The Built Environment and Travel

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Effects of Light and Commuter Rail Transit on Land Prices: Experiences in San Diego County

Using hedonic price models, appreciable land-value premiums were found for multiple land uses in different rail corridors of San Diego County. The most appreciable benefits were for condominiums and single-family housing near commuter-rail stations in the north county, multifamily housing near light-rail stations, and commercial properties near downtown commuterrail stations and light-rail stops in the Mission Valley. Elsewhere, commercial properties accrued small or even negative capitalization benefits. Pro-development policies, worsening traffic congestion, and a generally healthy economy are thought to have generally boosted land values in San Diego County, though impacts are corridor- and land-use specific

Linking urban transport and land use in developing countries

JTLU vol. 6, no. 1, pp 7-24 (2013)The mobility challenges of the developing world are considerably different than those in wealthier, advanced countries, and so are the challenges of coordinating transportation and land use. Rapid population growth, poverty and income disparities, overcrowded urban cores, poorly designed road networks, spatial mismatches between housing and jobs, deteriorating environmental conditions, and economic losses from extreme traffic by congestion are among the more vexing challenges faced by developing cities that could be assuaged through improved coordination of transportation and urban development. This is underscored by examples reviewed in this paper from South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, India, Africa, and South America. It is concluded that whatever is done to improve transportation and land-use integration must be pro-poor. The cardinal features of integrated and sustainable transport and urbanism everywhere---accessible urban activities and safe, attractive walking and cycling environs---are particularly vital to the welfare and prosperity of urbanites in the world's poorest countries

Reverse Commuting and Job Access in California: Markets, Needs and Policy Prospects

Getting to work, keeping appointments, and taking advantage of employment support services require suitable transportation. Many low-income Californians do not own cars and, outside of large metropolitan areas, public transit services are often sparse or non-existent, making it difficult for jobless individuals to make the transition from welfare-to-work. The challenges are especially great for those trying to get from central-city residences to suburban jobs, so-called reverse commuters, since public transportation services have traditionally been aligned in the opposite direction. Propelling the growth in reverse commuting has been a number of powerful megatrends. Topping the list has been decentralization of employment, spawned by such factors as cheaper real estate prices on the outskirts and telecommunication advances that have allowed suburban back-offices to easily communicate with central-city core offices. Spatial mismatches have been blamed for the persistent problem of concentrated unemployment in California’s inner cities. Those with minimal education and work skills are increasingly isolated from the many entry-level and service-sector jobs in the suburbs. Many inner-city residents with suburban jobs work late-hour shifts and on weekends, periods when many buses and trains do not operate. This study: (1) defines the existing reverse-commute marketplace in California; (2) identifies and evaluates existing public transportation services in terms of their success and responsiveness in serving reverse-commute and job-access demands; (3) examines unmet mobility needs; and (4) proposes policy initiatives and strategies that hold promise for significantly improving reverse-commute services throughout the state

Autoinflammatory periodic fever, immunodeficiency, and thrombocytopenia (PFIT) caused by mutation in actin-regulatory gene WDR1

The importance of actin dynamics in the activation of the inflammasome is becoming increasingly apparent. IL-1β, which is activated by the inflammasome, is known to be central to the pathogenesis of many monogenic autoinflammatory diseases. However, evidence from an autoinflammatory murine model indicates that IL-18, the other cytokine triggered by inflammasome activity, is important in its own right. In this model, autoinflammation was caused by mutation in the actin regulatory gene WDR1 We report a homozygous missense mutation in WDR1 in two siblings causing periodic fevers with immunodeficiency and thrombocytopenia. We found impaired actin dynamics in patient immune cells. Patients had high serum levels of IL-18, without a corresponding increase in IL-18-binding protein or IL-1β, and their cells also secreted more IL-18 but not IL-1β in culture. We found increased caspase-1 cleavage within patient monocytes indicative of increased inflammasome activity. We transfected HEK293T cells with pyrin and wild-type and mutated WDR1 Mutant protein formed aggregates that appeared to accumulate pyrin; this could potentially precipitate inflammasome assembly. We have extended the findings from the mouse model to highlight the importance of WDR1 and actin regulation in the activation of the inflammasome, and in human autoinflammation

