Walking accessibility and property prices

Walking is an imperative travel mode, especially for short trips. Walking accessibility, which is defined as the ease of reaching essential destinations in the walk-in catchment area, may affect property prices because residents are more likely to be willing to pay for this attribute. In addition, different categories of public services may have varied influencing directions and magnitude. These two hypotheses are tested in this study. Taking Xiamen, China as a case study, we estimate the cumulative opportunities of public services on foot and develop a set of hedonic pricing models (more specifically, two pre-specified ordinary least squares models, four Box-Cox transformed models, and two spatial econometric models) to estimate, whether and to what extent, walking accessibility contributes to price premiums (or discounts). Using a database of 22,586 second-hand residential properties in 358 multi- or high-storey residential complexes, we find that (1) walking accessibility to public services contributes to the variations in housing prices and plays a role in determining housing prices; (2) different categories of services have vastly divergent, even opposite, influencing impacts; and (3) walking accessibility to primary schools, commercial centers, and sports and cultural centers have positive effects on house prices whereas walking accessibility to comprehensive hospitals adversely affects housing prices. Methodologically, we confirm that spatial econometric methods improve estimation accuracy and have more explanatory power relative to the standard non-spatial models. Robustness check analysis further guarantees the plausibility of this study.     

Does transport help people to gain employment? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence

ABSTRACT

The role of transport in providing access to employment has received considerable attention. Since transport policies may be motivated by assumed effects on employment probability outcomes, it is important to establish the nature of the relationship between transport and employment outcomes. While the majority of the empirical evidence suggests a positive association, it is not conclusive or consistent and often shows mixed results. To address this confusion, our study has systematically reviewed this evidence base and synthesised it through meta-analysis. We first identified 93 studies that quantitatively assessed the impact of transport on employment outcomes. By systematically merging the empirical evidence, this study establishes a positive association between transport and employment outcomes, with varying effects for four identified categories of transport measures (or combinations thereof): car ownership, public transport access, commute times, and job accessibility levels. This positive association persists in studies that control for endogeneity between transport and employment, but a larger evidence base is needed to establish a more robust relationship, in particular for cities and smaller (rural) areas outside the US-context and with regard to public transport. We then selected 20 methodologically comparable studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Our meta-regression models clearly demonstrate that car ownership significantly increases individual employment probabilities, in particular among welfare recipients. Young drivers benefit from access to household cars when these are not in use by their parents, and they are more sensitive to the time and cost implications of longer commutes. While our systematic review suggests that better access to public transport and higher levels of job accessibility increases employment probabilities, meta-regression analysis requires more consistent transport measures. The findings in this study are important for policymakers in that they imply that job seekers may benefit from public policies targeted at improving their access to public transport, in particular for people without access to cars and in areas with fewer job opportunities.     

提高八钢专用铁路货运量的对策

优化调整货物运输结构、提高铁路发运占比是落实"蓝天保卫战"的一项具体举措。为了满足宝钢集团新疆八一钢铁有限公司生产规模的不断扩大、外运需求旺盛的实际,在对其铁路运输现状和需求,以及存在的线路质量较差、装卸效率较低、运输组织衔接弱等问题进行剖析的基础上,提出提高铁路货运量对策,即:推进路企直通战略合作、升级改造设备设施、构建调度全程统一指挥模式、优化货流源头组织,以加快调整运输结构,增加铁路货运量,推动铁路高质量发展。     

Integrating mesoscopic dynamic traffic assignment with agent-based travel behavior models for cumulative land development impact analysis

A number of approaches have been developed to evaluate the impact of land development on transportation infrastructure. While traditional approaches are either limited to static modeling of traffic performance or lack a strong travel behavior foundation, today’s advanced computational technology makes it feasible to model an individual traveler’s response to land development. This study integrates dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) with a positive agent-based microsimulation travel behavior model for cumulative land development impact studies. The integrated model not only enhances the behavioral implementation of DTA, but also captures traffic dynamics. It provides an advanced yet practical approach to understanding the impact of a single or series of land development projects on an individual driver’s behavior, as well as the aggregated impacts on the demand pattern and time-dependent traffic conditions. A simulation-based optimization (SBO) approach is proposed for the calibration of the modeling system. The SBO calibration approach enhances the transferability of this integrated model to other study areas. Using a case study that focuses on the cumulative land development impact along a congested corridor in Maryland, various regional and local travel behavior changes are discussed to show the capability of this tool for behavior side estimations and the corresponding traffic impacts.     

