Multi-objective model for optimizing railway infrastructure asset renewal

Trabalho inspirado num problema real da empresa Infraestruturas de Portugal, EP.A multi-objective model for managing railway infrastructure asset renewal is presented. The model aims to optimize three objectives, while respecting operational constraints: levelling investment throughout multiple years, minimizing total cost and minimizing work start postponements. Its output is an optimized intervention schedule. The model is based on a case study from a Portuguese infrastructure management company, which specified the objectives and constraints, and reflects management practice on railway infrastructure. The results show that investment levelling greatly influences the other objectives and that total cost fluctuations may range from insignificant to important, depending on the condition of the infrastructure. The results structure is argued to be general and suggests a practical methodology for analysing trade-offs and selecting a solution for implementation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE, SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS AND THE FOOD-CITY RELATIONSHIP IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

Peri-urban agriculture is a pivotal issue in the debate on sustainable management of land in metropolitan regions worldwide. Multiple socioeconomic and environmental solutions introduced by new models of peri-urban agriculture are playing an important role in planning and management of fringe land. The recent development of peri-urban agriculture in Southern European cities was supposed to reflect latent, crisis-driven processes of 'coming back to land': new land has been extensively cultivated, and new relations have been created between farmers, communities and territories within peri-urban areas. This study describes some relevant experiences of peri-urban farming in 6 metropolitan regions (Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Athens, Istanbul) representative of different socioeconomic contexts in Southern Europe, outlining strengths and weaknesses in the use of fringe land for cropping, and evidencing relevant implications for urban sustainability

Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. Urban ecosystems

Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 requires member states to Map and Assess the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). This report provides guidance for mapping and assessment of urban ecosystems. The MAES urban pilot is a collaboration between the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, volunteering Member States and cities, and stakeholders. Its ultimate goal is to deliver a knowledge base for policy and management of urban ecosystems by analysing urban green infrastructure, condition of urban ecosystems and ecosystem services. This report presents guidance for mapping urban ecosystems and includes an indicator framework to assess the condition of urban ecosystems and urban ecosystem services. The scientific framework of mapping and assessment is designed to support in particular urban planning policy and policy on green infrastructure at urban, metropolitan and regional scales. The results are based on the following different sources of information: a literature survey of 54 scientific articles, an online-survey (on urban ecosystems, related policies and planning instruments and with participation of 42 cities), ten case studies (Portugal: Cascais, Oeiras, Lisbon; Italy: Padua, Trento, Rome; The Netherlands: Utrecht; Poland: Poznań; Spain: Barcelona; Norway: Oslo), and a two-day expert workshop. The case studies constituted the core of the MAES urban pilot. They provided real examples and applications of how mapping and assessment can be organized to support policy; on top, they provided the necessary expertise to select a set of final indicators for condition and ecosystem services. Urban ecosystems or cities are defined here as socio-ecological systems which are composed of green infrastructure and built infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (GI) is understood in this report as the multi-functional network of urban green spaces situated within the boundary of the urban ecosystem. Urban green spaces are the structural components of urban GI. This study has shown that there is a large scope for urban ecosystem assessments. Firstly, urban policies increasingly use urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in their planning process. Secondly, an increasing amount of data at multiple spatial scales is becoming available to support these policies, to provide a baseline, and to compare or benchmark cities with respect to the extent and management of the urban ecosystem. Concrete examples are given on how to delineate urban ecosystems, how to choose an appropriate spatial scale, and how to map urban ecosystems based on a combination of national or European datasets (including Urban Atlas) and locally collected information (e.g., location of trees). Also examples of typologies for urban green spaces are presented. This report presents an indicator framework which is composed of indicators to assess for urban ecosystem condition and for urban ecosystem services. These are the result of a rigorous selection process and ensure consistent mapping and assessment across Europe. The MAES urban pilot will continue with work on the interface between research and policy. The framework presented in this report needs to be tested and validated across Europe, e.g. on its applicability at city scale, on how far the methodology for measuring ecosystem condition and ecosystem service delivery in urban areas can be used to assess urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions

The logistics contribution to the Port of Lisbon competitiveness

Today, maritime freight transport is a keystone on foreign trade between countries as well as in the world economy. This is a main engine of economic activity and in this case, is what allows globalization to arrive in every corner of the planet. A major percentage of world trade is done by sea and the cargo is maneuvered in ports, all around the world which in turn increases the economic and strategic relevance of maritime transport. Portugal is a country with an extraordinary maritime potential, for the development of activities related to sea shipping. Currently, maritime transport is developing faster in other regions of the world, namely in the Pacific (Southeast Asia), which are currently considered to be more competitive than other parts of the world. This research builds a theoretical framework regarding Portuguese ports and focuses on the future of the port of Lisbon. The adopted methodology will consist on a study and analysis, focused on the investigation of the competitive environment, factors of port competitiveness, and an analysis of how on a future we can increase the competitiveness of this port infrastructure. The present work will show that the interests of land and sea stakeholders are different because they have different expectations evidenced by their customers. The relationship between them is not always easy because when one side is affected, the other side will see the impacts, by causing serious imbalances in port activity and in order to prevent that, articulation and integration in terms of supply-chain and logistics is one of the objectives of this dissertation.Na atualidade, o transporte marítimo de mercadorias é uma pedra basilar no comércio externo dos Estados, assim como na economia mundial, caracterizando-se como um dos principais motores da atividade económica e neste caso o que permite a globalização. Um valor significativo do comércio mundial de mercadorias é feito pelo mar e manobrado nos portos de todo o mundo o que por sua vez aumenta a relevância económica e estratégica do transporte marítimo. Portugal é um país rico em potencial económico marítimo, para o desenvolvimento de quaisquer atividades que tenham no mar a sua base. Atualmente, o transporte marítimo está a deslocar-se para outras regiões do mundo, nomeadamente a bacia do pacífico, sendo estas consideradas atualmente como as mais competitivas. A investigação incluirá um enquadramento teórico sobre a temática dos Portos, por forma a ampliar o conhecimento e um estudo aprofundado do ponto de vista da logística, sobre o Porto de Lisboa . A metodologia adotada consistirá no estudo e análise, focado na investigação do ambiente competitivo, fatores de competitividade portuária, e uma análise sobre de que forma futuramente podemos aumentar a competitividade do Porto. O presente trabalho irá demonstrar que os interesses dos Stakeholders do mar e da terra são distintos, porque têm expectativas diferentes face aos resultados evidenciadas pelos seus clientes finais. O relacionamento entre eles nem sempre é fácil porque, quando um lado é afetado, o outro lado sente os impactos, causando sérios desequilíbrios na atividade portuária. A articulação e a integração em termos de logística e cadeia de abastecimento é um dos objetivos da presente dissertação, prevenindo a situação descrita anteriormente

analysis of the impact of short-term rentals platforms and entrepreneurship

Lisbon is today’s best world travel city destination, according to the World Travel Awards. Regarding the current tourism dynamics in Lisbon, an analysis is made on Short-term rentals platforms and on the city’s entrepreneurship network, in order to evaluate the impact that those two factors had on the touristic performance of the city of Lisbon. In both analysis, we take into account the factors, technology and innovation, as critical drivers for the enduring searching of disruption and superior value creation

VI Workshop on Computational Data Analysis and Numerical Methods: Book of Abstracts

The VI Workshop on Computational Data Analysis and Numerical Methods (WCDANM) is going to be held on June 27-29, 2019, in the Department of Mathematics of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilhã, Portugal and it is a unique opportunity to disseminate scientific research related to the areas of Mathematics in general, with particular relevance to the areas of Computational Data Analysis and Numerical Methods in theoretical and/or practical field, using new techniques, giving especial emphasis to applications in Medicine, Biology, Biotechnology, Engineering, Industry, Environmental Sciences, Finance, Insurance, Management and Administration. The meeting will provide a forum for discussion and debate of ideas with interest to the scientific community in general. With this meeting new scientific collaborations among colleagues, namely new collaborations in Masters and PhD projects are expected. The event is open to the entire scientific community (with or without communication/poster)

Accessibility dynamics and regional cross-border cooperation (CBC) perspectives in the portuguese—spanish borderland

Accessibility plays a major role in achieving sustainable transport, and therefore urban and regional sustainability. The urban public transport system promotes mobility and realizes a large part of urban movements. Moreover, improving accessibility in order to promote sustainable transport requires the application of new concepts and indicators as a powerful tool in the process of creating a balanced urban transport system. In this regard, one of the main goals of this research is to present an overview of the relevant accessibility indicators and assessment of accessibility in regional Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) in order to transcendence challenges and obstacles for sustainable transportation in these regions along of Portuguese-Spanish border. This paper focuses on the accessibility of cross-border cooperation scenarios along the border regions of Alto Alentejo (Portugal) and Badajoz (Spain) where the Case Study Research Method (CSR) made it possible to recognize accessibility as a key factor in territorial success. Also, accessibility analysis can assess improvements as well as regional imbalances. In addition, this methodology can be used to identify missing links, which requires new investments enabling long-term sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Planning and operation of transport systems in Mediterranean Mid-Size Metropolitan Areas: Lisbon and Homs as a case studies

