Abstract

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a systematic process designed to identify and predict the potential impacts of human activity on the biophysical and human environment. It also functions as an environmental management tool to identify measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate for those effects. EIA is intended to be an iterative process to follow-up to projects postimplementation to determine actual environmental outcomes, interpret and communicate information about those outcomes and investigate opportunities for improved project environmental performance. Originating from the United States’ National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, EIA is now amongst the most successful and widely practiced environmental management tools in the world. Key Concepts: EIA is an aid to decision making through which concerns about the potential environmental consequences of proposed projects are assessed before those projects become a reality. Screening in EIA ensures that assessments are done when needed and not done when not needed. Scope is essential to good EIA and the goal is to focus on a select set of environmental components that are deemed important from scientific, public or regulatory perspectives and are likely to be adversely affected by the project. The underlying intent of EIA is to allow project proponents, managers and decision makers to enhance the benefits of proposed development projects and to mitigate potentially adverse impacts to the point of acceptability. EIA must be applied early in the development planning processes if it is to be influential in project design and decision making. Information gained in EIA follow-up studies, after the project is implemented, provides feedback to improve predictions and mitigation and management programmes, and an opportunity to learn for subsequent project proposals. Keywords: environmental impact assessment; baseline studies; impact prediction; mitigation and management of impacts; cumulative environmental effects; follow-up studie

Abstract

Transport offers many economic and social benefits but also brings a wide range of direct and indirect environmental impacts. Large amounts of finite resources in the form of fuels and materials are needed for the construction of vehicles and transport infrastructure. Transport activities account for over 30% of all energy use by final consumers and is widely predicted to be the largest contributor to the growth of carbon dioxide emissions in the twenty-first century. Road transport is also a major source of other noxious emissions, notably carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates as well as a number of other detrimental environmental effects, such as those related to the severance of communities and ecosystems and noise. This chapter reviews the nature of the environmental problems created by transport activities, their relationship with the discipline of transport geography, and some of the approaches developed to address transport’s environmental consequences. It first defines the meaning of environmental issues pertaining to transport and explains why environmental issues are of growing interest to transport geographers. The main social and natural environmental impacts of transport are then explored, together with various approaches used to ameliorate these impacts. Finally, the challenges involved in achieving more sustainable transport systems are discussed.

Abstract

In this paper we study a group of policies aimed at discouraging the use of private transportation during peak hours, both directly and indirectly, by increasing the attractiveness of the only available substitute, the bus. This is done using a choice experiment constructed to find the answer to the following basic question: Given fixed house-to work structures and no working hour flexibility, by how much is the choice of travel mode for commuters to work sensitive to changes in travel time, changes in costs for each mode and other service attributes? This information is then used to identify the most suitable combination of policies dealing with air pollution and congestion in the typical developing country context of metropolitan Costa Rica. We also provide estimates of the value of travel time as a measure of the potential benefits gained from reduced congestion.

Abstract

The future market diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) is of great importance for transport related green house gas emissions and energy demand. But most studies on the market diffusion of EVs focus on average driving patters and neglect the great variations in daily driving of individuals present in real-world driving data. Yet these variations are important for EVs since range limitations and the electric driving share of plug-in hybrids strongly impact the economic evaluation and consumer acceptance. Additionally, studies often focus on private cars only and neglect that commercial buyers account for relevant market shares in vehicle sales. Here, we propose a reliable, user specific model for the market diffusion of EVs and evaluation of EV market diffusion policies based on real world driving data. The data and model proposed include both private and commercial users in Germany and allow the calculation of realistic electric driving shares for all usage patterns. The proposed model explicitly includes user heterogeneity in driving behaviour, different user groups, psychological aspects and the effect of charge-at-home options. Our results show that the proposed model reproduces group specific market shares, gives confidence bands of market shares and reliably simulates individual electric driving shares.

Abstract

The assessment of uninterrupted traffic flow is traditionally based on empirical methods. We develop some analytic queueing models based on traffic counts and we model the behavior of traffic flows as a function of some of the most relevant determinants. These analytic models allow for parameterized experiments, which pave the way towards our research objectives: assessing what-if scenarios and sensitivity analysis for traffic management, congestion control, traffic design and the environmental impact of road traffic (e.g. emission models). The impact of some crucial modelling parameters is studied in detail and links with the broader research objectives are given. We illustrate our results for a highway, based on counted traffic flows in Flanders.

