The 2007 Fleming Lecture begins with a brief review of Canada’s progress in achieving core element standing for geographic factors in sustainable transport best practices. This part of the paper grounds sustainable transport in metropolitan regions, and then establishes the essential role of geographic factors in the sustainability of transport systems in Canada, and particularly in its metropolitan transportation systems. With that foundation in place, the paper then presents findings that reveal the extremely limited implementation of nine sustainable transport best practices in Canada’s metropolitan regions, and the consequent lack of regard for geographic factors in matters related to achieving sustainable transport practices.
Public-Private Partnership in Urban TransportJaspal Singh
The presentation highlights the different aspects of Public Private Partnership in Urban Transport. It highlights the investment required in this sector and what are the challenges faced by private investors.
Based on the mandate given in SDG 11, calling for promoting an affordable and sustainable transport, globally all nations are trying to come out with an agenda and a vision for achieving carbon neutrality. Nations must make commitment to promote emissions-free mobility as a fundamental human right; doing the best things for humanity and society to lead towards a better and sustainable future and proactively promoting a paradigm shift towards electrification and creating a hydrogen based society for bringing sustainability. Sustainable transport is known for its distinct and numerous social and economic benefits for the communities, cities, environment and ecology. Studies made and analysis carried out has concluded that; Sustainable transport can help create large number of jobs; improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes; reduce use of fossil fuel ; minimize pollution and congestion, making cities walkable; and making access to employment and social opportunities more affordable and efficient besides decarbonizing cities and making urban settlements more livable and sustainable. Sustainable transportation offers a practical opportunity and simple method of saving people's time, improving people’s health increasing household income and making cities great places for happy, healthy and more productive living besides making investment in sustainable transport, a 'win-win' option and opportunity for all stake holders.’ Decarbonizing, Carbon Neutrality and Zero-Carbon must remain the prime agenda to redefine, promote and achieve the sustainable transportation in urban areas and to achieve the mandate/goals given in SDG11. Planet earth looks at how nations can minimize travel and make it sustainable for making human settlements more peaceful and livable.
Urban transportation system meaning ,travel demand functions with factors, design approaches & modeling , types of mass transit system with advantages -disadvantages or limitations , opportunities in mass transport , integrated approach for transit -transportation system
Public-Private Partnership in Urban TransportJaspal Singh
The presentation highlights the different aspects of Public Private Partnership in Urban Transport. It highlights the investment required in this sector and what are the challenges faced by private investors.
Based on the mandate given in SDG 11, calling for promoting an affordable and sustainable transport, globally all nations are trying to come out with an agenda and a vision for achieving carbon neutrality. Nations must make commitment to promote emissions-free mobility as a fundamental human right; doing the best things for humanity and society to lead towards a better and sustainable future and proactively promoting a paradigm shift towards electrification and creating a hydrogen based society for bringing sustainability. Sustainable transport is known for its distinct and numerous social and economic benefits for the communities, cities, environment and ecology. Studies made and analysis carried out has concluded that; Sustainable transport can help create large number of jobs; improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes; reduce use of fossil fuel ; minimize pollution and congestion, making cities walkable; and making access to employment and social opportunities more affordable and efficient besides decarbonizing cities and making urban settlements more livable and sustainable. Sustainable transportation offers a practical opportunity and simple method of saving people's time, improving people’s health increasing household income and making cities great places for happy, healthy and more productive living besides making investment in sustainable transport, a 'win-win' option and opportunity for all stake holders.’ Decarbonizing, Carbon Neutrality and Zero-Carbon must remain the prime agenda to redefine, promote and achieve the sustainable transportation in urban areas and to achieve the mandate/goals given in SDG11. Planet earth looks at how nations can minimize travel and make it sustainable for making human settlements more peaceful and livable.
Urban transportation system meaning ,travel demand functions with factors, design approaches & modeling , types of mass transit system with advantages -disadvantages or limitations , opportunities in mass transport , integrated approach for transit -transportation system
Guest presentation delivered by Gayle Wooton of Cardiff University, 25 November 2015.
Abstract: despite rising levels of urban mobility, access to places, activities and services has become increasingly difficult, particularly for the marginalised urban poor who face long distances or unaffordable travel costs in order to reach places of employment, education or leisure. In cities where access to private travel is uncommon, mass transport systems are essential elements allowing citizens to participate in everyday activities. Following successes in Curitiba and Bogota, mass transit systems such as bus rapid transit have been implemented in many Latin American cities (Medellin, Buenos Aires, Lima), while others are implementing metro systems (Quito, Panama City, Guadalajara, Santiago de Chile). Many such systems are unevenly distributed throughout the city however, with poorer neighbourhoods often poorly connected to the city centre where the majority of jobs and opportunities are located.
In tandem, many Latin American nations have been debating rights-based approaches to tackling social inequality. Ecuador and Brazil have adopted the Right to the City concept as part of their constitutions and Mexico City is developing a similar city charter. A human rights dimension is relevant to the provision of transport systems recognising that ‘the right to mobility is universal to all human beings, and essential for the effective practical realisation of most other basic human rights’ (CEMR 2007). Despite this link, rights-based approaches to social equity have not been studied in the context of mass transport systems. My research attempts to address to what extent rights-based approaches have been, or can be, integrated into decisions about mass transport investment, through the case study of Quito and plans for a new metro line and connecting metrocable routes. This presentation would present preliminary analysis following fieldwork in early 2015.
Bio: Gayle Wootton is a trained planner with a background in ecology, environmental impacts and assessments. Before returning to full-time education in 2013 to undertake her PhD in Inclusive Urban Mobilities, she worked for ten years for organisations involved with providing environmental and sustainability advice to the land-use and transport planning systems of England and Wales. Gayle has previously worked as a Research Officer for the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), ran a £10m European-funded Regeneration Programme for the Welsh Government, and advised on strategic plans for the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency Wales. Now in the third year of her PhD, Gayle is also Chair of Planning Aid Wales, the postgraduate representative for UTSG and has teaching responsibilities on modules relating to transport economics and sustainable mobility.
A presentation by Mr Neil Frost (CEO: iSAHA International), at the Transport Forum SIG: "Sustainable Transport" on 6 August 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Africa), or ITLS (Africa). The theme of the presentation was: "Sustainable Integrated Transport".
In today’s world with the ever increasing traffic it is inherent that we immediately find an optimum solution for it so that we can move on from being a developing nation to a super power.
There is a great need to resolve our transportation issues at the earliest as connectivity is of grave importance. Finding a systematic and organized way around the current situation is only going to benefit us in the long run. Better connectivity reduces transportation costs immensely and saves time in traveling.
this is a brief introduction to various traffic engineering basic characteristics which are useful in designing any corridor or passage with safety & reliability.
Mass transit system refers to public shared transportation, such as trains, buses, ferries etc that can commute a larger number of passengers from origin to destination on a no-reserved basis and in lesser time. It can also be termed as Public Transport.
