Recent Progress in Activity-Based Travel Demand Modeling: Rising Data and Applicability

Over 30 years have passed since activity-based travel demand models (ABMs) emerged to overcome the limitations of the preceding models which have dominated the field for over 50 years. Activity-based models are valuable tools for transportation planning and analysis, detailing the tour and mode-restricted nature of the household and individual travel choices. Nevertheless, no single approach has emerged as a dominant method, and research continues to improve ABM features to make them more accurate, robust, and practical. This paper describes the state of art and practice, including the ongoing ABM research covering both demand and supply considerations. Despite the substantial developments, ABM’s abilities in reflecting behavioral realism are still limited. Possible solutions to address this issue include increasing the inaccuracy of the primary data, improved integrity of ABMs across days of the week, and tackling the uncertainty via integrating demand and supply. Opportunities exist to test, the feasibility of spatial transferability of ABMs to new geographical contexts along with expanding the applicability of ABMs in transportation policy-making

Public open spaces for the elderly in urban areas. A case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Public open spaces (POS) play an essential role in enhancing the elderly’s mental, physical, and social well-being, through socialization, outdoor activities, and exercise. A sharp rise in Vietnam's demographic profile toward an aging population over the last decade has raised the need for increased attention to POS. Based on a growing trend of aging in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - one of the largest cities with a 9% population of elderly aged 65 and above (reported in 2019), is a prime candidate for a well-planned system of age-friendly POS. However, the lack of green spaces and, more importantly, spatial quality has limited the use of POS among the elderly in HCMC, where an estimated green area is sub-optimal (1.36 m² of land per capita). Additionally, Vietnam government institutions - have neither established guidelines for age-friendly urban spaces nor paid more attention to improving green open spaces. The wide academic-practitioner gap continues to challenge architects, landscape designers, and urban planners to apply their valuable research findings to practice. Through a case study of HCMC, this research aims to identify a practical design method for POS to meet the elders’ needs by comprising (1) the synthesis of age-friendly design guidelines, (2) impact factors and degree of association to the frequency and time spent in POS, (3) reasons, activities, and opinions of the elderly about POS, (4) network between the POS attributes and actions of users, and (5) models of POS for the elderly. In this paper, design guidelines, at their core, work as diffusion curves to bring academics closer to practitioners. At the same time, age-friendly policies for POS are rigorously reviewed to synthesize a framework that tailors effective procedures to match the needs of the elderly. This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods, including survey questionnaires, in-depth interviews, expert interviews, and observation. The experiment was implemented between 2017 and 2018 in ten different types of POS, collecting 353 responses from a survey questionnaire. The actor-network-theory method analyzed observation data collected from study areas to draw a network among built attributes and the users' activities. Statistical analysis was conducted using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests to identify the most significant impact factors in using POS. As a result, there is a significant association between social interaction and design features and frequency and time spent in POS among the elderly. Furthermore, the most influential design features in ten POS locations are open fields, pathways, vegetation, and benches, as they connect popular activities such as walking, slow-movement sports, and exercise and sports equipment. The new design guidelines are established by integrating the synthesized procedures and the results of an observational and statistical analysis to form concise language with the order of necessary factors. Remarkably, the method of this tailored approach has received multiple applause from professionals in landscape design for its relevance, acceptability, political expediency, viability, and adaptability. Future research directions are to broaden the application of the structure of POS to other age groups to minimize users’ conflicts

Southeast Asian Transformations: Urban and Rural Developments in the 21st Century

Southeast Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world. This volume offers a timely approach to Southeast Asian Studies, covering recent transitions in the realms of urbanism, rural development, politics, and media. While most of the contributions deal with the era of post-independence, some tackle the colonial period and the resulting developments. The volume also includes insights from Southern India. As a tribute to the interdisciplinary project of Southeast Asian Studies, this book brings together authors from disciplines as diverse as area studies, sociology, history, geography, and journalism

Southeast Asian Transformations

Southeast Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world. This volume offers a timely approach to Southeast Asian Studies, covering recent transitions in the realms of urbanism, rural development, politics, and media. While most of the contributions deal with the era of post-independence, some tackle the colonial period and the resulting developments. The volume also includes insights from Southern India. As a tribute to the interdisciplinary project of Southeast Asian Studies, this book brings together authors from disciplines as diverse as area studies, sociology, history, geography, and journalism