Application of Sustainable Design Software to Footbridges

Footbridges provide an excellent opportunity for bridge designers to use numerical tools to create innovative structures that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable, as well as structurally efficient and safe. With social sustainability widely considered to be ill-defined, a framework for defining social sustainability in the context of footbridge design is introduced in this paper. In order to determine the impact environmental parameters have on the overall sustainability of a proposed footbridge design, this paper will include a case study in which sustainable building design software is used in the redesign of an existing, partially-enclosed footbridge, with particular attention paid to augmenting social sustainability. A description of the project site, as well as the historical, economical, and social significance of the case study are included, along with a discussion of the analyses performed and the concluding results.