Efficient freight mobility plays a major role in the economy, and its performance is closely related to the quality of the transportation system. Requirements for funding transportation infrastructure projects often do not specify the analytical tools planners should use to request funding. Critical Urban and Rural Freight Corridors are sections of the National Highway Freight Network providing critical connectivity of goods and must have improved system performance. This research study offers a method for identifying these corridors considering temporal and spatial inputs. For this end, a multi-criteria spatial decision support system (MC-SDSS) was developed. This framework attributes a score to highway corridors (links) based on policy eligibility and prioritization. We apply the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to structure the problem and consider different stakeholder preferences and available data. The product of this study is a tool for decisionmakers to optimize the selection of critical freight corridors and analyze alternatives. It also offers flexibility to manipulate the framework to meet various agency goals, using the State of Florida as a case study. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Corridor coalitions have been described by some as a model for the development of public-private partnerships to help finance and manage corridor wide traffic flow programs and construction projects (Vega & Penn, 2008). Others have suggested corridor coalitions could also be effective tools for the development of strategic growth planning in mega regions and possibly as part of a national infrastructure and economic growth strategy (Todorovich, 2009). Through a case study of the Interstate 81 Corridor Coalition, this dissertation describes the coalition’s characteristics, analyzes its evolutionary development and explores governance participation possibilities. This study based on data from a mixed methods research approach provides a framework for assessing conceptual characteristics, a responsiveness continuum for understanding contextual dynamics and a governance model of components for evaluating collaborations. The evidence suggests some planning, funding and coordination difficulties associated with the absence of governance entities with corridor wide authority are being addressed by various national transportation institutions and associations. Corridor coalitions that exhibit developmental characteristics such as competency, sustainability, diversity and commitments consistent with relevant public agencies may be appropriate for roles in governance. Likewise, the responsiveness of corridor coalitions to governance related contextual developments may be a primary determinant of their possible role in governance. This I-81 case study provides evidence of an evolving coalition, where the descriptive characteristics contribute to a type of responsiveness to corridor concerns that could lead to governance participation. / Ph. D.

Cette thèse porte sur les corridors et leur capacité relative à s'intégrer dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement internationales. Pour illustrer l'analyse, elle repose sur la réalisation d'études de cas portant sur la performance de corridors africains reliant le Tchad et le Niger aux marchés internationaux. Les chaînes d'approvisionnement sont des systèmes qui relient les organisations entre elles à travers des flux physiques et informationnels. Pour pouvoir les intégrer, toute entité doit être en mesure d'y contribuer en y apportant une valeur. Cette valeur permet aux chaînes d'approvisionnement d'atteindre un certain niveau de performance vis-à-vis leurs concurrents. En principe, elles cherchent donc à améliorer leurs performances et ceci passe par un certain nombre de stratégies dont la mise en œuvre dépend, entre autres, d'une circulation fluide d'information de qualité, d'un haut degré de fiabilité dans les processus logistiques et d'une collaboration effective entre les acteurs de la chaîne. En ce qui concerne les corridors, il s'agit également de systèmes qui relient les organisations entre elles. Mais contrairement aux chaînes d'approvisionnement, ils sont davantage territorialisés et ils forment des réseaux à travers lesquels les flux physiques et informationnels circulent. Leur valeur pour les chaînes d'approvisionnement est donc étroitement liée à la mobilité des biens, des personnes et des informations. Les corridors sont dotés de capacités qui leur confèrent plus ou moins de valeur selon les besoins relatifs des chaînes d'approvisionnement. Grâce à une matrice d'étalonnage construite à partir des besoins des chaînes d'approvisionnement, des capacités des corridors et des informations disponibles, les travaux entourant cette thèse tentent d'évaluer quels corridors sont susceptibles de mieux répondre aux besoins de certaines chaînes d'approvisionnement. Dans la mesure où à la fois les corridors et les chaînes d'approvisionnement sont des systèmes et considérant que l'évaluation de la performance ne peut faire abstraction d'éléments contextuels pour lesquels des indicateurs n'apportent que des réponses partielles, le processus d'étalonnage est complété par des études de cas qui permettent de mieux comprendre la performance relative. En conclusion, les travaux de cette thèse démontrent que les spécificités de chaque chaîne d'approvisionnement et des corridors empruntés ne peuvent faire l'objet d'une application universelle d'indicateurs de performance. Afin de bien appréhender l'intégration relative des corridors, il est nécessaire de pondérer les indicateurs en fonction des besoins précis de chaque chaîne d'approvisionnement. Par ailleurs, même si les corridors traditionnellement utilisés pour relier le Tchad et le Niger devraient maintenir leurs avantages dans un avenir rapproché, le potentiel d'amélioration sur l'ensemble des corridors est tel que la situation pourrait changer de façon significative à moyen et long termes. C'est notamment le cas pour les flux en provenance de / vers l'Asie qui augmentent rapidement à l'échelle africaine / This work considers corridors and their relative capability to integrate international supply chains. To illustrate the analysis, it is based on case studies pertaining to the performance of some African corridors linking Chad and Niger to global markets. Supply chains are systems that link organisations between them through physical and informational flows. To integrate them, it is necessary to contribute by providing value. This value enables supply chains to reach a given level of performance. Supply chains thus try to reach higher levels of performance through a certain number of strategies such as a seamless flow of information, a high degree of reliability in logistical processes and cooperation between stakeholders of the supply chain. Corridors are also systems that link organisation but they are more territorialized and form networks through which physical and informational flows circulate. Their value for supply chains is thus closely linked to the mobility of goods, persons and information. Corridors have capacities which provide them with more or less value according to the specific requirements of individual supply chains. With a benchmarking matrix built according to supply chain requirements, corridor capacities and available information, the work underlying this thesis tries to evaluate which corridors are susceptible of better answering to the specific need of certain supply chains. Given that both corridors and supply chains are systems and that the evaluation of performance cannot override contextual elements for which indicators only provide partial answers, the benchmarking process is completed by case studies that enable a better understanding of the relative performance. In conclusion, the work undertaken in this thesis demonstrates that the specificities of each supply chain and corridor cannot be objectively evaluated through the application of a universal benchmarking process based on performance indicators. To evaluate the relative integration of corridors, it is necessary to weigh the indicators according to the specific requirements of each supply chain. Moreover, even if the corridors traditionally used to link Chad and Niger should maintain their advantage in the short term, the potential for improvement on all the corridors analysed are such that this situation could significantly change in the medium and long terms. This is notably the case for flows to/from Asia which are growing rapidly at the African scale