The world has been watching China’s economic growth and Shanghai is at the center of it all. With over 20 million in population, the Shanghai Bus Company is the largest in the world with over 1100 routes and the Shanghai Metro, that just opened its first line in 1995, will be the largest system in the world by 2012 with 20 lines and 345 stations. Shanghai has embraced new pathways to success in transporting the overwhelming population by staying on the cutting edge of technology and services. This efficiently
planned transportation system has strengthened the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of Shanghai. In this session you will learn the best practices that keep Shanghai residents moving.
Guest presentation delivered by Gayle Wooton of Cardiff University, 25 November 2015.
Abstract: despite rising levels of urban mobility, access to places, activities and services has become increasingly difficult, particularly for the marginalised urban poor who face long distances or unaffordable travel costs in order to reach places of employment, education or leisure. In cities where access to private travel is uncommon, mass transport systems are essential elements allowing citizens to participate in everyday activities. Following successes in Curitiba and Bogota, mass transit systems such as bus rapid transit have been implemented in many Latin American cities (Medellin, Buenos Aires, Lima), while others are implementing metro systems (Quito, Panama City, Guadalajara, Santiago de Chile). Many such systems are unevenly distributed throughout the city however, with poorer neighbourhoods often poorly connected to the city centre where the majority of jobs and opportunities are located.
In tandem, many Latin American nations have been debating rights-based approaches to tackling social inequality. Ecuador and Brazil have adopted the Right to the City concept as part of their constitutions and Mexico City is developing a similar city charter. A human rights dimension is relevant to the provision of transport systems recognising that ‘the right to mobility is universal to all human beings, and essential for the effective practical realisation of most other basic human rights’ (CEMR 2007). Despite this link, rights-based approaches to social equity have not been studied in the context of mass transport systems. My research attempts to address to what extent rights-based approaches have been, or can be, integrated into decisions about mass transport investment, through the case study of Quito and plans for a new metro line and connecting metrocable routes. This presentation would present preliminary analysis following fieldwork in early 2015.
Bio: Gayle Wootton is a trained planner with a background in ecology, environmental impacts and assessments. Before returning to full-time education in 2013 to undertake her PhD in Inclusive Urban Mobilities, she worked for ten years for organisations involved with providing environmental and sustainability advice to the land-use and transport planning systems of England and Wales. Gayle has previously worked as a Research Officer for the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), ran a £10m European-funded Regeneration Programme for the Welsh Government, and advised on strategic plans for the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency Wales. Now in the third year of her PhD, Gayle is also Chair of Planning Aid Wales, the postgraduate representative for UTSG and has teaching responsibilities on modules relating to transport economics and sustainable mobility.
A presentation by Mr Neil Frost (CEO: iSAHA International), at the Transport Forum SIG: "Sustainable Transport" on 6 August 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Africa), or ITLS (Africa). The theme of the presentation was: "Sustainable Integrated Transport".
In today’s world with the ever increasing traffic it is inherent that we immediately find an optimum solution for it so that we can move on from being a developing nation to a super power.
There is a great need to resolve our transportation issues at the earliest as connectivity is of grave importance. Finding a systematic and organized way around the current situation is only going to benefit us in the long run. Better connectivity reduces transportation costs immensely and saves time in traveling.
this is a brief introduction to various traffic engineering basic characteristics which are useful in designing any corridor or passage with safety & reliability.
Mass transit system refers to public shared transportation, such as trains, buses, ferries etc that can commute a larger number of passengers from origin to destination on a no-reserved basis and in lesser time. It can also be termed as Public Transport.
The world has been watching China’s economic growth and Shanghai is at the center of it all. With over 20 million in population, the Shanghai Bus Company is the largest in the world with over 1100 routes and the Shanghai Metro, that just opened its first line in 1995, will be the largest system in the world by 2012 with 20 lines and 345 stations. Shanghai has embraced new pathways to success in transporting the overwhelming population by staying on the cutting edge of technology and services. This efficiently
planned transportation system has strengthened the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of Shanghai. In this session you will learn the best practices that keep Shanghai residents moving.
Tony a Certified Practising Planner (Australia), has a Bachelor’s degree in Town Planning (Honours) and a Master’s degree in Built Environment (Sustainable Development) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is also a LEED Accredited Practitioner and has accumulated over 15 years of project experiences in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and India. He was a founding member of Arup’s Planning team in Shanghai and currently leads the team from there. His work focuses primarily on the integrated urban development, urban design and project management processes. His expertise lies in integrating master planning and urban design with associated strategies (Energy, Water, Transportation, Waste etc.) to address natural resource consumption and carbon reduction as well as currently project managing various eco-city type projects around China.
Tony has presented at various conferences relating to sustainable urban planning in China and around the region. In this talk Tony talks about Arup's journey in Striving for “Greener” Urban Planning in China.
An Urban Design Approach to a Sustainable Compact City in New Growth Potentia...drboon
Existence of Cities always depends on the region for the resources-land, food, water, energy or maybe cheap labor. The resource base is vital for the survival of the cities. With increasing urban sprawl there is a great impact on the future of cities and their sustenance. The primary intent of the study is to demonstrate an Urban Design approach towards a sustainable compact urban model in new growth potential areas (case of Cyberabad, Hyderabad, India) as a means to counteract city’s faceless sprawl and environmental degradation by generating compact high density, low energy, mixed-use living and integrating it with the existing city fabric reducing the ecological footprint for future generations. As the selected site offers good natural features, ecologically sensitive areas of the site i.e. Steep slope areas, catchment channels and climatically unsuitable areas from the open space system of the development. The sustainable compact city design approach balances the environmental loads and the growth of city saving resources, conserving energy and enhancing the quality of life.
China has emerged as a key location for outsourced R&D operations especially in Telecom, Software and Electronics. The offshoring wave in China started nearly a decade later than in India. However, today, the country is competing with India and already being considered as an established offshore destination.
Expansion of Volvo electric buses in China. Recommendation for the KPMG Volvo True Value case prepared by McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management.
A New Strategy for Sustainable Transportation
Learn more at: http://www.boozallen.com/insights/insight-detail/beyond-mobility-a-new-strategy-for-sustainable-transportation
Cutting To The Chase in Designing New Measures of Transportation System Perfo...Barry Wellar
The emerging era of sustainable transport requires new transportation system performance measures to identify best practices, and to measure progress in achieving sustaimability.this presentation suggests several key avenues to be pursued, including the central role of GIS in the information infratructure.
