Transport in large cities: a Brazilian point of view

Abstract

Following the historical evolution of urban transport in South America, the authors show the economic, technological and cultural facts that have governed its development until today.

The paper, mainly based on experience in large Brazilian cities, gives facts and figures about some of the most important towns where different approaches to urban transport were tried. Information about other South American countries is also given and discussed.

The article details the evolution, current situation and new plans in Sao Paulo city, describing concession criteria, modal split and the economics of the different modes in operation today and planned for future use, ending with the general influence of Sao Paulo experience of urban transport systems in many other Brazilian cities.     

Assessment of port economic impacts on regional economy with a case study on the Port of Lisbon

This article presents a method of assessing the economic impacts of ports at both regional level and national level, through application of input–output analysis. To this end, a methodology for data collection is proposed, which combines a top-down with a bottom-up approach which should help in surpassing some of the difficulties commonly faced in port economic impact studies. The presented methodology allows port planners and policymakers to assess the economic significance and geographic reach of port investments. This study considers the economic impacts of the port cluster and the socio-economic significance of port user industries. The several layers of the analysis are kept separate to allow a better grasp of direct and indirect impacts. The proposed methodology is demonstrated in a study of the Port of Lisbon, which confirms the significance of this port to the Portuguese economy, and also demonstrates that the influence of the Port of Lisbon is mostly limited to an area in close proximity to the port. Therefore, results suggest that investments for the development of logistic infrastructures associated with the port should concentrate in the immediate hinterland of the port.