Market research is becoming an increasingly important part of an airport's operational strategies as airport managers try to increase customer service and reach operational goals. This research applies conjoint analysis to investigate customer preferences for parking facilities and services at a major Canadian airport. This research will define and determine the relative importance of a set of attributes which influence business travelers' parking choice at the Vancouver International Airport. In addition, market segments for parking services will be identified. Sawtooth Software's Adaptive Conjoint Analysis and Ci2 were used in this study. A questionnaire was administered to a 36 employees among three local companies selected for data collection. Employees of these three companies represented potential local business travelers. This study was limited to the investigation of a subset of traveler (i.e. business traveler) preferences for parking at the Vancouver International Airport. More complete analysis would have to replicate the data collection procedures and target different users under different conditions (i.e. time of day, time of year, duration of stay). Results of the conjoint analysis indicated that price and distance to the terminal building account about equally for the majority of business travelers parking preference ratings (approximately two-thirds). The provision of video camera security was also an important determinant of customer preference. The provision of electronic signage providing guidance to available parking spaces did not contribute significantly to customer preference. In addition, the provision of a parkade rather than a surface lot contributed little to customer preference. Market share estimates were calculated for YVR's proposed Parkade, Main and Economy parking lots. Estimates of market shares suggested that a majority of business travelers taking an overnight journey in August preferred to park in the YVR Parkade. Market share estimates were also calculated for various service alternatives in the parkade. Comparing these additional estimates with the base service option revealed the trade-offs that business travelers were likely to make. Results anticipated approximately a 60 percent market share for the proposed parkade service despite charging a higher price ($6 per day higher than the alternative parking lots). Market share estimates predicted that the provision of video camera security and electronic signage in the parkade was significant in enabling a higher price. The predicted market share falls substantially to 28 percent if security and signage are not provided. Results also suggested that more travelers were willing to pay extra for the provision of video camera security than electronic signage in the parkade.

Since its opening in 1931, the Vancouver International Airport has been a site where significant representations of the city, its geography and its population have been made. Instead of being utilitarian structures the airport terminals have been purposefully designed and decorated with art chosen specifically to communicate Vancouver's distinct qualities and culture to travelers. As culture is never static and changes continuously, the representations have also shifted over time. By considering the specific history of Vancouver's airport in conjunction with the wider history of Canadian and international airport development, patterns (such as the continuous use of symbols from native cultures to represent aspects of the colonizer's culture) and tensions (such as Vancouver's relative position as a major Canadian urban centre and the growth of visible immigrant populations) which accompany the representation of locality at the airport become apparent. Henri Lefevbre's understanding of space as an active social product, David Harvey's assessment of the impact of globalization upon the local and Siegfried Kracauer's interpretation of architecture as illustrative of broad social trends underpin my analysis. The adoption,of an historical and theoretical framework within this thesis is directed at developing an interpretation of the current art program at the Vancouver International Airport which can move beyond the point where debate regarding "authenticity" and the agency of the native artists or their communities constricts the discussion. Through an examination of airport design, both theoretical and actual, the genesis of and reactions to art programs executed at the airport since the 1960s, as well as aspects of the city's social history, I illustrate that the current art program is representative of more than a superficial thematic strategy. Instead, it points to a complex and ongoing struggle to define and represent Vancouver both to its residents and the rest of the world.

There has been very little research in the area of air cargo demand analysis and forecasting. This thesis attempts to investigate the application of gravity models to air cargo. Using international export volumes from Vancouver International Airport in 1998, a gravity model was built. The inclusion of tariffs as an impedance factor allowed testing of the effect of tariffs as predicted by gravity models. The results were consistent with international trade theory that tariffs provide a barrier to international trade. Further, a comparison is made between aggregate and disaggregate models (across commodities). It was found that aggregation eliminates commodity specific characteristics. In using the gravity model, there are two adjustments which need to be made to reduce the bias in the model: firstly, adjustment is necessary to the bias inherent in the constant term of a log-linear model; and a further adjustment is required when forecasting actual levels rather than log levels. Even after adjustments for both types of bias, the gravity model did not produce accurate forecasts. The aggregate model produced better forecasts than the disaggregate model, but both sets of forecasts did not accurately predict the actual volumes transported. This could be as a result of the stable nature of the variables included in the model, which tend to change very slowly over time. Further, it is apparent that other additional explanatory variables should be included in the models to better capture the short-term changes in air cargo.

