Context-Sensitive Solution: concept, demand, and potential of the method for modernizing transportation planning

Abstract

The Context Sensitive Solution, a terminology created in the early 2000s in the USA and still pending translation to Portuguese, configures a methodology to support promoting participation and inclusion of different actors in the transport planning processes. The approach is an alternative to the complex demand for contemporary transport planning. It has shown promising results in studies of urban roads for communities, mainly because it aims to serve users through compatibility with the surroundings, community, and environment. Although Context Sensitive Solution originated in the early 2000s and with proven maturity in projects involving interventions on highways and major avenues in a peri-urban environment in large North American cities, its dissemination has not yet reached the peak of its potential and demand. The growing complexity of the transport and territorial planning policies makes it imperative to study solutions compatible with demand that address the problem in a comprehensive, transparent and participatory manner. As a management tool, the Context Sensitive Solution considers the values ​​of stakeholders and the local community, in contrast to conventional practices of planning transport works that directly intervene in the urban space in which traditionally there is a lack of approaches that integrate local interests and values. In Brazil, the urban landscape's enormous dynamics and the city's structure's functional characteristics justify the academy's inclination to understand and adapt the Context Sensitive Solution to the local characteristics and desires. Notwithstanding the already established negative aspects such as the loss of connectivity, disruption in the local microeconomy, and encouraging a drop in security that impact the quality of life for the population bordering highways and significant avenues, there are also severe changes in the landscape, the natural flow of drainage, habitat segregation, noise, light and particulate matter pollution, as well as fauna mortality. Given this scenario, our manuscript introduces the concept of the Context Sensitive Solution and discusses its current demand and potential for use in planning and managing space nearby proposed or constructed critical linear infrastructure projects with the potential to interfere with the landscape and functions of urban locations. Furthermore, an in-depth literature review focused on the theme made it possible to know and measure the state of the art of the technique and identify the gains proposed by the method, for which situations there is a collaborative and holistic approach to the problem, and the Solution stands out.