Esta dissertação relata resultados obtidos por ações de uma tentativa para mostrar que o uso de conceitos e definições sobre auditoria de qualidade pode contribuir para orientar análises sobre o transporte público urbano por ônibus, um item básico da mobilidade urbana. Também se mostrou que conceitos sugeridos pelas normas NBR ISO séries 9.000 e 10.000 podem contribuir para identificar características das \"viagens por ônibus urbano\" e classificar itens que condicionam o nível para a qualidade do serviço prestado por transporte. Resumem-se as principais conceitos a serem usados, em particular o uso de \"escalas\" obtidas a partir de entrevistas a usuários, tópicos sobre o uso de Normas para controle de auditorias, resultados de um estudo de caso, o transporte por ônibus em Piracicaba, Estado de São Paulo. / That dissertation tells the results obtained in actions of an attempt to show that the use of concepts and definitions on quality auditing can contribute to guide analyses on the urban public bus transportation, a basic item of the urban mobility. It was also shown that concepts suggested by the Brazilian Standards NBR ISO series 9.000 and 10.000 can contribute to identify characteristics of the \"rides on urban bus\" and to classify items that condition the level for the quality of the service rendered by transport. The main concepts are summarized to be used, in matter the use of \"scales\" obtained starting from interviews to users; topics on use of Norms for control of auditing; results of a case study, the transport for bus in Piracicaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Over the last several decades, low-density development and increasing levels of automobile dependence have become two of the major problems facing many urban areas. While they have significantly improved urbanites' mobility, freedom, and social contacts, and have expanded the ranges of economic activities, they have also brought numerous problems and externalities. Mitigating their negative externalities through appropriate policies necessitates the examination of their relationship and the effect of other urban elements. This research examines the relationship between density and automobile dependence and its underlying factors within cities. It examines the effects of quantifiable factors at three levels of analysis: regional, zonal, and household. Several hypotheses and sub-hypotheses concerning density and automobile dependence relationship and its underlying factors are examined. The research findings confirm most of the study hypotheses. With respect to the strength and direction of the relationship between population density and automobile dependence measured in per capita VMT, most of the models constructed confirm the existence of a strong simultaneous relationship between density and VMT. Further, the analysis shows that other land use, economic, demographic, and transportation factors are also important determinants of density and VMT. At different levels of analysis, different factors are more important in explaining density and automobile dependence than others. Finally, the estimated optimal densities tend to be more than double the existing average densities of the study cases. The research conclusions suggest several theoretical and policy implications to guide future policies in land use and transportation.

Includes bibliographical references. / 116 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Mathematics, 1968

Thesis (M. DM)--Unitec New Zealand, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-172).

The purpose of this study was to address the need for a straightforward and practical tool for evaluating public transit accessibility to places of employment. The need for such a study stems from the widespread adoption of planning policies by Canadian municipalities seeking to promote public transit commuting as part of their broader efforts to develop environmentally and socially sustainable transportation systems. To date, planners have not had any practical methods for identifying barriers to public transit commuting nor for evaluating the extent to which stated goals and objectives are being achieved. <p> The study was conducted in three stages. First, a Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was developed by means of a literature review, a survey questionnaire, and consultations with sustainable transportation advocacy groups. In the second stage, the Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was used as a framework for creating the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit. Through a six-step process that involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data, this tool provides planners with a means of identifying any potential obstacles or deterrents to public transit travel within the context of actual spatio-temporal commuter flows. The practical utility of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit was tested in the third stage by means of two case studies conducted in the City of Ottawa, Canada. <p> This study has shown that commuters require a broad array of infrastructure, facilities and services in order for public transit to represent a viable travel option. It has also revealed that responsibility for promoting public transit commuting rests not only with transit agencies, but also with land use and transportation planners, private developers and employers. Furthermore, the case studies successfully demonstrated that application of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit can provide a preliminary indication of problem areas where direct planning interventions may be required, where municipal planning policies may need revision or more aggressive implementation, or where new policies may be necessary in order to increase the viability of public transit commuting.