Residential segregation and commuting patterns of migrant workers in China

In China, many rural migrant workers experience residential segregation and live in urbanizing villages, due to China’s unique institutional context (e.g. land tenure system, hukou system) as well as exclusionary housing regulations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether these urbanizing villages provide good job accessibility for rural migrant workers. We explore this problem by investigating the commuting patterns of migrant workers. Through a survey conducted in 2009 across four mega-regions in China that are currently experiencing rapid urbanization, we collected individual level information on rural migrant workers’ commute distances and durations, demographics, household socioeconomic status, and whether the migrant worker is living in an urbanizing village or not. From residential address information collected in the survey, we constructed a group of built environment variables. Using IV Tobit models to address the endogeneity issues associated with residential location choice, our analyses show that these urbanizing villages actually provide relatively good accessibility to job opportunities. This result is different from what is suggested by the spatial mismatch literature based on U.S. data. This research helps to fill the gap in the literature on the relationship between residential segregation, built environment and travel behavior in the Chinese context. The findings have implications for policymaking, especially when many government officials are proposing to demolish urbanizing villages without fully realizing the benefits of these villages. This research could also provide useful information for other developing countries facing residential segregation of migrants or immigrants.     

The vulnerability of the environment to spills of dangerous substances on highways: A diagnosis based on multi criteria modeling

Highways and freeways are the main infrastructure channel used to transport cargo in Brazil. This cargo often includes dangerous chemical products which can, in the event of an accident, negatively impact the environment. The development and implementation of tools for the rapid diagnosis of environmental vulnerability in the transportation of dangerous goods has been studied. However, for highways and freeways there is a lack of studies based on environmental attributes, and not just based on statistical data which demands a specific period for collection and analysis and only after that the implementation of preventive measures. Thus, evaluation grounded on multiple criteria embedded in Geographic Information System (GIS) has significant potential for the practical implementation of risk management of road transportation of dangerous goods. This study has determined the environmental vulnerability of route BR 050, specifically the segment between the cities of Uberlândia and Uberaba in the state of Minas Gerais, where multi criteria analysis has been efficient in determining the most vulnerable areas. The main attributes analyzed were the drainage density, soil type and geology, determining that in case of an accident with dangerous substances the regional environment would be immediately affected, and so endorsing the use of this tool in many segments involved in environmental management of highway enterprises.     

A planning tool for evaluating vehicles miles travelled and traffic safety forecasts of growth management scenarios: A case study of Baton Rouge and New Orleans

This study describes an adaptable planning tool that examines potential change in vehicle miles travelled (VMT) growth and corresponding traffic safety outcomes in two urbanized areas, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, based on built environment, economic and demographic variables. This model is employed to demonstrate one aspect of the potential benefits of growth management policy implementation aimed at curbing VMT growth, and to establish targets with which to measure the effectiveness of those policies through a forecasting approach. The primary objective of this research is to demonstrate the need to break with current trends in order to achieve future goals, and to identify specific policy targets for fuel prices, population density, and transit service within the two study regions. Models indicate based on medium growth scenarios, Baton Rouge will experience a 9 percent increase in VMTs and New Orleans will experience 10 percent growth. This translates to corresponding increases in crashes, injuries and fatalities. The paper provides forecasts for planners and engineers to consider an alternative future, based on desired goals to reduce VMTs and therefore improve safety outcomes. A constrained-forecast model shows a cap on VMTs and crash rates is achievable through policy that increases fuel prices, population density and annual transit passenger miles per capita at reasonable levels through a growth management approach.     

公交通行能力约束的智能调度优化模型

公交通行能力是解决城市交通拥堵问题、促进城市公共交通系统高效运行的要素之一。介绍了公交通行能力的计算要素,并针对目前我国城市由于盲目调度造成的公交系统运营效率、服务水平下降的问题,提出将公交通行能力作为约束条件对公交调度进行优化。鉴于公交企业制订调度方案时需兼顾公交服务水平和企业效益,将智能调度的目标确定为候车时间满意度、候车空间满意度、车内舒适满意度和企业满意度加权平均值最大,并给出了相应的计算方法。最后讨论了利用遗传算法对模型进行求解的过程。     

湖北沪渝高速长大纵坡交通安全改造方案

文章主要对山区高速公路长度较大,且坡度较陡路段的交通事故分析,捋清各种事故的共同特点和诱发因素,从事故状况、路线状况、事故原因分析、交通设施的角度对湖北沪渝高速公路鄂西段提出了安全改造方案,由于运营的原因,现在进行安全改造不太可能采用路线的措施。上面所提到的措施可以同时运用,也可以选用其中一种或几种,都将在一定程度上减少事故次数、降低事故严重程度。在此基础上,为鄂西段高速公路的安全管理提出一些参考建议,为高速公路长大下坡路段的安全设计与风险管控提供有益的指导。     

重载组合式列车卸车站平面布置方案研究

重载运输是现代货运发展的方向,卸车站作为重载铁路运输通道上的关键节点,对通道运输能力具有重要影响.从货物运输组织模式、站内主要技术作业内容和卸车站能力3个方面阐述重载组合式列车卸车站平面布置方案的影响因素,提出重载组合式列车车场布置形式,以及卸车站基本平面布置可以采用尽头式和环形式2种布置图型.结合实例,在调机、本务机...