Market research is becoming an increasingly important part of an airport's operational strategies as airport managers try to increase customer service and reach operational goals. This research applies conjoint analysis to investigate customer preferences for parking facilities and services at a major Canadian airport. This research will define and determine the relative importance of a set of attributes which influence business travelers' parking choice at the Vancouver International Airport. In addition, market segments for parking services will be identified. Sawtooth Software's Adaptive Conjoint Analysis and Ci2 were used in this study. A questionnaire was administered to a 36 employees among three local companies selected for data collection. Employees of these three companies represented potential local business travelers. This study was limited to the investigation of a subset of traveler (i.e. business traveler) preferences for parking at the Vancouver International Airport. More complete analysis would have to replicate the data collection procedures and target different users under different conditions (i.e. time of day, time of year, duration of stay). Results of the conjoint analysis indicated that price and distance to the terminal building account about equally for the majority of business travelers parking preference ratings (approximately two-thirds). The provision of video camera security was also an important determinant of customer preference. The provision of electronic signage providing guidance to available parking spaces did not contribute significantly to customer preference. In addition, the provision of a parkade rather than a surface lot contributed little to customer preference. Market share estimates were calculated for YVR's proposed Parkade, Main and Economy parking lots. Estimates of market shares suggested that a majority of business travelers taking an overnight journey in August preferred to park in the YVR Parkade. Market share estimates were also calculated for various service alternatives in the parkade. Comparing these additional estimates with the base service option revealed the trade-offs that business travelers were likely to make. Results anticipated approximately a 60 percent market share for the proposed parkade service despite charging a higher price ($6 per day higher than the alternative parking lots). Market share estimates predicted that the provision of video camera security and electronic signage in the parkade was significant in enabling a higher price. The predicted market share falls substantially to 28 percent if security and signage are not provided. Results also suggested that more travelers were willing to pay extra for the provision of video camera security than electronic signage in the parkade. / Business, Sauder School of / Operations and Logistics (OPLOG), Division of / Graduate

There has been very little research in the area of air cargo demand analysis and forecasting. This thesis attempts to investigate the application of gravity models to air cargo. Using international export volumes from Vancouver International Airport in 1998, a gravity model was built. The inclusion of tariffs as an impedance factor allowed testing of the effect of tariffs as predicted by gravity models. The results were consistent with international trade theory that tariffs provide a barrier to international trade. Further, a comparison is made between aggregate and disaggregate models (across commodities). It was found that aggregation eliminates commodity specific characteristics. In using the gravity model, there are two adjustments which need to be made to reduce the bias in the model: firstly, adjustment is necessary to the bias inherent in the constant term of a log-linear model; and a further adjustment is required when forecasting actual levels rather than log levels. Even after adjustments for both types of bias, the gravity model did not produce accurate forecasts. The aggregate model produced better forecasts than the disaggregate model, but both sets of forecasts did not accurately predict the actual volumes transported. This could be as a result of the stable nature of the variables included in the model, which tend to change very slowly over time. Further, it is apparent that other additional explanatory variables should be included in the models to better capture the short-term changes in air cargo. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Since its opening in 1931, the Vancouver International Airport has been a site where significant representations of the city, its geography and its population have been made. Instead of being utilitarian structures the airport terminals have been purposefully designed and decorated with art chosen specifically to communicate Vancouver's distinct qualities and culture to travelers. As culture is never static and changes continuously, the representations have also shifted over time. By considering the specific history of Vancouver's airport in conjunction with the wider history of Canadian and international airport development, patterns (such as the continuous use of symbols from native cultures to represent aspects of the colonizer's culture) and tensions (such as Vancouver's relative position as a major Canadian urban centre and the growth of visible immigrant populations) which accompany the representation of locality at the airport become apparent. Henri Lefevbre's understanding of space as an active social product, David Harvey's assessment of the impact of globalization upon the local and Siegfried Kracauer's interpretation of architecture as illustrative of broad social trends underpin my analysis. The adoption,of an historical and theoretical framework within this thesis is directed at developing an interpretation of the current art program at the Vancouver International Airport which can move beyond the point where debate regarding "authenticity" and the agency of the native artists or their communities constricts the discussion. Through an examination of airport design, both theoretical and actual, the genesis of and reactions to art programs executed at the airport since the 1960s, as well as aspects of the city's social history, I illustrate that the current art program is representative of more than a superficial thematic strategy. Instead, it points to a complex and ongoing struggle to define and represent Vancouver both to its residents and the rest of the world. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

