published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The nature of transport systems determines how people can travel from Johannesburg to Pretoria within the city. This research report seeks to demonstrate that transit-oriented development (TOD) as a concept has a strong sustainability agenda, and also has a strong developmental thrust. Concepts such as the “compact city” and the “smart city”, propagated for the sustainable use of the city and were used to influence the planning of TODs. The research report will seek to gain an understanding of how transit-orientated developments work and also how different concepts have influenced the way they are planned. The report also uses theories such as compact city, sustainable city and other theories like Christaller’s (1933) central place theory to form an explanation as to why these TOD nodes could be seen as attractive. Because the City of Johannesburg has promoted the use of TOD, property developers are indirectly encouraged to develop in these areas through various incentives that have been placed in the node. This study focuses on the Sandton area and specifically the area around the Gautrain station, and investigates how the concept of TOD has made the node more attractive for retail development and consumers. Apart from providing a basic understanding and overview of TOD, it explains the logic behind TOD and what makes it attractive to developers and consumers. The literature looks at theorists like Christaller (1933) to explain this phenomenon, while the epistemology of multiplicity is one which uses mixed methods to ensure that the questions posed in the research, along with the theories in the literature, are proved or disproved. This research report concludes by reflecting on some of the key factors of TOD that affect attractiveness. The main reason for this report is that, by identifying what is attractive to the consumer and the developer, a better understanding of the logic that underpins the market will be developed. A clearer understanding of the logic that operates in this market could allow for a number of new insights both when planning TOD nodes combined with major infrastructure projects, and when looking to develop in these areas. Another of the important questions that were answered was whether or not shopping-centre attractiveness was enhanced by TOD policies.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / This research report is an exploration of the public arena of a transport interchange in Vereeniging’s urban centre, and the opportunities created within a zone where many people of different backgrounds converge and interact. Therefore the document looks at various forms of transport converging on a single node and how best to integrate these into a single zone where all can feed off one another and enhance the experience within the public transport realm itself. The divisions of race, class & income cannot be wished away in Vereeniging, therefore the urban context of the inner city needs to be addressed (this indirectly affects the mindsets of the city’s inhabitants). The local informal economy, mini-bus taxi industry, bus services and rail have each appropriated responses to overcome the obstacles of segregation. The entrenched presence of the local informal economy and mini-bus taxi industry and its legal conflict with formal urban systems further fuels their independence. This still young newly found independence can mature in an urban intervention in which new rules of engagement are charted and a new tradition in the built environment begins. Therefore a gateway is a metaphor for the integration of public transport modes into a point of convergence at an urban movement node. It is also here at the threshold of this gateway, in and out of the city, that trade is best exploited and social engagements have the highest potential. It is not about erasing but rather reassembling a viable urban future, through learning from and working within the given conditions / XL2018

One of the top bicycling cities in the United States, Portland, Oregon has used a mixture of bicycle infrastructure to create a cohesive network for bicyclists. Building on their success, in 2010 Portland set forth on an ambitious path to envision their bicycle network in 2030. The primary goal of this plan is to attract the “Interested but Concerned” demographic of bicyclists through an increase of their bicycle boulevard network from 30 miles to 286 miles. However, there has been no direct link between bicycle boulevards and bicycle rates. Therefore, this study analyzes the influence of bicycle boulevards on bicycle-to-work rates using U.S. Census data with Geographic Information Systems data in concert with both ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and a fixed effects (FE) regression. The OLS and FE models both indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between bicycle boulevards and bicycle-to-work rates.

Essa tese tem como objetivo desenvolver um modelo matemático de programação mista para auxiliar na indicação das regiões ótimas para acréscimo da oferta de cana-de-açúcar no Brasil. Fazendo uso do ferramental desenvolvido almeja-se avaliar o comportamento espacial da produção de cana, dos fluxos de abastecimento e do consumo de açúcar e etanol mediante projeções futuras da demanda, e também mediante a incorporação dos novos projetos ferroviários, hidroviários e dutoviários na malha intermodal de transportes. Considerando as projeções do consumo doméstico e das exportações sucroalcooleiras para 2020/2021, o modelo matemático sugeriu as regiões ideais para aumentar a oferta de cana-de-açúcar, dentre as áreas com aptidão edafoclimática para o cultivo da cultura, visando a maximização da receita das indústrias do setor. As recomendações do modelo indicam acréscimo de 220 milhões de toneladas na produção dos canaviais do estado de São Paulo, 79 milhões em Mato Grosso do Sul, 70 milhões no Paraná, 65 milhões em Minas Gerais, 60 milhões na Bahia, 42 milhões em Goiás, 24 milhões no Tocantins, 15 milhões no Maranhão, 8 milhões no Mato Grosso e 7 milhões no estado do Piauí, nas condições do cenário com projeções de crescimento pessimista. Além disso, a alocação ótima dos fluxos de transporte de açúcar sugere uma participação de 45% do modal ferroviário, 52% do modal rodoviário e 3% de alternativas hidro-ferroviárias na produção total de serviços de transporte (TKU), considerando a demanda 2020/2021. No caso do etanol as proporções recomendadas indicam 61% para a modalidade rodoviária, 27% para a alternativa ferroviária e 12% para a combinação intermodal hidro-dutoviária. Os benefícios econômicos diretos proporcionados pela expansão da malha intermodal de transporte podem gerar economias com fretes próximas a R$ 444 milhões por safra, no escoamento da produção sucroalcooleira, baixando o frete unitário médio do setor de R$ 59,12 por tonelada para 54,12 por tonelada transportada. O método revelou-se uma ferramenta importante na análise da distribuição espacial da oferta de cana-de-açúcar, e os resultados geraram informações importantes para condução de políticas públicas e para organização do setor sucroenergético. / This thesis aims to construct a mathematical model of mix and integer programming for supporting the decisions about the best regions to increase the supply of sugar cane in Brazil. In addition is intended to use the model to provide inputs for analyzing the spatial sugar cane production and ethanol and sugar transport flows considering future supply and demand assumptions and different multimodal transportation network configuration. Supposing sugar and ethanol demand and exports projections to crop 2020/2021 the mathematical model recommended the optimum agricultural areas to increase the production of sugar cane in other to maximize the sector revenue. The model outputs recommended an increase of 220 million tons in sugarcane production at São Paulo state, 79 millions at Mato Grosso do Sul, 70 million at Paraná, 65 million at Minas Gerais, 60 millions at Bahia, 42 million at Goiás, 24 million at Tocantins, 15 million at Maranhão, 8 millions at Mato Grosso and 7 millions tons at Piauí. Regarding the sugar transportation flows the results proposed a share of 45% for rail mode, 52% for road and 3% for barge-rail alternatives in the total freight (Ton-Kilometer). In the case of ethanol the results indicated a share of 61% for road, 27% for rail, and 12% for barge-pipelines alternatives. The direct economic benefits provided by the expansion of multimodal transportation network implicates savings on freight near to R$ 444 million per crop, that involves a decrease from R$ 59.12 per ton to R$ 54,12 per ton in the unit freight cost. The mathematical model revealed be an important tool for spatial analysis of sugar cane supply in Brazil and the results provided important inputs for Federal Government policies and for planning the sugar and ethanol sector.

O principal objetivo desta Dissertação foi o de se definir uma metodologia de planejamento de transportes que fosse sintetizada e menos onerosa que a do processo tradicional e, principalmente, que permitisse dispensar a pesquisa domiciliar, atividade demorada, trabalhosa e cara. O trabalho consistiu de uma análise superficial de diversos trabalhos existentes, elegendo quatro deles para uma análise mais detalhada, o que permitiu definir a metodologia proposta. O método baseia-se na determinação de produções e atrações de viagens a partir do conhecimento do número de unidades de uso de solos (residências, lojas, escritórios, indústrias, etc.) existentes na área de estudo, com suas respectivas características, aplicando-se-lhes taxas transferidas de outros estudos. As produções e atrações de viagens são distribuídas utilizando-se o modelo gravitacional, com parâmetros da função impedância transferidos de outros estudos. A divisão modal e a alocação de tráfego seguem o padrão tradicional, tendo sido indicada a utilização de programas de computador para a realização de alocação de equilíbrio. Segue o modelo de quatro etapas, onde a diferença fundamental está no fato de que, por não se dispor de dados completos, por causa da não realização das entrevistas de O/D domiciliares, são realizados diversos procedimentos de ajustes com o objetivo de se verificar o grau de compatibilidade das taxas transferidas utilizadas. O trabalho restringiu-se à alocação de tráfego na rede viária para o ano base, e à comparação com o fluxo observado, verificando-se que o processo conduz a um resultado aceitável. / The main aim of this work was the definition of a transportation planning methodology that was synthesized and less expensive than the one presented by the traditional process, and, more than this, which could be done without household research. A superficial analysis of several works was conducted, and four of them were chosen for a more detailed analysis, which allowed to define the proposed methodology. The method is based on the determination of trip production and trip attraction once the number of houses, shops, offices, industries, etc. present in the area of study is known, as well as their respective characteristics, and taxes from other studies were used. The trip distribution was performed using the gravitational model, applying parameters of the impedance function transferred from other studies. The modal split and the traffic assignment follow the traditional standard and the use of computational programs to perform the equilibrium assignment has been indicated. It follows the four steps model, where the fundamental difference is that, because complete data were not available, once household O/D interviews were not performed, several adjusting procedures were performed, to verify the degree of compatibility of the used transferred taxes. The work is limited to traffic assignment in the road network for the base year, and to the comparison with the observed flow, and it was verified that the process leads to an acceptable result.