Existing Condition of Urban Mobility in Kathmandu ValleyIJRTEMJOURNAL
Mobility of the city is very important for livable cities. General impression of the people regarding
the urban mobility in Kathmandu Valley is very bad. Perception of the people is gathered through the
questionnaire from people of Kathmandu. Various indicators are grouped in six categories namely -
environmental criteria, social/cultural sustainability, economic criteria,
infrastructure/engineering/technological, institutional sustainability and good governance. Questionnaire survey
was conducted to assess the people’s perception of three districts of Kathmandu Valley. This study deals the
people’s perception. Finding of the study will be useful for developing the sustainability criteria for urban
transportation and consider the various policy decision regarding the efficient mobility of Kathmandu Valley.
Finding shows that mobility situation of Kathmandu Valley is not good and indicates the need of improvement.
Micro Urbana Communities- Creating and Implementing Livable Transportatino So...Cynthia Hoyle
How can communities successfully create multi-modal transportation systems? This presentation discusses how Champaign-Urbana, IL has been working to give people choices in mobility and lifestyle and how it has been succeeding in creating mode-shift.
Sustainable Urban Transport Planning Considering Different Stakeholder Groups...BME
Sustainable urban transport requires smart and environmentally-friendly technical solutions. It also needs to meet the demands of different user groups, including current and potential future users, in order to avoid opposition of the citizens and to support sustainable development decisions. While these requirements are well-known, conducting full surveys of user needs and preferences are tedious and costly, and the interests of different user groups may be contradictory. We therefore developed a methodology based on the prevalent Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is capable of dealing with the inconsistencies and uncertainties of users’ responses by applying an Interval Analytic Hierarchy Process (IAHP) through comparing the results of passengers to reference stakeholder groups. For a case study in Mersin, a coastal city in southern Turkey with 1.7 Million inhabitants, three groups were surveyed with questionnaires: 40 users of the public transport system, 40 non-users, and 17 experts. Based on interval pairwise comparison matrices, consisting of whole judgments of all groups, the IAHP methodology could attain a consensual preference ranking for a future public transportation system between the three groups. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the factor ranking was very stable.
Encouraging public transport as a feasible option to passenger mobilityTristan Wiggill
A presentation by Mr Ofentse Mokwena (Lecturer: Department of Transport Economics and Logistics Management: NWU) at the Transport Forum special interest group proudly hosted by TCT in Cape Town on 10 December 2015. The theme for the event was: "Encouraging Public Transport". The topic of the presentation was: "Encouraging public transport as a feasible option to passenger mobility"
More like this on www.transportworldafrica.co.za
READING LIST: USING A RETROSPECTIVE APPROACH TO MINE THE LITERATURE FOR GIS A...Barry Wellar
Four bodies of pertinent readings are identified for the purposes of the Applied Research Seminar, Mining U.S. Federal Agency Materials for GIS Nuggets, 2016 Esri Federal User Conference, February 24-26, Washington, DC
First and foremost are the papers prepared for AutoCarto Six Retrospective (section A), which set out many of the concepts, ideas, needs, challenges and opportunities, as well as principles and practices that underlie the evolution of GIS technology and GIScience methodology.
The second body of publications is the papers and slide presentations prepared for the Colloquium on Using the Retrospective Approach to Mine for GIS Nuggets (section B1 and section B2, respectively), and the third body (section C) consists of the articles about GIS retrospective project activities published in the International Journal of Geospatial Research (IJAGR).
Finally, a preliminary list of publications (section D) from various academic, government, professional organization, and other sources has been compiled to supplement the AutoCarto Six Retrospective papers, and the colloquium productions. More references will be identified in the coming months, and the current reading list dated August 31, 2015 will be amended accordingly.
The intention is to suggest readings which could be instructive for a wide range of attendees. Our approach at this stage in view of resource constraints, as well as uncertainty about the backgrounds of seminar attendees, is to be indicative and illustrative rather than comprehensive and directive.
80+ HOCKEY HALL of FAME/TEMPLE de la RENOMMÉE du HOCKEY 80+ PRESENTED TO ROTA...Barry Wellar
80+ HOCKEY HALL of FAME/TEMPLE de la RENOMMÉE du HOCKEY 80+
PRESENTED TO ROTARY CLUB OF WEST OTTAWA, JUNE 16, 2015
BARRY WELLAR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
80+ HOCKEY HALL of FAME/TEMPLE de la RENOMMÉE du HOCKEY 80+
wellarb@uottawa.ca
Speed Limits and Road Safety: Examples of Questions to Ask to Ensure the Safe...Barry Wellar
The topic of speed limits and road safety has been around since the advent of the automobile and the topic still brings heated debate, usually along the lines of increasing speed limits to accommodate private motor vehicle operators. In these remarks for a panel discussion at the Ottawa Centre Community Summit on Speed Limits and Road Safety, I present a total of 20 questions which I believe provide a considerable amount of thought for citizens, community associations, advocacy groups, public interest groups, elected and appointed government officials, lawyers, academics, and others who seek actionable suggestions on how to ensure that whatever decisions are made about speed limits and road safety, those decisions have all due regard for the safety of pedestrians, and especially children, persons with disabilities, and seniors, who are among the most vulnerable of road users.
The Walking Security Index (WSI) project was approved in 1994 as an element of the Transportation Environment Action Plan (TEAP) of the Region of Ottawa-Carleton (changed to City of Ottawa in 2000) and the Walking Security Index (Final Report) was published in 1998. The Walking Security Index Pilot Study project was launched in 2000 and completed in 2002 One of the goals of TEAP was to encourage more trips by walking, and the primary mission of the WSI project was to design indexes which measure the levels of safety, comfort and convenience expected and experienced by pedestrians at intersections. The thesis of the WSI research was that indexes could be designed that provide scores on the performance of intersections from the perspective of safety, comfort, and convenience of pedestrians, and the scores could be arranged in rank order. Then, for public safety, quality of life, engineering, traffic, enforcement, maintenance, modification, health, or other purposes, the scores could be used to identify needed corrective actions at intersections rated from best to worst, o
GIS: Bringing Geography to the World & the World to Geography; Slide Presenta...Barry Wellar
The slide presentation for GIS: Bringing Geography to the World & the World to Geography, demonstrates the theme that GIS Day is a special occasion, whereby we express what we are thinking and doing in our GIS research, education, training, and applications activities. And, it is also is a time to set forth what we wish others would think about and do, such as providing answers to the question: “What contribution is Geography making to support and encourage the development and use of GIS technology and GIScience methods, techniques, and operations by governments, NGOs, business, researchers, academe, the media, and interest groups?” The impending Research Colloquium on Using the Retrospective Approach to Mine for GIS Nuggets is one such contribution by Geography to GIS. This GIS Day 2014 presentation includes a selection of figures and tables from several Colloquium papers which illustrate how Geography can contribute to both parts of the title, that is, GIS: Bringing Geography to the World and, GIS: Bringing the World to Geography.
