Integrating Technology into Urban Traffic Management: A Vision for Smarter and Safer Roads in Islamabad

Abstract

Due to the constant expansion of its population, Islamabad requires fundamental changes in the traffic control tools. This article provides a critique of key technological solutions used in the management of traffic in urban infrastructures, with a view to understanding some improvements made on road infrastructure that yielded worsening trends in safety. Using Risk Homeostasis Theory, Environmental Stress Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and Ecological Systems Theory, the work complexly connects road safety, traffic and people’s actions. The results of extensive interviews and surveys in addition to GISbased mapping point to increase in accident rates, sub systemic traffic flow, and environmental threats on expanded city roads; however, they also establish key areas of policy improvement. These insights shed light on the capacity of smart technologies, context sensitive design and sustainability-oriented approaches to create fair and effective traffic systems for the development of Islamabad’s urban fabric, or any other context for that matter, that requires policy interventions. The implication of smart technologies, inclusive designs, sustainable urban practices in addressing the safety and efficiency of the road network in Islamabad is supported.