Jin Lu. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2008-2009, design report." / Includes bibliographical references.

The diploma thesis discusses the issues of help mainly by the United States under the Lend- Lease Act during the Second World War. The theoretical part deals with the historical context and the economic s and political framework of the rise of the programme with an emphasis on the USA. The following part is focused on the quantification of the whole extent. A great part of the thesis is devoted to the issues of help by the Soviet Union. The emphasis is placed not only on the content, but mainly on the logistic issues. Following the historical context there are also four major transportation corridors discussed and their occupancy at the time, material flow and mode of transport are analysed.

Muitas políticas públicas têm buscado minimizar os efeitos que atividades de transporte causam ao meio ambiente e à sociedade. Uma dessas políticas remete ao surgimento dos corredores verdes de transporte de cargas, originalmente concebidos na Europa. Inicialmente, propõe-se uma definição de corredores verdes para que se avalie o transporte de mercadorias no Brasil a partir da definição obtida e seja selecionado um caso de transporte de mercadorias no Brasil para avaliação de acordo com o que se propõe em experiências internacionais, incluindo a aplicação de tecnologias para obtenção de tais corredores. Desenvolve-se, portanto, um estudo de caso aplicado a corredores de transporte de soja produzida no Mato Grosso para exportação, de forma que se considere os modais rodoviário, ferroviário e hidroviário, e a intermodalidade. São utilizados indicadores de desempenho para análise e verificadas as características e diferenças entre os corredores. Tecnologias que visam aumentar a sustentabilidade em um corredor são testadas e formas de tornar um corredor brasileiro de transporte de soja em um corredor verde são sugeridas. Observa-se que corredores que utilizam o modal hidroviário tendem a apresentar melhor desempenho econômico e ambiental, sugerindo que a alternativa para \"verdificação\" de corredores de transportes no Brasil é a utilização dos rios. Verifica-se também que substituir combustíveis utilizados pode reduzir em até 90% a emissão de gases do efeito estufa e que investir em terminais intermodais leva eficiência às operações deixando margem para investimentos em tecnologias sustentáveis. Conclui-se, ainda, que corredores que utilizam hidrovias possuem elevado potencial de melhoria em função da quantidade de tecnologias e melhorias propostas. / Many public policies aim to minimize the effects that transport activities cause to the environment and society. One such policy refers to the conception of green corridors originally designed in Europe. An initial objective of this thesis is conceptualizing a green corridor to freight in Brazil and, from the definition obtained, select cases of freight transport for evaluation according to what is proposed in international experiences, including the application of technologies to obtain green corridors. In order to achieve the objective a case study is developed for freight corridors of soybean produced in Mato Grosso for export so as to consider road, rail, waterways and intermodality. KPI\'s are considered on case analysis and to verify the characteristics and differences between the corridors. Technologies that aim to increase sustainability in a corridor are tested and ways to turn a Brazilian soybean corridor into a green corridor are suggested. The corridors that consider waterways tend to present better economic and environmental performance, suggesting that the alternative for \"greening\" of transportation corridors in Brazil is the use of rivers. It also has observed that replacing fuels could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% and that investing in intermodal terminals brings efficiency to operations leaving margin for investments in sustainable technologies. It can also be concluded that the corridors present high potential for improvement when consider waterways due to the number of technologies and improvements proposed to this mode of transportation.