Searching for GIS Nuggets: Mining Annual Reports by Canada’s Commissioner of ...Barry Wellar
The 2015 Retrospective Research Colloquium is designed in conjunction with plans for the follow-on 2016 Conference on Using the Retrospective Approach to Mine for GIS Nuggets. The focus of the Research Colloquium is on presentations which discuss why and how different kinds of literature and other sources could be mined for GIS nuggets serving one or more of the following missions: M1. Designing and developing geographic information systems technology; M2. Defining and elaborating geographic information science; and, M3. Using geographic information systems technology and/or geographic information science The Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) is a Government of Canada oversight agency. CESD reviews and evaluates federal department and agency progress in developing and implementing strategies to serve and promote sustainable development (which applies to both the built and the natural environments); and, CESD also oversees the environmental petitions process involving citizens. This paper discusses CESD’s mandate, its annual Reports to Parliament, and the focus of the Reports on the importance of information which is to be collected and processed by federal departments and agencies, and then used to monitor and analyze environmental and sustainable situations and processes, as well as to direct and support policy, program, and strategy decisions, and to communicate with citizens on environmental and sustainable development challenges, opportunities, issues, options, and initiatives. The paper concludes that CESD Reports to Parliament are an important body of literature to be mined for GIS nuggets.
Abuse v. Care of Land, Water, and Air, 1990-2015: The Doomsday Map Concept a...Barry Wellar
The 2015 Retrospective Research Colloquium is designed in conjunction with plans for the follow-on 2016 Conference on Using the Retrospective Approach to Mine for GIS Nuggets. The focus of the Research Colloquium is on presentations which discuss why and how different kinds of literature and other sources could be mined for GIS nuggets serving one or more of the following missions: M1. Designing and developing geographic information systems technology; M2. Defining and elaborating geographic information science; and, M3. Using geographic information systems technology and/or geographic information science. This paper encourages and supports mining the popular literature – newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and all other forms of media – for GIS nuggets, that is, GIS findings which serve three related functions: designing and developing geographic information systems technology; defining and elaborating geographic information science; and, using geographic information systems technology and geographic information science. Organized around the concepts of the Doomsday Map and the Stewardship Map, media articles on the abuse versus care of land, water, and air resources over the 25 years between 1990 and 2015 provide the basis for questions to guide retrospectively mining for GIS nuggets: Who caused the change from abuse to care to occur, or not? What caused the change from abuse to care to occur, or not? Why did the change from abuse to care occur, or not? When did the change from abuse to care occur, or not? Where did the change occur, or not? How did the change occur, or not? And, for each of those questions, Was GIS a factor? Media reports confirm that it is critically important to retrospectively mine this body of literature for GIS nuggets, and provide suggestions about how the mining process could be designed.
GIS: Bringing Geography to the World & the World to GeographyBarry Wellar
GIS Day is a special occasion, whereby we express what we are thinking and doing in our GIS research, education, training, and applications activities. And, it is also is a time to set forth what we wish others would think about and do, such as providing answers to the question: “What contribution is Geography making to support and encourage the development and use of GIS technology and GIScience methods, techniques, and operations by governments, NGOs, business, researchers, academe, the media, and interest groups?” The impending Research Colloquium on Using the Retrospective Approach to Mine for GIS Nuggets is one such contribution by Geography to GIS. This GIS Day 2014 presentation includes a selection of figures and tables from several Colloquium papers which illustrate how Geography can contribute to both parts of the title, that is, GIS: Bringing Geography to the World and, GIS: Bringing the World to Geography.
The focus of this report is on passenger rail safety and freight rail safety for two primary reasons. First, and as illustrated by numerous, recent media items – editorials, columns, interviews, articles, programs, news specials, letters to editors, etc., – there continues to be widespread concern about the need to correct weaknesses, shortcomings, defects, flaws, and so on that are negatively affecting the safe movement of rail passenger and rail freight traffic in Canada (as well as in the U.S. and in other countries). Moreover, the media items frequently raise questions about the causes of rail safety situations or incidents that are deemed to be in urgent need of answers from governments (elected and appointed officials) at all levels, as well as from private sector corporate entities. And the second reason it is the flip side of the first. That is, due to policies, motives, practices, procedures, etc., specific to government agencies and officials, or to private sector corporate entities and officers, it is often very difficult or impossible to obtain the data, information or other productions necessary and sufficient to derive evidence-based comments, directives, or opinions about rail safety matters for media or for advisory purposes. This paper addresses both sides of the rail safety situation by presenting five core questions which can be used by lawyers, earnest elected officials, earnest professional staff, rail safety advocates, opposition political parties, candidates for political office, rail incident victims, and the media to pursue legal, political, operational, and other remedies to resolve rail safety problems and challenges, to significantly improve public access to pertinent, timely, and comprehensive rail safety data, information, and other productions, and to ensure full access to the people and methods behind the decisions which affect passenger rail and freight rail safety. The five core questions are: How have the priorities that governments (including crown corporations) and private sector entities assigned to duty of care obligations, standard of care practices, and risk management targets affected passenger rail safety, and freight rail safety, respectively, in Canada? How has urban encroachment as a result of planning and/or development decisions by municipal and provincial governments, and property developers, compromised rail safety? How has physical conflict between trains and trains, and trains and other modes of ground-based transport, compromised rail safety? How have passenger rail safety and freight rail safety been factored into transportation funding decisions by federal, provincial, and municipal governments? How have geographic information systems (GIS) technology and science assisted rail carriers and government departments or agencies make better passenger rail safety and freight rail safety decisions?
AutoCarto Six Retrospective is a commemorative book that celebrates the Sixth International Symposium on Automated Cartography, which was held 30 years ago in Ottawa, Canada in 1983. The AC Six Symposium is considered one of the most influential conferences behind the origins, development, and growth of automated cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, geomatics, and related fields. The retrospective production was designed and edited by Barry Wellar, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa, and currently owner and principal of Wellar Consulting Inc. and President, Information Research Board Inc. He was the Director of the Technical Program for AutoCarto Six, and editor of the 1100-page symposium proceedings which is available online at various websites. AutoCarto Six Retrospective includes an Introduction by Jack Dangermond, President, Esri, a paper by Barry Wellar on the design of a retrospective project and book, and 29 papers in which authors look back at the papers they presented on the theme, “Automated Cartography: International Perspectives on Achievements and Challenges”. The terms of reference used to design the retrospective papers include: Reason for 1983 paper; Thoughts shaping the design of the 1983 paper; Derivative attributions; Original contributions; Impacts; What was new in the 1983 paper; and, What was different in the 1983 paper. AutoCarto Six Retrospective is published by Information Research Board Inc.