Essa tese tem como objetivo desenvolver um modelo matemático de programação mista para auxiliar na indicação das regiões ótimas para acréscimo da oferta de cana-de-açúcar no Brasil. Fazendo uso do ferramental desenvolvido almeja-se avaliar o comportamento espacial da produção de cana, dos fluxos de abastecimento e do consumo de açúcar e etanol mediante projeções futuras da demanda, e também mediante a incorporação dos novos projetos ferroviários, hidroviários e dutoviários na malha intermodal de transportes. Considerando as projeções do consumo doméstico e das exportações sucroalcooleiras para 2020/2021, o modelo matemático sugeriu as regiões ideais para aumentar a oferta de cana-de-açúcar, dentre as áreas com aptidão edafoclimática para o cultivo da cultura, visando a maximização da receita das indústrias do setor. As recomendações do modelo indicam acréscimo de 220 milhões de toneladas na produção dos canaviais do estado de São Paulo, 79 milhões em Mato Grosso do Sul, 70 milhões no Paraná, 65 milhões em Minas Gerais, 60 milhões na Bahia, 42 milhões em Goiás, 24 milhões no Tocantins, 15 milhões no Maranhão, 8 milhões no Mato Grosso e 7 milhões no estado do Piauí, nas condições do cenário com projeções de crescimento pessimista. Além disso, a alocação ótima dos fluxos de transporte de açúcar sugere uma participação de 45% do modal ferroviário, 52% do modal rodoviário e 3% de alternativas hidro-ferroviárias na produção total de serviços de transporte (TKU), considerando a demanda 2020/2021. No caso do etanol as proporções recomendadas indicam 61% para a modalidade rodoviária, 27% para a alternativa ferroviária e 12% para a combinação intermodal hidro-dutoviária. Os benefícios econômicos diretos proporcionados pela expansão da malha intermodal de transporte podem gerar economias com fretes próximas a R$ 444 milhões por safra, no escoamento da produção sucroalcooleira, baixando o frete unitário médio do setor de R$ 59,12 por tonelada para 54,12 por tonelada transportada. O método revelou-se uma ferramenta importante na análise da distribuição espacial da oferta de cana-de-açúcar, e os resultados geraram informações importantes para condução de políticas públicas e para organização do setor sucroenergético. / This thesis aims to construct a mathematical model of mix and integer programming for supporting the decisions about the best regions to increase the supply of sugar cane in Brazil. In addition is intended to use the model to provide inputs for analyzing the spatial sugar cane production and ethanol and sugar transport flows considering future supply and demand assumptions and different multimodal transportation network configuration. Supposing sugar and ethanol demand and exports projections to crop 2020/2021 the mathematical model recommended the optimum agricultural areas to increase the production of sugar cane in other to maximize the sector revenue. The model outputs recommended an increase of 220 million tons in sugarcane production at São Paulo state, 79 millions at Mato Grosso do Sul, 70 million at Paraná, 65 million at Minas Gerais, 60 millions at Bahia, 42 million at Goiás, 24 million at Tocantins, 15 million at Maranhão, 8 millions at Mato Grosso and 7 millions tons at Piauí. Regarding the sugar transportation flows the results proposed a share of 45% for rail mode, 52% for road and 3% for barge-rail alternatives in the total freight (Ton-Kilometer). In the case of ethanol the results indicated a share of 61% for road, 27% for rail, and 12% for barge-pipelines alternatives. The direct economic benefits provided by the expansion of multimodal transportation network implicates savings on freight near to R$ 444 million per crop, that involves a decrease from R$ 59.12 per ton to R$ 54,12 per ton in the unit freight cost. The mathematical model revealed be an important tool for spatial analysis of sugar cane supply in Brazil and the results provided important inputs for Federal Government policies and for planning the sugar and ethanol sector.