The unique species, ecosystems and landscapes of the Western United States are experiencing unprecedented pressures from climate change, creating new challenges for conservation. As temperatures rise and patterns of precipitation shift, plant and wildlife species have been shifting their ranges to new areas in search of more suitable climates, building groupings of species that are historically unfamiliar. These climate -driven migrations place an additional burden on species that are already threatened from habitat loss and other human-related activities. The impacts of climate change are of particular concern in landscapes that have long been conserved and managed based on the ecological features that define them, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas. With many of these existing protected areas experiencing ecological shifts due to climate change, there is a growing need to identify the places within wider regions that will help species cope with impacts of changing climatic conditions. In some cases, those places are those where the pressures of climate change are least pronounced, what are referred to as “climate refugia.” At other times, helping plants and wildlife cope involves aiding their movement across the landscape in response to climate shifts, by preserving the connectivity between critical habitats and other highly important areas. While many efforts have been made to assess the potential of different areas as climate refugia and corridors, these practices have usually been carried out looking at individual species or ecosystems at a relatively local scale. Unfortunately, many of the decisions to conserve new parts of the landscape occur across much broader regions that span a multitude of species and ecosystems, ranging from individual states to entire continents. As a consequence, assessing climate refugia and corridors on a case-by-case basis for every ecological feature is neither feasible nor an efficient use of the limited resources available for conservation. Additionally, when deciding which areas are best suited for protecting native species and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change, one cannot ignore the existence of the other prevalent threats to conservation, such as habitat loss or invasive species. In this thesis, I have explored methods for widely incorporating climate change into the complex process of identifying high priority areas for conservation across broad regions. As a case study for this work, I chose the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative, a collaborative public and private effort for conserving and managing the ecological characteristics of a distinct region spanning seven states in the US Intermountain West. After broadly measuring climate change impact and connectivity in a manner that was not tied to any particular species, I simulated climate refugia and corridors that simultaneously represented the ranges of 31 separate wildlife species. Though further research is needed to better understand the full suite of threats to species persistence, the means already exist for conservation decision makers to account for climate change in their actions. I believe that my work supports that decision making process, providing a framework for identifying areas that are most critical for aiding diverse species and ecosystems in their responses to the pressures of climate change.

Habitat loss and fragmentation occur at unprecedented rates, especially in tropical countries where human activities have deforested or degraded around 80% of tropical rainforests. Tropical forest fragmentation is considered the main cause of extinction of tropical forest avifauna, yet the mechanisms by which fragmentation affects bird populations are poorly understood. The present study investigates the pattern of bird species distribution in a fragmented landscape in tropical southeastern Mexico and the relation of bird community and species distribution patterns to landscape and fragment characteristics. Area and isolation of forest fragments were the main determinant of species richness and abundance in fragments, especially for forest-dependent species. The significant effect of isolation on species persistence in forest fragments suggests that limitation of dispersal is one potential mechanism by which fragmentation affects species distribution in the landscape. To understand how fragmentation can affect bird dispersal in a fragmented landscape, the effect of open areas and corridors on movement patterns of forest birds was investigated. The evidence presented in this study supports the idea that bird movement is restricted by open areas, especially for forest-restricted birds. Forested corridors had a positive effect on movement rates of forest birds, potentially acting to preserve movement and dispersal processes, and ultimately species persistence, in heavily fragmented landscapes.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, March, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.