eIF2α phosphorylation controls thermal nociception

A response to environmental stress is critical to alleviate cellular injury and maintain cellular homeostasis. Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) is a key integrator of cellular stress responses and an important regulator of mRNA translation. Diverse stress signals lead to the phosphorylation of the α subunit of eIF2 (Ser51), resulting in inhibition of global protein synthesis while promoting expression of proteins that mediate cell adaptation to stress. Here we report that eIF2α is instrumental in the control of noxious heat sensation. Mice with decreased eIF2α phosphorylation (eIF2α(+/S51A)) exhibit reduced responses to noxious heat. Pharmacological attenuation of eIF2α phosphorylation decreases thermal, but not mechanical, pain sensitivity, whereas increasing eIF2α phosphorylation has the opposite effect on thermal nociception. The impact of eIF2α phosphorylation (p-eIF2α) on thermal thresholds is dependent on the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1. Moreover, we show that induction of eIF2α phosphorylation in primary sensory neurons in a chronic inflammation pain model contributes to thermal hypersensitivity. Our results demonstrate that the cellular stress response pathway, mediated via p-eIF2α, represents a mechanism that could be used to alleviate pathological heat sensation

Cargo-specific recruitment in clathrin- and dynamin-independent endocytosis

Spatially controlled, cargo-specific endocytosis is essential for development, tissue homeostasis and cancer invasion. Unlike cargo-specific clathrin-mediated endocytosis, the clathrin- and dynamin-independent endocytic pathway (CLIC-GEEC, CG pathway) is considered a bulk internalization route for the fluid phase, glycosylated membrane proteins and lipids. While the core molecular players of CG-endocytosis have been recently defined, evidence of cargo-specific adaptors or selective uptake of proteins for the pathway are lacking. Here we identify the actin-binding protein Swiprosin-1 (Swip1, EFHD2) as a cargo-specific adaptor for CG-endocytosis. Swip1 couples active Rab21-associated integrins with key components of the CG-endocytic machinery-Arf1, IRSp53 and actin-and is critical for integrin endocytosis. Through this function, Swip1 supports integrin-dependent cancer-cell migration and invasion, and is a negative prognostic marker in breast cancer. Our results demonstrate a previously unknown cargo selectivity for the CG pathway and a role for specific adaptors in recruitment into this endocytic route.Moreno-Layseca et al. identify Swip1 as an integrin-specific endocytic adaptor controlling the dynamics of integrin adhesion complexes as well as the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells

PROPOSAL OF A SEQUENTIAL METHOD FOR SPATIAL INTERPOLATION OF MODE CHOICE

The main objective of this study is to propose a sequential method for spatial interpolation of mode choice for household locations where choices are unobserved based on Decision Tree analysis and Geostatistics. Initially, Decision Tree analysis was applied in order to estimate the probability of mode choice in surveyed households, thus determining the numeric variable to be estimated by Ordinary Kriging. The data used is from the Origin-Destination Survey and Urban Transportation Evaluation Survey, carried out in 2007/2008 in the city of São Carlos (São Paulo/Brazil). The study area selected for geoestatistical modeling is a small region of the city with 110 sampling points. The mode choice was estimated for the study area revealing a tendency of increasing the probability of car usage from the center to the periphery of region. The proposed method can be an alternative to traditional approaches in both non-spatial modeling, especially for the case of lack of data from stated preference survey, as in spatial modeling, allowing estimation in various geographic coordinates

Governing urban accessibility: moving beyond transport and mobility

Access to people, goods, ideas and services is the basis of economic development in cities. The better this access, the greater the economic benefits through economies of scale, agglomeration effects and networking advantages. The way in which cities facilitate accessibility also impacts directly on other key aspects of human development, social inclusion and well-being. Accessibility is created through a complex interplay of urban form and transport systems. Thus, governing urban accessibility requires moving beyond conventional urban transport considerations linked to mobility and movement. Such a re-framing implies a far greater recognition of urban form characteristics like land use, distribution of densities and urban design, in addition to transport characteristics like infrastructures, service levels and travel speeds. A new interface between these characteristics has emerged as a result of shared mobility systems, putting additional pressure on city governments to act as system integrators. Based on a literature review, empirical insights from a global survey and the case-study cities of London, NYC and Berlin, this paper explores the institutional capacities of shifting from governing urban transport to urban accessibility. The evidence shows that there are entrenched misalignments which may impact negatively on the capacity to pair planning and policies essential for delivering better accessibility. Furthermore, it is clear that “hierarchies” and “networks” are not mutually exclusive when it comes to integrated governance of accessibility. The findings also suggest that cities may be better equipped to integrate shared mobility and consider mobility as a service than to pursue more wide-ranging metropolitan accessibility policies