The Walking Security Index (WSI) project was approved in 1994 as an element of the Transportation Environment Action Plan (TEAP) of the Region of Ottawa-Carleton (now the City of Ottawa), and received funding in 1996. The Walking Security Index (Final Report) was published in 1998. One of the goals of TEAP was to encourage more trips by walking, and the primary mission of the WSI project was to design indexes which measure the levels of safety, comfort and convenience expected and experienced by pedestrians at intersections. The thesis of the WSI research was that indexes could be designed that provide numeric scores on the performance of intersections from the perspective of safety, comfort, and convenience of pedestrians, and the scores could be arranged in rank order. Then, for public safety, quality of life, engineering, traffic, enforcement, maintenance, infrastructure modification, health, or other purposes, the scores could be used to identify needed corrective actions at intersections rated from best to worst, or at problematic intersection quadrants, and the rankings would provide elected officials and Region/City management and staff with information for prioritizing remedial actions. More than 50 publications have been authored or co-authored by the principal investigator to describe the research design and findings of the WSI methodology, including the specification of 10 indexes grouped into three domains -- intersection volume and design, quality of intersection condition, and driver behaviour. The Walking Security Index project reports, findings, and expertise of the principal investigator have been accepted for expert witness opinions and testimony in more than a dozen legal actions involving pedestrians, motor vehicle operators, municipal governments, insurance companies, and school boards. The print run of more than 400 copies of Walking Security Index was exhausted some years ago, and I have been informed on a number of occasions by interested parties such as researchers, lawyers, public safety advocates, community groups, academics, and students that access to a digital production has not been provided or maintained by the City of Ottawa. That shortcoming is addressed by p0osting this digital production. A digital production will also be prepared for the final report of the follow-on project, Walking Security Index Pilot Study, and it too will be posted to ensure digital access.
STANDARD OF CARE AND E-DEMOCRACY INITIATIVES: LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY IMPACTSBarry Wellar
Barry Wellar’s presentation at the 2010 GIS-Pro Conference introduced the topic of governments using GIS to meet duty of care/standard of care obligations. During the 2011 GIS-Pro Conference, Sean McGrath reported on e-democracy activities designed to streamline the legislative process, reduce the paper burden, and significantly improve information exchanges between elected officials and citizens. This panel session builds on those foundations by discussing how information technology is modernizing the legislative process in different jurisdictions, how the availability of GIS is increasing the onus on governments to explicitly build GIS into their standard of care capabilities, and how e-democracy principles and practices are emerging as a core element of enterprise-wide computer-based communications systems in governments. This presentation summarizes the core arguments in the two standard of care papers given by Wellar (Wellar, 2010a, 2010b) at the 2010 URISA conference, and then discusses some of the policy and legislative impacts arising from and feeding into the fusion of GIS and e-democracy infrastructure and activities. The presentation should be of particular interest to: 1) elected and appointed members of the executive function responsible for incorporating standard of care obligations into the policies and legislative materials of local, provincial/state, and federal governments; and 2) managers and GISPs responsible for designing and implementing a GIS-based, e-democracy capability that achieves enterprise-wide inter-connectivity between duty of care and standard of care obligations and the modifications to policies or legislative documents and procedures that pertain to those care obligations.
What's behind the nonsense about traffic gridlockBarry Wellar
This article was prepared for news media, popular literature, list serve, social media, academic and association websites, and other means of communicating with the general public in Canada and abroad. As demonstrated in previous reports, and without exception to date, claims about traffic gridlock in sources such as news media stories, government documents, board of trade releases, vested interest productions, as well as announcements and pronouncements by politicians are unsupported by substantive, empirical evidence. This article is a commentary urging ordinary citizens to reject the gridlock nonsense and its agents or lobbyists, and to insist upon and participate in national, regional, and local education programs to better understand and appreciate both the positive and the negative aspects of traffic congestion. Previous reports on my recent gridlock-related research include Tracking the Motives behind the Phony War on “Traffic Gridlock; Traffic Gridlock: A Bad, Mis-Leading Metaphor that Makes for Bad, Mis-Directed Public Policy; Traffic Gridlock: The Real Deal or a Pile of Nonsense? ; and Inspiring a Sustainability Action Agenda . These and other, related productions can be viewed at various websites including, transport2000.ca/; wellar.ca/wellarconsulting/; slideshare.net/wellarb/documents; and urbanneighbourhoods.wordpress.com/.
Traffic Gridlock: A Bad, Mis-Leading Metaphor that Makes for Bad, Mis-Directe...Barry Wellar
In a previous publication, Traffic Gridlock: The Real Deal or a Pile of Nonsense?, I reported on a study which applied several research procedures to examine media stories and Google search items containing the terms “traffic gridlock” or “gridlock” implying traffic gridlock. The objective was to ascertain whether the media stories and Google items establish that traffic gridlock is a real deal matter, or whether the stories and items contribute to a pile of nonsense. The finding was that 99% of the stories and items belong in the nonsense pile.
And therein lies a puzzle: How is it that “traffic gridlock” enjoys considerable media and Google popularity, but little to no evidence demonstrating the occurrence of “traffic gridlock” accompanies the vast majority of stories and Google entries? In this report I explore one possible explanation, and the associated implication for public policy. That is, traffic gridlock” is a bad, mis-leading metaphor which has been accepted and promulgated by some parties as a truth for which no proof exists and none is needed. And, the associated cause-effect relationship that I comment on is that a bad, mis-leading metaphor is a bad, mis-directed basis for setting public policy.
To support this explanation I introduce the good metaphor “traffic blockage”, and use it as a means to discredit and dismiss the traffic gridlock metaphor which I believe erroneously distorts understanding the role of motor vehicle congestion in urban places, and obscures/confounds the appropriate ways and means of considering and addressing urban motor vehicle congestion. And, as per the initial paper, an invitation is extended to anyone who has traffic gridlock evidence: please call it to my attention at the earliest so that I can adjust my thinking and revise my papers.
Transportation: Inspiring a Sustainability Action AgendaBarry Wellar
The slides in this presentation are for of a keynote address at the 2011 Sustainable Community Summit, Ottawa, Canada. My assignment is “To promote and guide discussion into the barriers and solutions associated with achieving the transportation element of a sustainable community.” As context for the discussion of barriers and solutions to achieving sustainable transport, I begin by explaining why I use “Inspire” in the title. I then list a dozen of my reports in which I examined various issues associated with sustainable transport, and another set of reports in which I previously discussed barriers and solutions to achieving sustainable transport in the City of Ottawa. The final context remark is to remind/inform attendees, and viewers of this presentation, of the ten reports from the project, Methodologies for Identifying and Ranking Sustainable Transport Practices in Urban Regions, which was undertaken for Transport Canada in 2008-2009. Emphasis then turns to two conditions which must be met in order to achieve the transportation component of a sustainable community. First, simultaneously reduce the number of trips made by private motor vehicles, and increase the number of trips made by walking, cycling, and transit. And second, actions are explicitly designed and methodologically implemented to increase transportation system flexibility. The presentation is concluded by a number of slides illustrating how the sustainability of a transportation system is determined by the combinations of transportation system outputs that are demanded by citizens, businesses, and government agencies, and the modes of transportation used by citizens, businesses, and governments to achieve those outputs. In the open forum to follow the presentation, Summit attendees will be asked for words of wisdom, guidance, and motivation to INSPIRE a sustainable transportation transformation across Ottawa, Ontario, and beyond.
