City, ICT and Policy

New technologies tend to exert a profound influence on modern city life. This paper addresses the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the city. After a broad overview of the potential of ICT in a geographical setting and its possible impact on urban policy in regard to the ICT sector, the paper focusses attention on urban public policy in regard to the ICT sector. This study offers the proposition that urban ICT policy is driven by the stakeholders attitudinal and perceptional factors which govern ultimately decisions of the urban administration. Based on an extensive survey among urban policy-makers, the paper seeks to test the above hypothesis by offering a wide variety of empirical findings

Understanding consumer demand for new transport technologies and services, and implications for the future of mobility

The transport sector is witnessing unprecedented levels of disruption. Privately owned cars that operate on internal combustion engines have been the dominant modes of passenger transport for much of the last century. However, recent advances in transport technologies and services, such as the development of autonomous vehicles, the emergence of shared mobility services, and the commercialization of alternative fuel vehicle technologies, promise to revolutionise how humans travel. The implications are profound: some have predicted the end of private car dependent Western societies, others have portended greater suburbanization than has ever been observed before. If transport systems are to fulfil current and future needs of different subpopulations, and satisfy short and long-term societal objectives, it is imperative that we comprehend the many factors that shape individual behaviour. This chapter introduces the technologies and services most likely to disrupt prevailing practices in the transport sector. We review past studies that have examined current and future demand for these new technologies and services, and their likely short and long-term impacts on extant mobility patterns. We conclude with a summary of what these new technologies and services might mean for the future of mobility.Comment: 15 pages, 0 figures, book chapte

A Social Sciences and Humanities research agenda for transport and mobility in Europe: key themes and 100 research questions

Transport and mobility systems need to be transformed to meet climate change goals and reduce negative environmental and social effects. Despite EU policies having targeted such problems for more than three decades, transitions have been slow and geographically uneven. For effective change to happen, transport and mobility research needs fresh perspectives and better integration of knowledge from the Social Sciences and Humanities. Based on a Horizon Scanning approach, which allowed for a great deal of openness and variety in scholarly viewpoints, this paper presents a novel research agenda consisting of 8 themes and 100 research questions that may contribute to achieving environmentally sustainable mobility transitions within Europe. This research agenda highlights the need to not only support technological solutions for low-carbon mobility, but the importance of transformative policies that include new processes of knowledge production, civic participation and epistemic justice. We contend that the agenda points to the need for further research on the dynamics of science-society interactions

A Social Sciences and Humanities research agenda for transport and mobility in Europe: key themes and 100 research questions

Transport and mobility systems need to be transformed to meet climate change goals and reduce negative environmental and social effects. Despite EU policies having targeted such problems for more than three decades, transitions have been slow and geographically uneven. For effective change to happen, transport and mobility research needs fresh perspectives and better integration of knowledge from the Social Sciences and Humanities. Based on a Horizon Scanning approach, which allowed for a great deal of openness and variety in scholarly viewpoints, this paper presents a novel research agenda consisting of 8 themes and 100 research questions that may contribute to achieving environmentally sustainable mobility transitions within Europe. This research agenda highlights the need to not only support technological solutions for low-carbon mobility, but the importance of transformative policies that include new processes of knowledge production, civic participation and epistemic justice. We contend that the agenda points to the need for further research on the dynamics of science-society interactions

The Importance of ICT for Cities: e-Governance and Cyber Perceptions

This paper offers a critical review of current debates on the importance and the potential of ICT for modern cities. Much attention is given to the opportunities offered by local e-governance, as a systematic strategy to exploit the potential of ICT for the public domain in European cities. Since the views of many experts and elected policy-makers in cities (so-called ‘urban frontliners’) is coloured by subjective expectations and perceptions, we examine in particular the extent to which the expected influences of ICT, as perceived by urban frontliners, affect their perceptions of the relevance of ICT to mitigate contemporary urban challenges. The final (empirical) part of the paper addresses the issue of the systematic study of cyber perceptions of cities in Europe.

Light rail routing: do goals matter?

Light rail, Rational decision making,