This research asks how universality of ridership is maintained in New York City’s transit system given that it is gated by the fare. Transportation planning scholarship presumes transit is affordable because the fare has a relatively low price and ridership among the poor is high. The transit agency addresses universality by maintaining a fare structure that keeps the single ride fare relatively low. Its method is based on empirical evidence that low-income riders “prefer” cheaper fare products over those with lower average fares but that require higher initial cash outlays. Transportation scholarship observes that low-income riders are inelastic and presumes, based on economic theory, that riders will forego more elastic goods to ride transit. Critical planning scholars have contested the tenets of the modernist planning project which utilize predict-and-provide empiricism and neoclassical economic models such as these. While urban planning has turned toward direct collaboration or at least participation with affected communities, transportation planning has not fully made this turn. There is thus little transit-related research that is informed directly by riders, especially low-income riders, suggesting the conventional approaches to understanding how riders afford the fare are incomplete. To fill this void, this research engages with low-income transit riders to elaborate and challenge the explanations for universality of ridership. It finds that although the fare price is low, it is not necessarily affordable. The “preference” for single ride fares is in most cases the result of constraints. Single fare rides are often combined with fare evasion and exploitation of free transfers, while unlimited fare cards are highly sought and widely shared. Low-income riders are more likely to undertake compensating behaviors than to forego goods. On the occasions when they do forego goods, they compromise necessities such as food, telephone service, rent and laundry. Finally, agents of the welfare state distribute fares to low-income individuals to promote rehabilitation and labor force attachment. Together these findings suggest that universality of ridership is tenuous. It depends on fragmented systems of generosity, compromise and welfare of which transit advocates and planners are largely unaware. Fare evasion enforcement, pricing structures and fare payment methods can pose challenges to riders who rely on these fragmented systems. By explicitly acknowledging transit affordability, and incorporating knowledge on the role that welfare plays in enabling low-income ridership, planners can expand access to transit for low-income riders.

Two interesting challenges have been created in the traditional transportation planning process through recent adoption of more interactive roles by Federal, State and local transportation agencies and of those representing the communities being impacted by proposed transportation projects. First, the decision-making groups that formerly included solely transportation and related professionals now consist of professionals from state and local agencies and other stakeholders impacted by those proposed projects. Furthermore, the economic justification methodologies commonly used, such as the benefit/cost ratio, no longer provide a sufficient means for evaluation since they now must take account of non-quantifiable or qualitative impacts, such as local quality of life and sustainable development. These new challenges require a new way of thinking, and a new methodology to handle them. A new methodology is required not only to take qualitative performances into consideration, but also to accommodate the diversities created by those in the decision-making process. This research focuses on the alternative evaluation stage as it often demonstrates the above challenges. The objective of the proposed methodology is to develop "a continuous process of learning and understanding through communicative means by virtue of a fair and open framework in developing the group consensus rather than relying solely on the STATUS QUO." The new methodology that combines the advantages of three unrelated components is proposed to reduce the complexities in complex decision situations. The three components include the conflict resolution model (SANTA), the analytical method (AHP), and the group decision support system (GDSS). The proposed methodology also explores a new way to take advantage of the Internet which allows decision makers to make their decisions from any where at any time. A small-scaled pilot study was set up to test the methodology and the software developed according to the framework outlined by the proposed methodology. Many benefits are discovered by the participants' observations without their prior knowledge about the methodology and the software. Those benefits include Flexibility, Accessibility, Transparency, and Efficiency, or FATE. There are two possible applications of this new methodology, i.e., in real-world problem-solving situations and as a learning tool. / Graduation date: 2003