Through policies, promises, pronouncements, agreements, advertisements, endorsements, pledges, and related statements, municipal governments endorse, support, exhort, encourage, promote, call for, and otherwise demonstrate a municipal “interest” in the use by pedestrians of such public transportation facilities as sidewalks, paths, bridges, roads, streets, highways, intersections, and crosswalks. However, during the course of using these facilities, pedestrians may be injured or even killed. The questions arise, therefore, as to: A) Whether failures by municipal governments to meet duty of care or standard of care obligations affecting pedestrians contributed to events causing the injuries or deaths; and B) Whether it may be appropriate to initiate legal action to seek redress. This presentation includes the following materials which may be instructive for pedestrians, pedestrians’ advocacy groups, and persons acting on behalf of pedestrians, who are giving consideration to playing the legal card: 1) An illustrative list of municipal and provincial documents with a legal aspect pertaining to pedestrians;2) Parameters of burden of care that
have been and are matters of political, social, methodological, and legal contention; 3) Municipal duty of care and standard of care materials and functions that have, could have, or should have implications for pedestrians; 4) Deaths, injuries, and other costs of burden of care failures that affect pedestrians – Results from newspaper searches done more than TEN years ago; 5) Basics of a duty of care/standard of care action? Simple arithmetic test; 6) Burden of care questions that are central to examination for discovery, expert witness reports, and evidence-in-chief and cross-examination activities: 7) Dealing with municipal failure to meet duty of care and standard of care obligations affecting pedestrians – Still want to play the legal card? The presentation is concluded by a selection of online materials dealing with various aspects of the duty of care and standard of care parameters examined during the Walking Security Index project, 1995-2002, and subsequent projects.
Geography Awareness Week 2010 and GIS Day 2010 CompetitionsBarry Wellar
Prior to 2010, the Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, hosted a poster competition among undergraduate and graduate students for GIS Day. In 2010, maps and photographs are added to include additional ways of representing geographic phenomena, and the competition is expanded to combine GIS Day with Geography Awareness Week. To assist in judging the entries, guidelines for evaluating maps, photographs, and posters were prepared by Barry Wellar, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa, and Past Chair, Geography Awareness Week, Canadian Association of Geographers. Initial responses to the guidelines by judges, faculty, and students suggest that the guidelines are very effective as a means to efficiently and fairly evaluate large numbers of geography-related exhibits in a short span of time, and are also useful as design frameworks and checklists for course outlines, research projects, publications, and term assignments.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
3. Synopsis (2) It follows on prima facie grounds, therefore, that geographic factors warrant primary consideration as potentially essential features in the conceptualization, design, and implementation of best practices promoted or adopted in the name of sustainable transport.
4. Synopsis (3) The 2007 Fleming Lecture begins with a brief review of Canada’s progress in achieving core element standing for geographic factors in sustainable transport best practices. This part of the paper grounds sustainable transport in metropolitan regions, and then establishes the essential role of geographic factors in the sustainability of transport systems in Canada, and particularly in its metropolitan transportation systems.
5. Synopsis (4) With that foundation in place, the paper then presents findings that reveal the extremely limited implementation of nine sustainable transport best practices in Canada’s metropolitan regions, and the consequent lack of regard for geographic factors in matters related to achieving sustainable transport practices.
6. Synopsis (5) In the spirit of the Fleming Lecture, it is not sufficient to merely identify shortcomings and ‘curse the darkness’. Instead, it is appropriate to contribute to the solution, which in this case means suggesting how geographic factors could be pertinent to the design, implementation, and evaluation of sustainable transport best practices.
7. Synopsis (6) As a contribution towards that objective, 100 terms are presented to illustrate the various ways that geographic factors are germane to decisions and actions involving the walk, cycle, transit, and/or private vehicle modes in metropolitan regions.
8. Synopsis (7) The section is concluded by a preliminary indication of the geographic factors that are pertinent to each of the nine sustainable transport best practices.
9. Synopsis (8) Finally, the issue of how to accelerate the process of achieving core element standing for geographic factors in the body of best practices associated with sustainable transport best practices is examined.
10. Synopsis (9) Taking into account the failures of governments, big media, corporations, and adults over the past decades, it is argued that children and community newspapers represent the best hope for achieving sustainable transport practices in metropolitan regions in Canada within the next 10-15 years, and for incorporating geographic factors in those practices.
11. Introduction (1) Previous Fleming Lecturers are a challenge and an inspiration because they raise the bar for this Fleming Lecture in a very constructive way. Their combined works set a high standard for presenting sustainable transport practice ideas that are new and different, as well as achievable, repeatable, practical, and appealing.
12. Introduction (2) As for newcomers to sustainable transport, they need to appreciate that we have a large quantity of sustainable transport principles, and a high frequency of public and published references to those principles. However, relatively little has been achieved in implementing sustainable transport practices , and this is where earnest newcomers have a key role to play: Moving sustainable transport beyond the “same old, same old” of promise and principle into performance and practice.
13. Introduction (3) One of the most important tasks before geographers and the field of transport geography in particular may be summarized as follows: To broaden and deepen the body of theoretical and empirical knowledge of why and how geography affects the need for and achievement of best practices in sustainable transport in metropolitan regions.
14. Background (1) My interest in sustainable transport principles and practices began while I was a graduate student at Northwestern University in the 1960s, and continued when I joined the University of Kansas in 1969.
15. Background (2) In 1972, I was invited to return to Canada and join the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, Government of Canada, as a senior research officer. My entrance into the sustainable transport field at the practices level came to be quickly informed by exposure to both the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ perspectives, respectively.
16. Background (3) My duties at Urban Affairs included providing all manner of subject matter advice on a variety of policy, program, and plan issues and initiatives affecting the economic, social, environmental, and geographical development of urban centers, urban systems, and urban regions across the country
17. Background (4) Regarding to the bottom-up (or grassroots) perspective, upon arriving in Ottawa I quickly became involved in a numerous contentions community-based issues. These issues frequently involved objections to what was being prescribed for neighbourhoods by those with ‘top-down’ authority.
18. Background (5) One of the common links between the top-down and bottom-up perspectives was the land use-transportation connection. Or, more accurately, the land use-transportation system disconnection.
19. Background (6) “ Will urban land uses, including housing, be so distributed that we profligately consume scarce or non-renewable resources while traveling millions of journey-to-work person-miles every day, that walking school children are put in competition for space with driving adults, that city residence-to-recreation site distances are routinely separated on a greater-than-walking distance basis?” From Housing for the Future (Wellar, 1975)
20. Background (7) “ Change the input numbers to 20,000,000 trip-makers each driving 20 miles per day at 20 miles per gallon, and our consumption numbers change to 20,000,000 gallons per day, and 7,300,000,000 per year.” From Housing for the Future (Wellar, 1975)
21. Background (8) As might be surmised, it seemed clear to me in 1975 that Canada had a serious transportation-land use disconnect, compounded by a fossil fuel consumption habit of disturbing proportions.
