Population potential within the urban environment and intra-urban railway network opportunities in Bratislava (Slovakia)

Urban environments in post-socialist cities have generated new challenges for urban planners and decision makers. As one example, the transport infrastructure of Bratislava has not been adjusted with respect to increasing mobility and the transit problems of its intra-urban environment. An upgrading of the conventional railway networks within the city is one of the major opportunities which might considerably improve public transit capacities available for both intra-urban and regional (suburban) transport flows of passengers. Relevant studies on the population potential of residents supporting such upgrades are still lacking. In addition, a detailed database on population distributions within the intra-urban environments of Slovak cities is not yet available. Therefore, this paper attempts to introduce one of the possible methodological approaches leading to an estimation of population potential as an elementary precondition of intra-urban railway traffic effectiveness, in a society where a detailed database on population distribution is not available.