This work deals with the notion of hybridity; an ideal moment of cultural negotiation which results, in the words of Homi Bhabha, in the creation of a 'third space.' This theoretical plateau is formed by two parties whose agendas, while ostensibly conflicting, overlap enough so that each informs the space but neither dominates it . In this case I examine a specific site of hybridity, the "Arrivals Passengers Only" area of the Vancouver International Airport. Here, the space is informed by the presence of works, created by the Coast Salish Musqueam people, in the Airport Terminal, created by the Vancouver International Airport Authority. While this sort of negotiation can be described using positive and progressive terms, and the creation of a third space represents a compelling ideal, I argue that the moment of hybridity within the airport is ultimately undermined by other areas of the building in which no negotiation has taken place. The airport's role as a business necessitates marketing strategies aimed mainly at tourists and other business interests. Since virtually the entire building is devoted to that market, the negotiated hybrid space becomes hidden so that its potential impact is lost. Although participating in the creation of a working model of culture with the Musqueam people, the Airport ends up destabilising that model and the space, the ‘third space,’ which contains it. This particular example points to a site specific aspect of contemporary North American culture by drawing on the local community as a source for investigating that discourse. The thesis, then, has two points of entry; the ephemeral discourse of cultural negotiation and the locally grounded freeze-frame view of one site in contemporary Vancouver.

This work deals with the notion of hybridity; an ideal moment of cultural negotiation which results, in the words of Homi Bhabha, in the creation of a 'third space.' This theoretical plateau is formed by two parties whose agendas, while ostensibly conflicting, overlap enough so that each informs the space but neither dominates it . In this case I examine a specific site of hybridity, the "Arrivals Passengers Only" area of the Vancouver International Airport. Here, the space is informed by the presence of works, created by the Coast Salish Musqueam people, in the Airport Terminal, created by the Vancouver International Airport Authority. While this sort of negotiation can be described using positive and progressive terms, and the creation of a third space represents a compelling ideal, I argue that the moment of hybridity within the airport is ultimately undermined by other areas of the building in which no negotiation has taken place. The airport's role as a business necessitates marketing strategies aimed mainly at tourists and other business interests. Since virtually the entire building is devoted to that market, the negotiated hybrid space becomes hidden so that its potential impact is lost. Although participating in the creation of a working model of culture with the Musqueam people, the Airport ends up destabilising that model and the space, the ‘third space,’ which contains it. This particular example points to a site specific aspect of contemporary North American culture by drawing on the local community as a source for investigating that discourse. The thesis, then, has two points of entry; the ephemeral discourse of cultural negotiation and the locally grounded freeze-frame view of one site in contemporary Vancouver. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

The Vancouver Airport Planning Committee met from 19 73 to 1976 to examine the implications of an expansion of Vancouver International Airport proposed by the Ministry of Transport. The committee was an experiment for it included participation by eleven agencies, including eight from all levels of gov-^ ernment and three non-governmental organizations (two from industry, one from the general public). The committee concluded its activities with the release of a report presenting three decision options for further public discussion. The report is remarkable in the degree of disagreement among agencies that it displays. This study first presents four political models of public participation in the planning process. One of the models, agency-public joint planning, very closely matches the Airport Planning Committee. Then a number of normative criteria for public participation are developed, against which the experience of the committee can be evaluated. The case of the Vancouver Airport Planning Committee is presented, based on readings of reports, minutes of meetings, correspondence, memoranda, related documents, and interviews with participants. Application of the criteria to this committee process reveals a number of shortcomings, most serious of which was the failure to develop and assess alternatives which "expressed the full range of values represented on the committee. Further interpretation of the reasons for difficulties encountered in the process, reveals that the central factor was the narrow and rigid policy position adopted, by the Ministry of Transport when other agencies perceived the issue to be much broader. The narrow policy position was the result of an interpretation of the role of the committee as only to advise on measures to mitigate the specific runway proposed by MOT. Some other agencies believed that the committee's role was much broader, to study and advise on a number of alternative policies for managing the growing demand for air transportation services. Fundamental differences of values separated the agencies involved, so that the disagreement on the nature of the process was never overcome. Instead conflict characterized the committee process, conflict which is reported and recorded in the Final Report. Despite these problems the Airport Planning Committee was basically successful in expressing the range of views, and in generating relevant information on the runway proposal. Public participation was successful in stating a value position (characterized as the 'conserver' viewpoint) which governmental agencies did not express. However the committee process demonstrated an inherent flaw in the agency-public joint planning model. When a diverse set of values is represented within a small problem-solving group dealing with a single issue the necessary conditions for evaluation, bargaining, and decision do not exist. Conflict resolution must take place at the political level; it must not be expected of such a group. The appropriate and important role of such a group is to develop the relevant range of alternatives and to assess their impact on the values represented. This information must then be passed to the political level for bargaining and decision-making. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate