Strategic Feasibility of Travel Demand Management in an Employment-Oriented Urban Node: A SWOT-Based Assessment of Vanak Square, Tehran

Traffic congestion in employment-oriented urban areas is increasingly resistant to conventional supply-side interventions such as road widening and gradients. Vanak Square in Tehran is an example of this situation, where the concentration of administrative and commercial space causes intense and foreseeable congestion during peak hours, particularly after hours. Despite the presence of multiple level crossings and arterial links, limited street crossings and capacity constraints, ineffective long-term parking management and a high dependence on private vehicles lead to recurrent congestion and saturation, which in turn results in reduced urban living. This study evaluates the strategic feasibility of implementing Travel Demand Management (TDM) as a demand-oriented alternative to capacity expansion in Vanak Square, conceptualizing it as a transition framework from infrastructure-led congestion control toward demand-responsive mobility governance. A qualitative SWOT-based analytical framework was employed to systematically assess internal structural conditions (strengths and weaknesses) and external policy, environmental, and socio-economic factors (opportunities and threats) influencing TDM applicability. Data were derived from structured field observations, functional land-use assessment and analysis, traffic flow characteristics and pattern evaluation, and public transport accessibility analysis. The results suggest that while structural and behavioral constraints, including behavioral inertia and institutional limitations, pose significant implementation challenges, the existence of an active and capacitated BRT system, identifiable congestion temporal patterns, and alignment with national air pollution mitigation policies provide a viable foundation for phased TDM implementation. The study further contributes to urban transport planning literature by operationalizing the SWOT framework as a policy-transition tool for employment-dense urban nodes in developing metropolitan contexts. Priority entry strategies include parking management reform, smart parking systems, congestion pricing mechanisms, smart mobility integration, and adaptive mobility management systems as key steps toward transitioning to a demand-responsive traffic management model in Vanak Square.

کلیدواژه ها:

Travel Demand Management (TDM) ، SWOT-Based Evaluation ، Urban Employment Node ، Congestion Pricing ، Sustainable Urban Mobility