22. Background (9) “… a senior professional at the Department of Urban Affairs and a former professor of urban transport.” From Taking steps towards the end of the automobile era (Wellar, 1975)
23. Background (10) “ Selected streets should have buses-only sections and lanes during the morning and evening peak hours. Buses should be equipped with devices for changing light signals upon approach. Buses in cities should have legal and acknowledged right-of-way for turns at intersections and into traffic, regardless of street signals and markings.” From Taking steps towards the end of the automobile era (Wellar, 1975)
24. Background (11) There are nine other fundamental change recommendations in the column. All of them are being put forward today in the name of sustainable transport, or in the related fields of sustainable development, smart growth, energy conservation, etc., some 30 years after they appeared in print.
25.
26. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (2) The following definition was used to explain how the term “best practice” was employed in the White Paper: (Wellar, 2006) The term ‘best practice’ refers to initiatives and activities that most effectively contribute to making sustainable transport practices a reality.
27. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (3) Table 1. Initial List of Sustainable Transport Best Practices Used to Assess Canada’s Record of Achievement 1. Sustainable Transport Test. 2. Integrated Land Use and Transportation System Planning and Development. 3. Smart Growth/New Urbanism. 4. Development and Adoption of a Pedestrian Charter. 5. Incorporating Time as a Criterion for Defining Sustainable Transport. 6. Incorporating the Geo-Factor in Sustainable Transport Measures. 7. Using Indexes for Decision Support. 8. Defining Road/Highway “Improvements” in Sustainable Transport Terms. 9. Implementing Measures to Simultaneously Increase Walk, Cycle, and Transit/Train Trips While Decreasing Trips by Private Motor Vehicle.
28. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (4) No evidence was found to demonstrate that any best practice has been achieved to a significant degree. Moreover, after a second search it is my impression that there is not sufficient material in the extant literature to write even one informative paper on achieved sustainable transport best practices in Canada’s metropolitan regions. Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect Canadians to achieve sustainable transport best practices, and due to concern about the fragility of our national psyche the bar should be lowered?
29. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (5) In early March 2007, the Big City Mayors Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities apparently endorsed the Integrated Land Use and Transportation System Planning and Development best practice in a proposal to the federal government about transit funding. However, the mayors’ proposal for “…better land use and transportation planning …” merely confirms Table 1. More talk, no action.
30. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (6) A very practical question: “ Why bother examining regard shown for geographic factors if there is only minimal progress in achieving best practices in the first place?” A very practical answer:
31. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (7) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released Part 1 of its Fourth Assessment Report on February 2, 2007. Two weeks before I had made a presentation on The Doomsday Map to the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.
32. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (8) Action agenda for geographers. There is an urgent need for geographers to get their act together in two respects. First, we need to establish the geographic factors that are pertinent to defining, specifying, implementing, evaluating, and modifying sustainable transport best practices.
33. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (9) Second, we need to figure out how to accelerate the process of achieving core element standing for geographic factors in the body of best practices in Canada and, I suggest, in most other countries of the world.
34. Current Regard for Geographic Factors in Sustainable Transport Best Practices (10) Table 2. A Selection of Terms that Indicate the Potential for Incorporating Geographic Factors in Designing, Implementing and Evaluating Sustainable Transport Best Practices in Metropolitan Areas Scale Segregation Shape Site Situation Slope Space Spatial Sphere Sprawl Spread Strip Structure Surface System Territory Topography Topology Walkway Walkshed Ward Where YIMBY Zone Location Lot Margin Migration Morphology Movement Near Neighbourhood Network NIMBY Node Orientation Origin Parcel Partition Path Pattern Pedshed Perimeter Periphery Place Proximity Quadrant Region Right-of-way Route Distribution District Edge Elevation Encroachment Environs Far Flow Fringe Function Geometry Grid Gridlock Habitat Hinterland Integration Intensification Interaction Intersection Island Isolation Land Landscape Lane Line Link Accessibility Adjacency Area Block Border Boundary Buffer Center Centrality Circle Closeness Cluster Commutershed Compactness Concentration Concentric Congestion Connectivity Contiguity Core Crossing Density Destination Diffusion Dispersion Distance
35. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Connections between sustainable transport best practices and pertinent geographic factors are posited in Table 3. At this stage my objective is to indicate the connections between geographical factors and sustainable transport best practices. While many of the connections have general applicability, the relative importance of geographical factors will vary by metropolitan area and zones or neighbourhoods within the area.
36.
37. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 1. Sustainable Transport Test Sustainable transport best practices occur “on the ground”, that is, the effects of a practice being implemented can be evaluated by examining functional, structural, and output or outcome changes in the affected transportation mode(s). As a result, an assessment of whether a purported sustainable transport best practice has improved, enhanced, or beneficially modified a situation or process would include an examination of such geographic factors as accessibility, compactness, connectivity, gridlock, integration, interaction, and segregation.
38. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 2. Integrated Land Use and Transportation System Planning and Development Land uses and transportation systems are of and in the built environment, so the consequences of their being integrated (rather than segregated) must be measurable or expressible in geographic terms. Pertinent concepts or constructs are represented by terms such as c ommutershed, diffusion, dispersion, edge, hinterland, pedshed, and sprawl.
39. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 3. Smart Growth/New Urbanism Land uses and transportation systems are of and in the built environment, and always have been; the intended difference of this best practice is that the former emphasis on automobile-driven growth gives way to an emphasis on alternative transportation (walk, cycle, transit) and increased regard for land and space as limited resources. Pertinent terms to use in designing or evaluating this best practice in terms of its regard for geographic factors include adjacency, buffer, contiguity, interaction, neighbourhood, path, and walkshed.
40. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 4. Development and Adoption of a Pedestrian Charter Pedestrians are people who walk between a variety of places -- home, work, school, recreation, shopping, health, medical, entertainment, etc., -- and they frequently are required to use sidewalks as well as the transportation infrastructure that is also used by cyclists, transit riders, and private vehicle operators and their passengers. Terms in Table 2 that apply to his best practice include buffer, crossing, distance, encroachment, intersection, lane, path, quadrant, segregation, and zone.
41. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 5. Incorporating Time as a Criterion for Defining Sustainable Transport Any of the process terms – concentration, congestion, diffusion, dispersion, distribution, intensification, etc., in Table 2, and any the terms that can be expressed as processes – for example, cluster and clustering , link and linking , spread and spreading – can be used with this best practice. All that is required is an appropriate timeframe, that is, from seconds, minutes and hours, to months and seasons, to years and perhaps even decades to accommodate census data.
42. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 6. Incorporating the Geo-Factor in Sustainable Transport Measures All of the terms in Table 2 have been incorporated in geographic information systems software applications, beginning in the 1970s for many of them, and there are a number of software applications that combine multiples of the terms contained in Table 2. In view of the arguments given above for the preceding best practices, as well as those that follow, it appears that every term contained in Table 2 could be a candidate for inclusion in one or more sustainable transport measures. Cross Walks Stop Bars
43. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 7. Using Indexes for Decision Support With their capacity to rate and rank phenomena, indexes are a proven means to provide decision support information when relatively large quantities of an entity or entities are under consideration. As a case in point, one quickly runs out ways to track the relative performance of 850 signalized intersections, but an index can turn this kind of exercise into child’s play. It is likely that indexes either exist for many of the terms in Table 2, and that existing research would enable the development of indexes for any of the other terms. An initial inspection suggests that all the terms in Table 2 appear to be candidates for inclusion in an index to assist in the design, development, or evaluation of a sustainable transport best practice.
44. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 8. Defining Road/Highway “Improvements” in Sustainable Transport Terms As noted above, the design and implementation of sustainable transport practices requires that projects are justified on the basis of sustainability criteria, however they are defined. This could mean, for example, that changes for the better (improvements) are made to structures, functions, behaviours, etc., and these changes affect the extent and rate that trip volumes and modal shares shift from private motor vehicles to the walk, cycle, and transit modes for people, and from trucks to trains for freight. Terms that are pertinent for defining spatial relationships between causal changes and causal effects include area, block, border, distribution, district, flow, grid, location, movement, neighbourhood, origin, parcel, place, region,, strip, territory, ward, and zone.
45. Geographic Factors and Sustainable Transport Best Practices: Making Connections Table 3. Connecting Sustainable Transport Best Practices and Geographical Factors 9. Implementing Measures to Simultaneously Increase Walk, Cycle, and Transit/Train Trips while Decreasing Trips by Private Motor Vehicle Increases and decreases in trips by mode is a topic that lends itself to numerous research scenarios, some of which are indicated by the terms in Table 2. By way of illustration, the following are among the terms that could be used in designing and executing a program to map, analyze and evaluate the spatial outcomes of this best practice: area, block, border, boundary, buffer; center, centrality, cluster, commutershed, concentration, congestion, core, distance, distribution, district, flow, fringe, function, geometry, gridlock, integration, intensification, interaction, intersection, lane, location, movement, near, neighbourhood, network, NIMBY, node, path, pattern, pedshed, place, proximity, quadrant, region, right-of-way, route, site, situation, spatial, sphere, sprawl, spread, structure, surface, system, topology, walkshed, ward, where, YIMBY, and zone. Turning Lanes
46. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (1) As some of you may recall, H. L. Mencken opined, “ As for the great masses They can be divided into two classes; Those for whom thinking is painful And those for whom it is impossible”.
47. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (2) The message that I take from Mr. Mencken is crystal clear: Find ways to ease the burden of thinking in order to achieve the desired actions. Examination of Tables 1, 2, and 3 suggests to me that two parts of the “ways strategy” have already been presented.
48. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (3) First, none of the best practices in Table 1 requires rocket science skills to understand. It is my impression that the vast majority of adults and teens can get a handle on the meaning and implications of each best practice.
49. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (4) Second, there is hardly anything brain-numbing about most of the terms in Table 2, and many of them are in the everyday vocabularies of ordinary citizens, including teens and children. In addition to their lack of perplexity, however, the terms in Table 2 give geography a “hook” which is shared with few other disciplines associated with sustainable transport.
50. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (5) Through the fact of daily living, people have the opportunity to experience more geographic factors than the factors of any other disciplines that claim a role in shaping sustainable transport practices. Members of the media may also experience geographic factors on a daily basis.
51. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (6) In the field of sustainable transport best practices, we are in urgent need of popular literature contributions (newspapers, radio, television, Internet), that discuss the geographic factors listed in Table 2.
52. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (7) The best practices to resolve sustainability issues involve local initiatives, the geographic factors of most import to the day-to-day lives of people are local , and the media of most utility in this domain are also local. These include community newspapers that publish on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, and television and radio stations that are primarily concerned with local coverage.
53. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (8) We are likely 10-15 years away from Canadian society taking widespread action on sustainable transport, largely because there is no market-based, health-based, fear-based, or other force to drive near-term change among the ’great masses’ or even a large segment of the population. However, there appears to be is a force for change coming over the horizon: Children.
54. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (9) In presentations to elementary and high school classes a number of children asked a pertinent question: What can we do to stop the things that are going into The Doomsday Map ?
55. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (10) The apparent ability of children to understand the headlines in The Doomsday Map presentation prompted a question for me: If elementary school children can grasp the idea of a Doomsday Map, could they grasp the importance of achieving sustainable transport practices? The answer, it appears, is Yes.
56. Suggestions for Engaging Citizens and the Media (11) After weighing the evidence accumulated over the past 30 years, it is my finding that the younger generation, ages 8-14, is the most significant player in Canada’s forthcoming struggle to achieve sustainable transport best practices. In 10-15 years the current group will be 18-29 years of age, which makes them a formidable force on everything from voting to societal values and attitudes to media influence.
57. Conclusion (1) After describing nine sustainable transport best practices in Table 1, about 100 terms representing geographic factors are listed in Table 2. Table 3 contains a selection of terms from Table 2 that could be incorporated in the design, specification, implementation, evaluation, etc., of the respective best practices.
58. Conclusion (2) After more than 30 years as a researcher, civil servant, consultant and activist, and more than 1,000 media interviews, columns, events, letters to editors, etc., I am cautiously optimistic that the next decade could be the basis for major movement in the field of sustainable transport practices, and that geography will be appreciated as a core element.
59. Conclusion (3) I suggest that terms like those in Table 2 are central to our mission, that the greatest human force for change will be today’s children ages 8-14, that the best friends we have in the media are community newspapers, local television and local radio stations, and that effective use of list serves and websites is critical.
60. Acknowledgements In addition to the support of Transport 2000 Canada, I wish to acknowledge the contributions of several individuals to the presentation of the 2007 Fleming Lecture, Geographic Factors as a Core Element of Sustainable Transport Best Practices in Metropolitan Regions in Canada . I wish to thank Dr. Richard Morrill, University of Washington, for his assistance in preparing for the Lecture; Dr. Susan Hanson, Clark University, for her contributions as the Discussant; and, the previous Fleming Lecturers who assisted with the references and pointed me towards some adjustments in the slides and the paper. Finally, I want to thank Prof. William Garrison, University of California at Berkeley, for his many sound “second opinions”. Assistance in preparing the PowerPoint presentation was provided by Sam Herold, Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and Geographic Information Systems Science, University of Ottawa, and it is gratefully acknowledged.