Social networks as a source of private-vehicle transportation: The practice of getting rides and borrowing vehicles among Mexican immigrants in California

We examine the role of social networks in enabling access to private-vehicle transportation, through getting rides and borrowing cars. Based on qualitative findings from ten focus group discussions with recent Mexican immigrants to California, half of whom have no car, we describe the extent to which participants depend on rides and borrowed cars for transportation. We highlight the unique aspects of informal access to cars, drawing on social exchange theory and related research to characterize the procurement process and likely levels of exchange. We discuss the implications of these findings for transportation services that might serve this and other community groups.     

A detailed analysis of how an urban trail system affects cyclists’ travel

Transportation specialists, urban planners, and public health officials have been steadfast in encouraging active modes of transportation over the past decades. Conventional thinking, however, suggests that providing infrastructure for cycling and walking in the form of off-street trails is critically important. An outstanding question in the literature is how one’s travel is affected by the use of such facilities and specifically, the role of distance to the trail in using such facilities. This research describes a highly detailed analysis of use along an off-street facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The core questions addressed in this investigation aim to understand relationships between: (1) the propensity of using the trail based on distance from the trip origin and destination, and (2) how far out of their way trail users travel for the benefit of using the trail and explanatory factors for doing so. The data used in the analysis for this research was collected as a human intercept survey along a section of an off-street facility. The analysis demonstrates that a cogent distance decay pattern exists and that the decay function varies by trip purpose. Furthermore, we find that bicyclists travel, on average, 67% longer in order to include the trail facility on their route. The paper concludes by explaining how the distance decay and shortest path versus taken path analysis can aid in the planning and analysis of new trail systems.

Functional requirements for inclusive transport

Transport related social exclusion is one aspect of people with disabilities’ marginal position in economic, social and civic life. This study aims at presenting main tendencies in empirical research on transport and disability, and therein defining functional requirements that transport solutions must comply with in order to facilitate social inclusion. Based on review of thirty-four empirical studies, this study presents eight functional requirements for inclusive transport. Aspects of each requirement are described and links to social exclusion are explored. Further, the strengths and limits of the review as well as relevance for practice is discussed. Although the study is limited to research in English and Scandinavian languages, the authors believe that the transferability of the results beyond the geographical scope of this study is not challenged by the requirements themselves, but rather to what degree and in what ways these requirements are championed and pursued. The functional requirements are defined without reference to particular travel purposes or mode of transport and represent a systematic approach for making discretional assessment of transport solutions.

     

Helping Communities Adapt and Plan for Coastal Hazards: Coastal Zone Management Program Recommendations for National Tool Developers

Adapting to changing coastlines is an unprecedented planning challenge as coastal hazards, including those associated with climate change, influence all areas of resource management. Tools have been developed to aid in understanding coastal hazards and to facilitate the planning and implementation of adaptation strategies. Through interviews with members of eight geographically distributed state Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Programs and several federal and nonprofit partners, we explored the utility of current tools for on-the-ground adaptation planning and implementation needs. State CZM Programs operate as trusted information brokers at the nexus between national resources and local needs. Here we provide seven recommendations for how to overcome the challenges identified with tool discovery, lack of trust, and the coarse spatial resolution of national tools. Our findings suggest local community needs are better addressed when end-users play a role in the tool development process. We also recommend leveraging CZM Program connections because they have the knowledge and expertise to identify solutions and disseminate information. While the recommendations presented here were taken from the perspective of state CZM Programs regarding coastal tools, the lessons learned may provide valuable insight into the tool development process for other resource management fields.     

A case for measuring individuals’ access to private-vehicle travel as a matter of degrees: lessons from focus groups with Mexican immigrants in California

In auto-oriented communities, access to an automobile is essential for good mobility, but not everyone owns a car or is able to drive. Little is known about how individuals in these circumstances might still use vehicles for transportation. To provide insight on the nature of vehicle use by those with potentially limited vehicle access, we present qualitative findings from focus groups with recent Mexican immigrants living in California, half of whom owned no cars. Our results demonstrate varying degrees of participants’ access to vehicle travel not always corresponding to auto ownership, with extensive sharing of cars, borrowing of cars, and getting rides. We describe the different dimensions of vehicle access that participants experienced and identify specific factors that seemed to influence their access levels. We discuss the implications of our findings for transportation policy and future research.

Factors Affecting Disaster Preparedness,Response, and Recovery Using the Community Capitals Framework

Abstract

Disaster research often focuses on how and why communities are affected by a discrete extreme event. We used the community capitals framework to understand how community characteristics influence their preparedness, response to, and recovery from successive or multiple disasters using the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill as case studies. This study assesses community response to these disasters by reviewing published literature on impacts to create profiles for six communities and by identifying community capitals before and during these disasters, and throughout the long-term recovery. While the presence of rich natural capitals commonly contributed resources to pre-disaster planning and long-term recovery, restriction of resource access immediately following the disasters was detrimental to many communities. Communities with strong political, social, and financial capitals tended to fare better immediately following disasters, enabling longer-term processes of transformation or recovery. However, in some communities the oil spill undermined these capitals more than the earthquake and resulting tsunami. In understanding how use and reliance on community capitals can lead to varied recovery success from different kinds of disasters, these findings can help coastal managers and planners prepare for future disasters.     

Ground-truthing social vulnerability indices of Alaska fishing communities

Abstract

Community vulnerability is increasingly evaluated through quantitative social indices, typically developed using secondary data sources rather than primary data collection. It is necessary to understand the validity of these indices if they will be used to inform policy and decision making. This paper presents a ground-truthing effort to validate quantitative indices that characterize the well-being of Alaska fishing communities. We utilized ethnographic data collected from 13 representative communities and a capital assets framework to ground-truth the indices, in which qualitative ranks of vulnerability were compared against quantitative indices. The majority (73.8%) of ranks were in complete or moderate agreement and the results indicate that most of the indices are representative of community vulnerability; yet some variables utilized to create the indices could be modified to better reflect realities in Alaska. Indices of commercial fishery engagement and reliance appeared to be more reliable than socio-economic indicators, particularly for smaller fishing communities. We also confirmed that the indices do not capture political, or ecological factors that affect levels of community vulnerability. We conclude that quantitative indices of community vulnerability are useful rapid assessment tools; however, they should be validated, and complemented with ethnographic data prior to their implementation as policy making and management tools.