Evaluating Transportation Accessibility with Spatial Statistics Toolsin a GIS Environment

In several developing countries it is often assumed that low-income segments of the population living at the periphery of the cities are those affected the most by poor conditions of transportation accessibility. Inorder to gain a better understanding of the way transportation accessibility is distributed across different regions of an urban area, the main aim of this work is to analyze, making use of Spatial Statistics tools ina GIS (Geographical Information System) environment, the relationship between accessibility and geographical locations in a medium-sized Brazilian city. Data of an origin-destination (O-D) survey carried out in the city of Bauru, which brings information about four different transportation modes, were used in this study. Such data, grouped following the census tracts, were carefully examined in a Geographic Information System in order to look for spatial patterns of accessibility that are not visible inthe traditional approaches. One of the interesting outcomes of the application was the identification of regions with particular dynamics, which go against the pattern found in the overall urban area. This andother results of the case study clearly indicate that Spatial Statistics analyses in a GIS environment create a powerful tool to extend conventional transportation accessibility analysis

A Multimedia Application to Support Professionals in an EnvironmentallyResponsible Building Design Process

One of the problems faced by the design professionals in trying to incorporate thermal and acoustic concerns when designing a building is the quantity and diversity of building materials that can be applied to improve a poor indoor environment and, in many cases, to later reduce energy consumption. The large amount of information on building materials usually provided as documents makes it almost impossible to the designer to compare products. In the light of the stated facts, the objective of this work was the development of a multimedia application, which was thought as a module of a more comprehensive system able to support professionals in an environmentally responsible building design process. The application takes advantage of the ability of computers to handle texts, images, sounds and movies to introduce several building materials and their characteristics to the designers, in an interactive way. The conclusion of this stage shows that rather than being a module of a larger system, the developed application can work as a powerful standalone multimedia catalogue of building materials that have special interest on thermal, acoustic, and thermal-acoustic applications. It is an application that are notonly fundamental in a support system for effective building design, but also a powerful tool for training architecture students as part of an environmentally responsible building design process

The influence of personal and trip characteristics on habitual parking behavior

This paper discusses some results of a study on the influence of car drivers' characteristics on habitual parking behavior. First, the level of habitual parking behavior is determined in two ways: car drivers' regularity in choosing a parking facility and car drivers' self-reporting scores for habitual behavior. The data are collected using an internet based questionnaire that was distributed in Belgium and the Netherlands. The results show that car drivers regularly/often choose the same parking facility when visiting a central business area. In line with this finding, car drivers impute themselves as being highly habitual. A multinomial regression analysis shows that personal (gender, education, and country of residence) and trip (visit frequency) characteristics are significantly related to the distinguished habitual parking behavior levels

The influence of personal and trip characteristics on habitual parking behavior

This paper discusses some results of a study on the influence of car drivers' characteristics on habitual parking behavior. First, the level of habitual parking behavior is determined in two ways: car drivers' regularity in choosing a parking facility and car drivers' self-reporting scores for habitual behavior. The data are collected using an internet based questionnaire that was distributed in Belgium and the Netherlands. The results show that car drivers regularly/often choose the same parking facility when visiting a central business area. In line with this finding, car drivers impute themselves as being highly habitual. A multinomial regression analysis shows that personal (gender, education, and country of residence) and trip (visit frequency) characteristics are significantly related to the distinguished habitual parking behavior levels