Social exclusion and transport policy

This paper is a review of social inclusion in the specification by central government of policy instruments for local government. It forms part of the scooping study on Accessibility and User Needs in Transport (AUNT) funded by the EPSRC Sustainable Urban Environment programme. The aim of the study is to produce rigorous methodologies to develop and test sustainable policies and practices that will deliver effective socially inclusive design and operation in urban transport and the public realm from the macro down to the micro level. In particular, this paper forms part of a work package to develop a tool and modelling techniques that can be used to identify the areas and sectors that have high levels of social exclusion, and then facilitate the testing of policy options to assess the extent to which they meet user needs and increase social inclusion. The paper begins with a review of key government documents regarding social exclusion and transport, before going on to discuss how social inclusion is incorporated into local government transport policy

Modelling the accessibility of opportunities for the young unemployed of the Forest of Dean

The aim of this stage of the TRANTEL project was to produce an accessibility model to help ascertain which locations within the Forest of Dean suffer from inaccessibility problems, in relation to the transport network providing access to jobs, training and IT facilities. Once the current pattern of accessibility has been establish, the model will then be used to establish the extent to which different transport and IT schemes affect the level of accessibility in different locations, and thus to inform decision-makers on the most appropriate approach to alleviating youth unemployment within the District

Enabling low-carbon living in new UK housing developments

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool (the Climate Challenge Tool) that allows house builders to calculate whole life carbon equivalent emissions and costs of various carbon and energy reduction options that can be incorporated into the design of new developments. Design/methodology/approach: The tool covers technical and soft (or lifestyle) measures for reducing carbon production and energy use. Energy used within the home, energy embodied in the building materials, and emissions generated through transport, food consumption and waste treatment are taken into account. The tool has been used to assess the potential and cost-effectiveness of various carbon reduction options for a proposed new housing development in Cambridgeshire. These are compared with carbon emissions from a typical UK household. Findings: The tool demonstrated that carbon emission reductions can be achieved at much lower costs through an approach which enables sustainable lifestyles than through an approach which focuses purely on reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and from improving the heating and lighting systems. Practical implications: The tool will enable house builders to evaluate which are the most cost-effective measures that they can incorporate into the design of new developments in order to achieve the significant energy savings and reduction in carbon emissions necessary to meet UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change. Originality/value: Current approaches to assessing carbon and energy reduction options for new housing developments concentrate on energy efficiency options such as reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and improving the heating and lighting systems, alongside renewable energy systems. The Climate Challenge Tool expands the range of options that might be considered by developers to include those affecting lifestyle choices of future residents. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

A methodology for the incorporation of social inclusion into transport policy

4-8 July 2004. Istanbul, Turke

From footway design to the street environment: removing the barriers to walking

7-9 October 200

The Influence of Built Environment and Perceived Walkability on Walking Behaviour in Taiwan

Walking is the most common and natural forms of transport mode and the most important transport mode for public transport to connect the first mile and last mile. This study aims to investigate the relationships between objective and subjective measures of the walking environment, walkability and walking behaviour in Taiwan. We assume perceptions of the walking environment mediate between objective measures of walking environment, and overall walkability and walking behaviour. A structural equation model was adopted to verify the hypotheses of this study. The results show that objective measures of population density, land-use mix, the percentage of 4-way intersections and the number of cul-de-sacs exert significant impact on the perceptions of distances to services, opportunities & street connectivity, aesthetics and on-street barriers. In addition, an individual’s perceptions of the walking environment have a significant influence on overall walkability, and overall walkability affects travel mode choice towards walking