The purpose of this study was to address the need for a straightforward and practical tool for evaluating public transit accessibility to places of employment. The need for such a study stems from the widespread adoption of planning policies by Canadian municipalities seeking to promote public transit commuting as part of their broader efforts to develop environmentally and socially sustainable transportation systems. To date, planners have not had any practical methods for identifying barriers to public transit commuting nor for evaluating the extent to which stated goals and objectives are being achieved. <p> The study was conducted in three stages. First, a Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was developed by means of a literature review, a survey questionnaire, and consultations with sustainable transportation advocacy groups. In the second stage, the Comprehensive Definition of Public Transit Commuter Needs was used as a framework for creating the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit. Through a six-step process that involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data, this tool provides planners with a means of identifying any potential obstacles or deterrents to public transit travel within the context of actual spatio-temporal commuter flows. The practical utility of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit was tested in the third stage by means of two case studies conducted in the City of Ottawa, Canada. <p> This study has shown that commuters require a broad array of infrastructure, facilities and services in order for public transit to represent a viable travel option. It has also revealed that responsibility for promoting public transit commuting rests not only with transit agencies, but also with land use and transportation planners, private developers and employers. Furthermore, the case studies successfully demonstrated that application of the Public Transit Commuter Accessibility Audit can provide a preliminary indication of problem areas where direct planning interventions may be required, where municipal planning policies may need revision or more aggressive implementation, or where new policies may be necessary in order to increase the viability of public transit commuting.

Thesis (M.Dev.Stud.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

With the expansion of cities and economic prosperity, research on the location of commercial center has been increasingly brought to the attention of the relevant scholars. Urban commercial activity affects the city's overall development. Moreover, commercial land directly reflects the urban spatial structure characteristic, and is closely related to the city's social economic activities. Urban traffic network structure is the basis for land use and economic activity of urban space. Among many factors affecting commercial distribution, urban traffic network and the accessibility of it are the main factors. This study is trying to answer what role the accessibility plays in the development of commercial centers and how. Space Syntax theory provides a new perspective for understanding the complicated urban transportation system, and a set of quantitative analysis method for space configuration. In order to investigate the accessibility of traffic network in Hong Kong, map data will be collected from road network and metro network, and the data will be digitalized before the calculation of accessibility. For the purpose of finding the development of commercial centers, a variety of data will also be collected from the three commercial centers-Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok, such as the operating area of main retail stores in each commercial center. The first theoretical hypothesis is that the accessibility of traffic network does have an influence on the location and development of commercial centers. After the calculation of metro network accessibility and road network accessibility, the second theoretical hypothesis is that the accessibility of metro network may exert different effect on the location and development of commercial centers, compared with that of road network. The influence of metro network and road network on the location of commercial centers was discussed. It can be concluded that an area of high accessibility is more likely to develop into a commercial center. In another word, commercial centers always have higher accessibility than non-commercial center areas. Another conclusion is that the scope of commercial centers is mainly controlled by accessibility of road network in local configuration. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Significant changes must occur in human interaction with the natural environment if the world is to move towards a state of sustainability. While the need for such change is widely recognized, planning in many sectors continues to lead to development that is unsustainable. Urban transportation planning is one such sector. Little attention has been given by sustainability-oriented researchers to the problem of resistance to change. Conversely, little attention has been given by organizational change theorists to local government planning organizations’ indifference to the sustainability imperative. As a consequence, while a great deal of research has examined the need to control the automobile in urban areas, little has been written about why such control still does not happen -- even when policies call for it. Vancouver, British Columbia is recognized for its progressive attempts to move towards sustainability. This progressive situation creates an environment in which barriers impeding change towards sustainability can be studied. While Vancouver’s municipal and regional policies explicitly call for a reversal in priorities which have traditionally favoured automobiles over transit, bicycles and pedestrians, operational decisions still favour the automobile. Most significantly, roads continue to be widened and new expressways are built to accommodate more automobile traffic. A qualitative case study approach was used to inquire into transportation planning in Vancouver. An analysis of documents and of interviews with key informants suggests that a system of institutional barriers exists which has structural, cultural, and human resource dimensions. Unsustainability is a function of organizational inertia which is not only supported by, but also takes advantage of and fosters, the wider political individualistic culture. Specifically, there are several reasons for the disjunction between Vancouver’s transportation policies and the decisions which are being made in transportation infrastructure development: an institutional structure which separates land-use and transportation planning, impedes comprehensive decision-making, and lacks mechanisms to publicize and assess cumulative environmental impacts; the existence of an organizational culture which seems to condone the use of subversive tactics to promote an informal transportation plan which perpetuates traditional, automobile-oriented values, beliefs and assumptions; and the lack of conceptual knowledge and skills necessary for organizational change to occur. The practical implications of these findings are that, in cases like Vancouver’s, sustainability can be fostered by three categories of mutually reinforcing actions: education, structural change, and planning practice. The actions in each category can build momentum towards second-order change using a social learning process to overcome societal values, beliefs and assumptions which promote an automobile-dominated transportation system.