-making processes in most instances are dominated by top-down approaches, giving very little regard to how people perceive or feel about the cities they live in. The perceptions urban areas trigger and how these cause behavioural changes reflect the implications of planning and decision-making upon them. Prior studies indicate that environmental factors can trigger affective reactions in people. Thus, throughout this study, itwas attempted to understand howenvironmental factors affect University students' perceptions of safety,which were quantified on the basis of their arousal, i.e. the calmness or stress felt, and walking speeds. Data on arousal were captured in real-time by a technically-sound, low-cost device assembled using free and open source software and hardware. The study could demarcate and rank the areas perceived to be “safe” and “unsafe” by the University students in real-time using the assembled device and identify which environmental factors have the most significant influence on their perception of safety. This study introduces the chance to determine unconscious reactions of people by triangulating data gathered by several measurement techniques that are directly measured in the field, which can be served as useful inputs for urban planning. Furthermore, the study confirms the value of the real-time sensing device as a tool beyond traditional methods in understanding feelings of safety in environmental settings.
item: Conference-Abstract
The usage of remote sensing and other geospatial methodologies to assess and manage road infrastructure
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) De Silva, CS; De Silva, PCP; Bandara, JMSJ; Pasindu, HR
One of the most valuable and extensive infrastructure resources in the country is its road network and therefore, its assessment and monitoring is crucial to ensure that a safe and effective road system is in place. However, the process of evaluating the condition of transportation infrastructure, especially roads is an expensive, time consuming, and a highly labour intensive one. Most of the road evaluation methods widely used today use measurements that are taken in situ along with visual examinations and interpretations. However, the measurement and assessment of damage and deterioration of roads is in most instances qualitative and is limited to point observations. This is where remote sensing technologies come in to play. Remote sensing offers non-destructive methods to assess and monitor road conditions with very large spatial coverage without even having to leave the desk. Hence, the objective of this study is to bridge traditional road evaluation procedures with new technologies to overcome the cost and time constraints currently associated with it. This study introduces an automated set of tools that will allow the user to remotely capture important features related to the road infrastructure on the basis of satellite images pertaining to the area that will enable an effective assessment and monitoring process of the roads. The set of tools will be hosted by ArcGIS Model Builder and the significance here is that since the entire tool is automated, regardless of the user‟s knowledge in ArcGIS, they will still be able to make use of it. Because remote sensing is capable of collecting information from a wide spatial spectrum in a very short period of time, this set of tools will be invaluable in assessing and managing road infrastructure in the country, although it is important to acknowledge that these methodologies can never fully replace traditional geotechnical methods.