Urban sustainability, economic performance and tourist attractiveness require a comprehensive and efficient functioning multimodal transport system. In recent centuries, the importance role of urban transport and its means were not a result of urban growth, since the inception of cities; it has been a major junction of the city. More efficient urban transport would allow cities to ensure better accessibility to the various services. At the same time, they should help reducing the transport externalities such as traffic congestion, road crashes and environmental pollution. In the 1995’s Barcelona Conference, where transport was identified as a priority issue, a broad consensus points out that transport reform should be an integral part of economic adjustment at the national level as well as intergovernmental cooperation at the regional level. The idea of this dissertation inspired by me as a student. Portugal is my first abroad country, I felt it as my second country, as it is a Mediterranean country as well as Syria. At the same time, I felt that my responsibility is to contribute to its development and improvement in all aspects, to have an organized and sustainable transport services, that ensures mobility and basic access to meet the needs of development without affecting the quality of life for subsequent generations. So, it must be safe, healthy, inexpensive and with less impacts regarding pollution and the use of renewable and non-renewable resources, it should meet the needs of the present without affecting or damaging the environmental harmony and the need to achieve a long-term sustainable economy and convenience for society. The objective of this research is to identify some specificities of cities in the Mediterranean region that can somehow explain the existing difficulties they show regarding the efficiency of their transport systems, the growing predominance of car use, the delay to improve active modes of transport, as well as the transport policy reforms, they are trying to implement. The similarities between Lisbon and Homs in this regard were used to better understand the problems that those cities face and what are the strategies to explore in order to reach a more efficient and sustainable transport system. In most of the southern Mediterranean countries transport reforms are now underway but does not have an identity yet comparing with the northern countries. However, I am taking Lisbon’s transport policies and urban mobility management as a case-study, to identify the policies and measures that can be applied in Homs, helping this city to plan more efficiently its transport system. As a result, an interaction exists between transport system and its use, as they influence each other. I’m focused in this dissertation on the user perspective. Methods were used that focus on the people and reveal his thoughts, knowledge, experience and feelings and how the world is going forward.A sustentabilidade urbana, o desempenho económico e a atratividade turística exigem um sistema de transportes multimodal, abrangente e eficiente. Nos últimos séculos a importância do papel do transporte urbano e dos seus meios não foram apenas o resultado do crescimento urbano, antes o influenciaram desde o início das cidades. Um transporte urbano mais eficiente permitirá às cidades garantir uma melhor acessibilidade aos vários serviços. Ao mesmo tempo, deve ajudar a reduzir as externalidades dos transportes, como congestionamentos, acidentes rodoviários e poluição ambiental. Na Conferência de Barcelona de 1995, onde o transporte foi identificado como uma questão prioritária, um amplo consenso apontou para que a reforma do transporte fosse parte integrante do desenvolvimento económico ao nível nacional, bem como exemplo da cooperação intergovernamental ao nível regional. A ideia desta dissertação inspirou-me como estudante. Portugal é o primeiro país estrangeiro em que vivi, senti-o como o meu segundo país, pois é um país mediterrâneo tal como a Síria. Simultaneamente, senti que a minha responsabilidade é contribuir para o seu desenvolvimento e melhoria em todos os aspetos, para ter um serviço de transporte organizado e sustentável, que garanta a mobilidade e o acesso básico para atender às necessidades de desenvolvimento, sem afetar a qualidade de vida das gerações futuras. Para isso tem de ser seguro, saudável, barato e com menor impacte em termos de poluição e no uso de recursos renováveis e não renováveis, atender às necessidades do presente sem afetar ou prejudicar a harmonia ambiental e a necessidade de alcançar uma economia sustentável a longo prazo e conveniência para a sociedade. O objetivo desta pesquisa é identificar algumas especificidades das cidades da região do Mediterrâneo que possam de alguma forma explicar as dificuldades existentes quanto à eficiência dos seus sistemas de transportes, o crescente predomínio do uso de automóveis, o atraso na melhoria dos meios de transporte ativos, como bem como as reformas da política de transportes que estão a tentar implementar. As semelhanças entre Lisboa e Homs neste aspeto, foram utilizadas para melhor compreender os problemas que essas cidades enfrentam e quais as estratégias a explorar para se chegar a um sistema de transportes mais eficiente e sustentável. Na maioria dos países do sul do Mediterrâneo, as reformas dos transportes estão agora em andamento, mas ainda não apresentam uma boa eficiência quando comparadas com os países do Norte. No entanto, considero as políticas de transporte e gestão da mobilidade urbana de Lisboa como um estudo de caso, para identificar as políticas e medidas que podem ser aplicadas em Homs, ajudando esta cidade a planear de forma mais eficiente o seu sistema de transportes. Como resultado, existe uma interação entre o sistema de transportes e o seu utilizador, dado que estes se influenciam mutuamente. Nesta dissertação centro-me na perspetiva do utilizador. Foram utilizados métodos que se focalizam nas pessoas e revelam os seus pensamentos, conhecimentos, experiências e sentimentos e como o mundo progride