Just transitions through digitally enabled sharing economies?

Digital technologies have become central to social interaction and accessing goods and services. Development strategies and approaches to governance have increasingly deployed self-labelled ‘smart’ technologies and systems at various spatial scales, often promoted as rectifying social and geographic inequalities and increasing economic and environmental efficiencies. These have also been accompanied with similarly digitalized commercial and non-profit offers, particularly within the sharing economy. Concern has grown, however, over possible inequalities linked to their introduction. In this paper we critically analyse the role of sharing economies’ contribution to more inclusive, socially equitable and spatially just transitions. Conceptually, this paper brings together literature on sharing economies, smart urbanism and just transitions. Drawing on an explorative database of sharing initiatives within the cross-border region of Luxembourg and Germany, we discuss aspects of sustainability as they relate to distributive justice through spatial accessibility, intended benefits, and their operationalization. The regional analysis shows the diversity of sharing models, how they are appropriated in different ways and how intent and operationalization matter in terms of potential benefits. Results emphasize the need for more fine-grained, qualitative research revealing who is, and is not, participating and benefitting from sharing economies

Designing groundwater visualization interfaces

Groundwater systems are inherently complex owing to their three-dimensional nature. The impacts of land use activities on groundwater quality and quantity, groundwater pumping, and the interaction of groundwater with surface waters are fundamental hydrogeologic concepts that require effective communication strategies. Using interactive visual interfaces may improve upon current educational techniques and encourage increased public participation in groundwater protection, conservation, and management. As part of a Canadian Water Network project, this research explores different methods of visualizing hydrogeologic concepts in order to identify interface variables that may improve public understanding of groundwater in the Okanagan Basin. Three groundwater education interfaces were designed and developed using Scalable Vector Graphics, Cellular Automata and principles from geovisualization and interface research. Interface development and empirical usability testing yielded results and observations that led to a set of geovisualization, interface design, and methodological recommendations that may help improve future public groundwater education interfaces

Bike-share rebalancing strategies, patterns, and purpose

We provide a first spatio-temporal exploration of bicycle sharing system (BSS) rebalancing patterns from data extracted for individual stations at a fine temporal scale and operator interviews. Analyzing rebalancing operations for nine BSS, we describe implications for operators, municipalities, and future optimization work. We find that stations adjacent to transit hubs receive disproportionate amounts of rebalancing relative to trips and that rebalancing is more often responding to morning and afternoon demand exceeding station dock capacities rather than longer term accumulations of bicycles. More importantly, we observe some operator’ rebalancing behaviors constrained between opposing goals of maximizing trips, profits, and service level agreements. Many BSS have no explicitly defined purpose, but existing rebalancing strategies can support or clash with the purpose or suggested benefits of a BSS

A geographical analysis of bicycle sharing systems

This thesis evaluates the performance of bicycle sharing systems (BSS), autonomous systems of accessible bicycles that can be easily used for one way trips, and determines whether they are successful at achieving promoted social and environmental outcomes through quantitative and qualitative methods. Such systems are typically surrounded by positive narratives of success, health, environmental and social benefits. This work challenges these notions. This thesis begins with the formalisation of BSS station level and trip data revealing alternative data contained within. Combined with spatiotemporal data analysis, this allows the estimation of trips, a potential measure of success. Due to most operators not providing consistent or comparable metrics of usage this work opens this heavily promoted technological transport innovation’s performance for public scrutiny. Performance estimates of 75 case studies show a majority having less than two trips per day per bicycle, suggesting a poor investment, regardless of existing social justice issues and exaggerated environmental benefits. Using this metric this work determines which attributes impact performance. While station density and cycling infrastructure, among others, are found to impact performance, results challenge promoted practice. Formalisation yielded rebalancing, the moving of bicycles to adjust to demand exceeding supply. Spatiotemporal data analysis and interviews with operators provides the first description of applied rebalancing, providing an alternative perspective to the many theoretical optimisation models. Results show rebalancing is spatially selective and influencing BSS outcomes, potentially contrary to its purpose. Finally, this thesis, through a critical urban sustainability perspective, presents darker aspects of BSS, beyond the golden narratives, showing conflicts of interest, controversy and the commercialisation of an initially environmental and anti-consumerism concept. Existential questions are raised due to BSS, mostly privately operated, providing benefits to an already advantaged class while public space is privatised and urban advertising increased. This work concludes by suggesting that alternative investment to bicycle sharing systems, such as cycling infrastructure, may be more beneficial and just.(SC - Sciences) -- UCL, 201

Estimating bike-share trips using station level data

Bicycle sharing systems (BSS) have increased in number rapidly since 2007. The potential benefits of BSS, mainly sustainability, health and equity, have encouraged their adoption through support and promotion by mayors in Europe and North America alike. In most cases municipal governments desire their BSS to be successful and, with few exceptions, state them as being so. New technological improvements have dramatically simplified the use and enforcement of bicycle return, resulting in the widespread adoption of BSS. Unfortunately little evaluation of the effectiveness of differently distributed and managed BSS has taken place. Comparing BSS systems quantitatively is challenging due to the limited data made available. The metrics of success presented by municipalities are often too general or incomparable to others making relative evaluations of BSS success arduous. This paper presents multiple methodologies allowing the estimation of the number of daily trips, the most significant measure of BSS usage, based on data that is commonly available, the number of bicycles available at a station over time. Results provide model coefficients as well as trip count estimates for select cities. Of four spatial and temporal aggregate models the day level aggregation is found to be most effective for estimation. In addition to trip estimation this work provides a rigorous formalization of station level data and the ability to distinguish spatio-temporal rebalancing quantities as well as new characteristics of BSS station use

Bicycle sharing system ‘success’ determinants

Many municipalities assert bicycle sharing systems (BSS) as having many benefits, justifying their adoption, yet few explicitly state the purpose of their system making comparison or determination of success impossible. In addition, the apprehension of many BSS operators to share data further hinders comparison. This paper estimates the number of daily trips from publicly available data for 75 BSS case studies across the world and provides trips per bike per day scores as a comparison of performance and success. Results reveal that a third of case studies have fewer than the psychologically important one trip per bicycle per day. To ascertain what factors are associated with this metric we estimate models with independent variables related to system attributes, station density, weather, geography and transportation infrastructure. Our analysis provides strong evidence undermining the ‘network effect’ promoted by influential BSS policy makers that expanding system size increases performance. Finally our results describe and discuss causal variables associated with higher BSS performance

Wave Physics on Surface of Loose Medium and Waves on Surface of Liquid

Available from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio

The Cemetery Surveyor Application: Non-paper data Collection Methods in Luxembourg Burial Grounds

Sepulchral culture-science requires detailed fieldwork, focusing on minutiae and spatial attributes, yielding cumbersomely large data sets. For a study on material cultures in the Luxembourg region’s spaces of remembrance, we developed the Cemetery Surveyor Application (CSA) and Web Cemetery Surveyor (WCA) for Android devices and desktop computers respectively, aiming to streamline diverse data collection methodologies. The multi-platform applications provide varying affordances, benefits and limitations. The android application, operating off-line, allows the association of photographs to grave features directly, while the desktop version, accessed online, allows simultaneous collaboration. This paper describes how the tools responded to a need, their development and design process, the justifications for their operations, strengths, weaknesses, and makes recommendations for future implementations