This thesis investigates whether Accessibility Planning is a chimera. Is Accessibility Planning an illusion without reality, or is it a feasible planning Concept? Are accessibility-based planning approaches not already included in Mainstream transport planning practice? The objectives of the study are explored Through literature' reviews' and primary research of planning practitioners and Pedestrians. The literature reviews identify a number of potential barriers to Accessibility Planning through assessing research literature and collecting Information on previously abandoned approaches that were similar in scope to Accessibility Planning. The potential barriers were rephrased into eight research Propositions, divided into two groups, culture and tools. A further literature review And two surveys seek to answer the propositions. A survey of transport planners in British local authorities investigates difficulties in implementing Accessibility Planning and planners' attitudes to it. A second survey uses questionnaires and an Innovative GIS-based analysis to examine pedestrian route choice. The evidence Collected by the new GIS methodology assesses the reliability of 'local' Accessibility indicators based solely on notional distance. This part of the study also Presents new evidence on pedestrian route choice behaviour. Finally, the findings From the two surveys and the literature reviews are brought together and used to Confirm or reject the propositions. The results of the study portray how British. Transport planning culture has changed to take up an accessibility-based planning Approach and where the strengths and weaknesses of Accessibility Planning lie. The Study concluded that Accessibility Planning is not a chimera and that the tools that Have dominated transport planning do not incorporate an accessibility-based Planning approach. It also found that there is a significant problem in specifying Useful accessibility indicators, that this is an obstacle for effective Accessibility Planning, and that Accessibility Planning requires new skills and ways of working.

The thesis addresses the challenge of applying strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to provincial level expressway infrastructure planning in China. It first describes the evaluation process of EA (environmental impact assessment (EIA)) and SEA, then the current Chinese SEA application mechanism which was established by the Chinese EIA Law (2003) and subsequent laws and regulations. A comparative analysis is undertaken between the Chinese SEA system, the UK system and the Canadian SEA application systems. To clearly understand how SEA is applied in the road transport infrastructure development field, two SEA cases and one EIA case, and a questionnaire study, were carried out to obtain evidences of the actual situation of SEA application in this area. Conclusions were made to clearly describe those deficiencies existing in the current administration system, legal system and application framework and actual practices of SEA application in China. In the light of improving the quality of SEA application in provincial level expressway infrastructure development programme in China, an SEA application framework and indicator system which address these drawing on advanced experiences and principles of good SEA application from European countries, is proposed and tested through evaluation by experts. The thesis also makes recommendations for implementing the proposed SEA application framework and indicator system for expressway programming.

In each National Park different forms of land use were studied: in the National Park of Caparao the villages of Alto Caparao, Santa Marta and Pedra Roxa, and in the National Park of Grande Sertao Veredas, the villages of Chapada Gaucha, Vereda Santa Rita, Carinhanha, Barbatimao, Galdino and Rio Preto and Batista were selected for detailed studies. By the use of a semi structured questionnaire it was possible to identify four basic categories of rural producers: peasants, family farmers, rural producers with medium levels of income, and rural producers with high levels of income. In total, 86 farmers were interviewed and their relationships with the Park were examined. The issues that the farmers considered to be significant included the manner in which the National Park was created, questions of land exploitation, and their views concerning problems of land tenure, the use of fire by small scale farmers, the possible benefits of having an adjacent Park and problems concerning environmental protection. The research analyses the way in which National Parks in Minas Gerais were established and the subsequent forms of land tenure which form the key social issues for the neighbouring communities. Of particular importance is the lack of compensation for farmers where the Parks are insufficiently protected against excess grazing, the incursions of subsistence agriculture, fire incidence, illegal extractions, and animal invasions. A policy is necessary, taking account of the socio-economic context. Specific programmes need to be developed to allow the local population to be integrated into the National Park context; such programmes need to find ways of sustaining the livelihoods of local people whilst protecting the historic heritage afforded by the creation of the Parks.

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