Transportation Research Challenges Based on the Analysis of EU Projects

In recent years several projects have been realised in the field of transportation, but there is a lack of systematic analysis of research challenges connected to these projects. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of these challenges through EU funded projects in the field of smart, green and integrated transport. Based on EU strategic documents, reports and roadmaps, 10 topics are identified playing a crucial role in transportation-related research. A systematic analysis of the projects is realised, where the projects collected from an online database in the Horizon 2020 framework programme from 2015 to 2020 are categorised into these topics. The results show that travel behaviour, big data and open data, sustainable mobility planning and smart solutions are covered by several projects which reflect the main research trends. While active and shared modes, multimodal transportation, trip optimisation and Mobility as a Service are also popular topics. Based on the results, the most underrepresented research areas are artificial intelligence and social networks. The analysis of the connections between the research topics could enable the achievement of a long-term paradigm shift in urban mobility, which is beneficial for researchers, professionals and policy makers

From the microchip to the Planet

The projects presented in this article focus on the interaction generated betwwwn people and objects, from the houshold all the way to the urban scale. Integrating and displaying data is transforming everyday objects and environments and the trend will allow us to disover new uses for digital technology

Using mobility data as proxy for measuring urban vitality

In this paper, we propose a computational approach to Jane Jacobs\u27 concept of diversity and vitality, analyzing new forms of spatial data to obtain quantitative measurements of urban qualities frequently employed to evaluate places. We use smart card data collected from public transport to calculate a diversity value for each research unit. Diversity is composed of three dynamic attributes: intensity, variability, and consistency, each measuring different temporal variations of mobility flows. We then apply a regression model to establish the relationship between diversity and vitality, using Twitter data as a proxy for human activity in urban space. Final results (also validated using data sourced from OpenStreetMap) unveil which are the most vibrant areas in London

Speed data collection methods: a review

Various studies have been focusing on a wide range of techniques to detect traffic flow characteristics, like speed and travel times. Therefore, a key aspect to obtain statistically significant set of data is to observe and record driver behaviours in real world. To collect traffic data, traditional methods of traffic measurement - such as detection stations, radar guns or video cameras - have been used over the years. Other innovative methods refer to probe vehicles equipped with GPS devices and/or cameras, which allow continuous surveys along the entire road route. While point-based devices provide information of the entire flow, just in the section in which they are installed and only in the time domain, probe vehicles data are referred both to temporal and space domains but ignore traffic conditions. Obviously, it is necessary that the data collected refer to representative samples, by number and composition, of the user population. The paper proposes a review of the most used methods for speed data collection, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each experimental approach. Accordingly, the comparison illustrates the best relief method to be adopted depending on the research and investigation that will be performed

Big Data for Traffic Estimation and Prediction: A Survey of Data and Tools

Big data has been used widely in many areas including the transportation industry. Using various data sources, traffic states can be well estimated and further predicted for improving the overall operation efficiency. Combined with this trend, this study presents an up-to-date survey of open data and big data tools used for traffic estimation and prediction. Different data types are categorized and the off-the-shelf tools are introduced. To further promote the use of big data for traffic estimation and prediction tasks, challenges and future directions are given for future studies

Compilation of Reports from the Conference on Trafficking of Human Beings and Migration: A human rights approach

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.ASI_2005_HT_Portugal_Compilation_of_Reports.pdf: 184 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Fragmented citizenship: contemporary infrastructures of mobility containment along two migratory routes

Several authors have contended recently that the rationality of contemporary migration control can be most adequately grasped by the notion of ‘containment’, conceived as the redirection of people’s autonomous movement into restricted and defined path- ways. Following this idea, this article proceeds in three steps. First, it proposes an analysis of the ‘infrastructures’ through which contain- ment is enforced, showing the plural dimensions (regulatory, huma- nitarian, commercial, social) of which they are composed. Second, analysing two cases of transnational mobility towards (and across) the EU, it shows the effect of containment on people’s spatial and existential trajectories. And third, through the analysis of such cases, it contends that the ultimate effect of containment is the fragmentation of citizenship into a variety of intermediate ‘latitudi- nal’ positions characterised by partial and conditional access to rights, which are functional to several forms of exploitation, includ- ing labour but also profit extraction through the operations of containment infrastructures themselves