The port attractiveness index: application on African ports

The overall operational reputation of a port is based on objective factors, including infrastructure endowments and efficiency in the logistics chain as well as on perceived subjective factors such as reliability, and level of corruption. In this work we analyze the concept of port attractiveness, starting with the hypothesis that subjective port determinants (i.e., user perception) and objective/endogenous and exogenous factors can be quantified together. We thus determine the Port Attractiveness Index and test it using 41 container ports of 23 African countries for the period 2006-2010. We apply a bottom-up approach to investigate the structural relationships among the three sets of determinants (endogenous, exogenous and subjective) that impact on port attractiveness. Our methodological approach employs structural equation modeling. Results indicate that subjective factors are indeed influential variables for port attractiveness. Moreover, when examining port attractiveness and investment strategies, we demonstrate that in many cases in African ports governments should implement soft infrastructure as a first step rather than investing in hard infrastructures

An Interdependent Multi-Layer Model: Resilience of International Networks

Trade flows are characterised by interdependent economic networks such as the global supply chain, international bilateral agreements, trans-national credit, and foreign direct investments, as well as non-economic components (i.e. infrastructures, cultural ties and spatial barriers). We construct an Interdependent Multi-layer Model (IMM), which is rooted in the theoretical concept of spatial interaction, in order to identify the links within these networks and trace their impacts on trade flows. In our aim to investigate horizontal and vertical interdependency among networks we calibrate the interaction model (IMM) for a set of 40 countries, and thereafter examine the influence of shocks such as economic downturns upon the interdependent networks, which in our model are represented as economic, socio-cultural and physical layers. Most importantly, the model allows us to understand the propagation of cascading effects (both positive and negative) at national and global scales

Accessibility and Complex Network Analysis of the U.S. commuting system

Recently practitioners are approaching spatial and environmental planning by adopting methods and tools drawn from Complexity Science. The strength of these methods is not only apparent in their systemic coherence but also in their capacity to consider a variety of components as a whole system. Given this background, the aim of this paper is to apply a methodology, tested for the Italian insular region of Sardinia, to an analysis of commuter accessibility in the United States through an indicator-based strategy. Spatial measures are applied to study the level of accessibility for commuters at the county level. The analysis provides us with an assessment of the accessibility for U.S. commuters and allows for the consideration of spatial planning objectives for U.S. counties

Accessibility, rurality and remoteness: an investigation on the Island of Sardinia, Italy

The dichotomy between rural and urban settings has been used by census systems across the world in order to distinguish areas with high density population from areas with low density and where the primary occupation is connected to the agricultural sector. In this paper we study the level of accessibility, remoteness and rurality for municipalities in Sardinia, Italy. We apply a spatial analysis by means of indicators, such as accessibility for commuters (De Montis, Caschili and Chessa, 2011), the index of relative rurality, the metropolitan-rural interface levels (Waldorf, 2006) and the rurality- remoteness combined classification (Dijkstra and Poelman, 2008). We investigate whether accessibility shows a similar spatial pattern, with respect to remoteness and rurality, and thus we provide an analysis of the Sardinian setting that is of help for policy-makers and planners to understand some of the relevant regional and urban factors that have driven recent developments

Nuraghes and landscape planning: Coupling viewshed with complex network analysis

Recent approaches in landscape planning have prompted interest in the relationships among cultural goods, human settlements, and the environment. In Europe and Italy, scholars and practitioners have used landscape planning tools for the analysis and management of historical landscapes that include elements such as the sense of belonging of local societies to cultural heritage sites. In this paper the authors present a study of prehistoric settlements focusing on the Nuragic system developed on the Pranemuru plain in Sardinia during the Bronze Age. We investigate the hypothesis that the spatial patterns of the Nuraghes obey rules of inter-visibility control over the surrounding territory. We check the inter-visibility thesis by means of a quantitative approach, which integrates GIS based viewshed and complex network analysis. Nuragic inter-visibility is studied through network modelling and assessed with respect to a topological analysis. Results show a hierarchical organisation and not a random structure in the inter-visibility network: hence, consistent rules influenced the construction of Nuragic settlements on the Pranemuru plain. We conclude speculating that inter-visibility cannot be considered the sole factor that influenced the placement of Nuragic towers. The inter-visibility among these towers is plausibly connected with the presence of other human and natural resources