Abstract

Encouraging people to make sustainable transport choices remains a global challenge and many interventions have been attempted. This study investigated the reflection on own/others’ subjective experiences (SE) as an intervention using a smartphone application as the intervention tool. Participants were car drivers and used the app to automatically capture and reflect on their commute journeys and experiences. The experimental group were also able to reflect upon others’ experiences across car, walk and cycle modes. Others’ experiences were designed based on a previous self-report study. Results of the study showed that quantitative measures of intentions to change were not affected by the intervention but that qualitative data showed that the positive experience of the active transport modes did bring about reflection on behaviour and a potential influence on opinions and intentions which warrants further study. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

This chapter discusses how the UK planning system and local planning practice have responded to the ethnic, cultural, religious and demographic diversification of British society generated by 20th- and 21st-century waves of migration. Planning theorists and practitioners have advocated new forms of ‘planning for diversity’ since the 1980s, driven by a politics of recognition of difference. Such concerns have first been addressed through national legislative anti-discrimination and equality provisions. Local planning authorities have encouraged the participation of ethnic minority groups in planning processes and sought to address their specific needs, through both minority-targeted policies and area-based urban policies. Planners have also played a role in creating spaces of (multicultural) encounter. The chapter concludes by contrasting normative calls for ‘planning for diversity’ with the ambiguities, contradictory outcomes, dilemmas and challenges of doing so in practice. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Each city need to develop sustainable transport plans according to its future developments. This means identifying the best policy package of transport measures that could produce more sustainable future scenarios: lowest environmental impact, but also better social standards and at minimum cost. To that end, it is necessary to measure the environmental and social costs of each alternative transport mode. This paper proposes a methodology to calculate those costs in different city contexts: city centre and metropolitan suburbs. It provides a measure of the following environmental costs: pollution, noise, green house gasses and land taken. Then the social costs as congestion and accident costs. These two cost categories are calculated for each mean of transport: metro, bus, private car and taxi. The methodology has been applied to Madrid Region through modeling its mobility demand in 2004. The outputs are costs per passenger-km in each mode and Area: city centre and metropolitan ring. Therefore it is possible to assign monetary costs to environmental and social costs of each transport option; for example, car environmental costs are four times higher than buses on average, but it differs a lot from city centre to outskirt areas. Finally, some guidelines can be extracted to develop a more sustainable transport policy for Madrid Region. No data (2010) UEM Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

Despite the increasing attention in recent years to the spatial dimensions of economic development, consideration of the importance of space and the recognition that macro, aspatial perspectives can prove to be misleading are not new. Around the world, much of the disappointment with the outcomes from spatial interventions may be traced to a lack of understanding of how regional economies work. This paper reviews the challenges that the consideration of regions brings into economic analysis. This work provides an overview of some of the key methods and tools that can be used to gain a better understanding of how regional economies work. The review aims to guide practitioners and analysts in the use of tools for regional economic analysis and inform discussion of the challenges regions face and the opportunities on which they can build. Document type: Book

Abstract

With the purpose of automatic detection of crowd patterns including abrupt and abnormal changes, a novel approach for extracting motion “textures” from dynamic Spatio-Temporal Volume (STV) blocks formulated by live video streams has been proposed. This paper starts from introducing the common approach for STV construction and corresponding Spatio-Temporal Texture (STT) extraction techniques. Next the crowd motion information contained within the random STT slices are evaluated based on the information entropy theory to cull the static background and noises occupying most of the STV spaces. A preprocessing step using Gabor filtering for improving the STT sampling efficiency and motion fidelity has been devised and tested. The technique has been applied on benchmarking video databases for proof-of-concept and performance evaluation. Preliminary results have shown encouraging outcomes and promising potentials for its real-world crowd monitoring and control applications. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

This study focuses on growth, poverty and inequality in Rwanda. We take a broad perspective, in two respects. First, we consider a long time period so as to compare the current situation with the pre-war situation, allowing us to assess whether the recent successes can be attributed to a recovery from a very low post-war base or whether they mark ‘real’ progress.Second, we look beyond static measures of material welfare and study economic and social mobility as well as indicators of human development and subjective well-being. Document type: Book

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to establish a comprehensive view of societal trends that have an impact on mobility and logistics in the future. Based on a review of scientific literature, the output of European research projects and reports from consultancies, the result of this investigation provides a broad and comprehensive set of factors that influence, and will influence in the future, mobility and logistics. The set is composed of 29 trends organised under 9 larger categories covering economic issues, societal issues, urbanisation, the environment, the digital society, new business models, safety, security and the legislative framework. The present analysis has greatly benefitted from the concept of liquid modernity developed by Bauman that enabled a broad and complete view on the dynamics of society and mobility. It allows describing linkages between social and economic trends, and between society and technology, especially information and communication technology. Thus, the added value of this contribution is its systematic approach allowing to describe this complex topic in an exhaustive manner while focussing on links and dependencies. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

With a marked increase in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) being designed and deployed for cars, there is a logical emergence of studies that critically examine the influence these have on driver behavior and attitudes towards risk and safety. The research question addressed within this paper asks to what extent the level of perceived criticality or risk on the part of drivers influences their acceptance of advanced assistance. Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Abstract

This is a comprehensive study of measurement and substantive issues that arise in determining the rate of multi factor productivity (MFP) growth in the transportation industry over the postwar period, 1948-87. Official data on output and employment are provided by two government agencies and conflict markedly for railroads, airlines, and trucking. This paper identifies the source of the conflicts and selects the best of the government indexes for further study, It concludes that improved data reduce the magnitude of the post-1973 productivity slowdown in transportation MFP growth from a previously reported 2.5 percent per annum to just 0.5 percent. The effect of deregulation has been mixed; MFP growth accelerated markedly for railroads when 1978-87 is compared to the pre-1978 period, but slowed sharply for airlines and trucking. New results on output quality are provided for airlines, particularly for the period of deregulation. Contrary to the standard view, deregulation has not substituted circuitous routings through hubs for nonstop flights available previously; instead the establishment of new hubs has greatly increased the number of nonstop routings available, and remarkably few nonstop routes have been discontinued. An estimate is provided of the value of time saved by the improved routings, and of the offsetting time cost of extended scheduled flight times resulting from increased congestion. Such estimates of the value of time are swamped by the huge contribution to welfare provided by the manufacturers of aircraft and engines; the time saving from the "invention of air travel" for 1989 is valued at 400 percent of domestic airline revenue and 3.5 percent of GNP. Alternative measures of capital input, based on new quality-adjusted equipment deflators, are provided for airlines, railroads, and trucking. These uniformly increase faster in the earlier postwar years than in the last decade and consequently imply a smaller decline in MFP growth than in official data sources. However, new estimates of the input of government expenditures on airports, air traffic control, and highways, do not change appreciably the pattern of postwar MFP growth in transportation. Document type: Book