Abstract

uthorities in Slovenia and other EU member states are confronted with problems of city transportation. Fossil-fuel-based transport poses two chief problems—local and global pollution, and dwindling supplies and ever-increasing costs. An elegant solution is to gradually replace the present automobile fleet with electric vehicles (EVs). This article explores the economics and practical viability of the provision of solar electricity for the charging of EVs by installation of economical available Photovoltaic modules. A steep decline in the module, inverter and installation costs is reported herein. Present estimates indicate that for the prevailing solar climate of Celje—a medium-sized Slovenian town—the cost would be only 2 euros and 11 cents per kWh of generated solar electricity. Document type: Article

Abstract

The consequence assessment of a major accident involving a release of toxic gas by a pipeline is usually performed through the evaluation of the associated hazard area, which is an area where the concentration of the toxic substance exceeds a fi xed threshold level and induces harmful effects in people and the environment; its extension represents a signifi cant source of information required for the development of both safety and security strategies associated with dangerous pipelines. Since the threshold level adopted in the calculation strongly affects the extent of this hazard area, the purpose of this paper is to analyse such infl uence and the potential implications on the decisional process concerning prevention, preparedness and response actions in the case of major accidents. The paper describes the methodological approach adopted for this purpose, as well as the main results obtained using the threshold levels most commonly applied in the industrialized countries. Although the estimate of the hazard areas involves a high level of uncertainty, this study aims at supporting the development of pipeline safety and security strategies, thus increasing the overall safety level in this vital sector.

Abstract

Transport networks underpin economic activity by enabling the movement of goods and people. During extreme weather events transport infrastructure can be directly or indirectly damaged, posing a threat to human safety, and causing significant disruption and associated economic and social impacts. Flooding, especially as a result of intense precipitation, is the predominant cause of weather-related disruption to the transport sector. Existing approaches to assess the disruptive impact of flooding on road transport fail to capture the interactions between floodwater and the transport system, typically assuming a road is fully operational or fully blocked, which is not supported by observations. In this paper we develop a relationship between depth of standing water and vehicle speed. The function that describes this relationship has been constructed by fitting a curve to video analysis supplemented by a range of quantitative data that has be extracted from existing studies and other safety literature. The proposed relationship is a good fit to the observed data, with an R-squared of 0.95. The significance of this work is that it is simple to incorporate our function into existing transport models to produce better estimates of flood induced delays and we demonstrate this with an example from the 28"sup"th"/sup" June 2012 flood in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Document type: Article

Abstract

This paper investigates why material throughput remains high in the UK automotive industry when there are opportunities for material efficiency improvements. Informed by socio-technical studies of automobility, the paper emphasises the importance of recognising how decisions regarding material use are always shaped by more than simply cost considerations. Drawing on industry interviews, six interconnected socio-technical factors are identified that guide the vehicle design and manufacturing process. These are: (1) customer preferences; (2) market positioning; (3) techno-economic feasibility; (4) supply chain feasibility; (5) regulation and (6) organisational attributes. These factors can provide insights into the current operating context of the UK automotive industry and help explain why the average material intensity of vehicles and vehicle throughput are increasing. Overall, the paper shows that the efficiency of material use in the UK automotive industry is the outcome of complex and advanced design and manufacturing processes. Understanding these processes and the factors that guide them can potentially increase the likelihood of the automotive industry adopting material efficiency initiatives. S. Cooper is supported by a UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) PhD studentship (reference EP/L504920/1). Professor J.M. Allwood and Dr B.J. Doody by grant number EP/N02351X/1. None of the funding sources were involved with conducting the research.

Abstract

Background São Paulo city, Brazil, faces challenges caused by rapid urbanization. We illustrate how future travel patterns could lead to different health consequences in the city. Methods We evaluated the health impacts of different travel pattern scenarios for the São Paulo adult population by comparing the travel patterns of São Paulo in 2012 with counterfactual scenarios in which the city adopted travel patterns of i) those living in the city's expanded centre; ii) London (2012); iii) a highly motorized São Paulo (SP California); and iv) a visionary São Paulo (SP 2040), with high levels of walking and cycling and low levels of car and motorcycle use. For each scenario we estimated changes in exposure to air pollution, road injury risk, and physical activity. Health outcomes were estimated using disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and premature deaths averted. Sensitivity analyses were performed to identify the main sources of uncertainty. Results We found considerable health gains in the SP 2040 scenario (total 63.6 k DALYs avoided), with 4.7% of premature deaths from ischemic heart disease avoided from increases in physical activity alone. Conversely, we found substantial health losses in the scenario favouring private transport (SP California, total increase of 54.9 k DALYs), with an increase in road traffic deaths and injuries among pedestrians and motorized vehicles. Parameters related to air pollution had the largest impact on uncertainty. Conclusions Shifting travel patterns towards more sustainable transport can provide major health benefits in São Paulo. Reducing the uncertainties in the findings should be a priority for empirical and modelling research on the health impacts of such shifts. Highlights • There is scarce evidence of transportation impacts on health in developing cities • Comparative risk assessment used to assess impacts on three major risk factors • We found large net health gains in sustainable transport scenario for Sao Paulo, Brazil • We also found large net health losses in a car dependent scenario for Sao Paulo • Physical activity provided the largest health impacts, similar to previous studie Document type: Article