Railways, divergence, and structural change in 19th century England and Wales

Railways transformed inland transport during the nineteenth century. In this paper, we study how railways led to local population change and divergence in England and Wales as it underwent dramatic urbanization. We make use of detailed data on railway stations, population, and occupational structure in more than 9000 spatial units. A network of least cost paths based on major towns and the length of the 1851 rail network is also created to address endogeneity. Our instrumental variable estimates show that having a railway station in a locality by 1851 led to significantly higher population growth from 1851 to 1891 and shifted the male occupational structure out of agriculture. Moreover, we estimate that having stations increased population growth more if localities had greater initial population density and for those 3–15 km from stations, they had less growth compared to localities more distant from stations. Overall, we find that railways reinforced the population hierarchy of the early nineteenth century and contributed to further spatial divergence. Their implications for the geographic distribution of population were large

Catálogo digital de cartografía urbana contemporánea en España (1800-1950)

El campo de la cartografía contemporánea ha hecho muchos avances en los últimos años, no solo por el esfuerzo de los investigadores, sino también por la continua labor de digitalización, puesta en valor y difusión de los documentos disponibles en los diferentes archivos institucionales y privados, que en muchos casos ya están disponibles en repositorios digitales. Este proyecto se enmarca en lla voluntad de facilitar la labor del investigador, a partir de la creación de un catálogo de cartografía urbana contemporánea entre los años 1800 y 1950, que pretende ser un punto de partida y de encuentro para la creación de un directorio centralizado en el que se pueda tener disponible toda aquella cartografía que permita el estudio histórico de la ciudad en España. Este catálogo aúna más de 1.000 mapas de 131 ciudades, esperando poder ir ampliándose en un futuro cercano

Urban Growth and Long-Term Transformations in Spanish Cities Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Methodology to Determine Changes in Urban Density

The current work models urban growth in the continuous built-up areas of 47 Spanish cities from the mid-nineteenth century through to the present day. We did this by compiling a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset, based on a series of historic maps and aerial images, and then used this to study urban growth and to make spatial comparisons. Our chosen indicator of expansion: population density, was calculated by dividing the total population of each city (based on its municipal area) by its built-up area during each period. Our results revealed four different stages of growth, each of which was characterised by a certain political and economic reality. They showed the clogging up of the walled city, the shaping of the urban ensanches, the maturity of the compact city and the process of metropolisation

Promoting sustainable and intelligent freight transportation systems in the Barcelona metropolitan area

Trabajo presentado en: R-Evolucionando el transporte, XIV Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte (CIT 2021), realizado en modalidad online los días 6, 7 y 8 de julio de 2021, organizado por la Universidad de BurgosThe growth of e-commerce and the on-demand economy in urban and metropolitan areas has been accelerated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, logistics and transportation operators are subject to a noticeable pressure to develop efficient delivery systems. These systems are also influenced by the global trend towards more sustainable transportation and mobility, which implies changes in urban policies and technological innovations --$e.g.$, the substitution of traditional diesel petrol-drive vehicles by electric ones. This paper analyzes the current and predicted needs of logistics operators in the Barcelona metropolitan area. To do so, urban regulations are analyzed and key shareholders are interviewed. The analysis of these interviews promote a discussion on how the use of new `agile' optimization algorithms --which are based on the combination of biased-randomized heuristics, computer parallelization techniques, and IoT / 5G technologies-- can contribute to enhance urban distribution practices. Finally, we present a case study in which the effect of different configurations of working/resting times and parking areas availability on routing solutions is studied. Our research aims to provide comprehensive knowledge to managers and policy-makers, and to offer them with powerful tools capable of generating real-time solutions to complex last-mile delivery challenges under dynamic conditions.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science (PID2019- 111100RB-C21/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, RED2018-102642-T), and the Erasmus+ Program (2019-I-ES01-KA103-062602). We also thank the entities that accepted to be interviewed during the development of this study

Speedier delivery: coastal shipping times and speeds during the Age of Sail †

There is a debate debate about whether coastal shipping experienced substantial productivity growth prior to the advent of steam power. To study changes over the long eighteenth century, we use thousands of coastal journey times culled from Board of Trade crew lists between 1835 and 1844 and coastal port books in the mid to late 1600s, along with a newly digitized coastal network in GIS. Comparisons between matched samples show that journey speeds, defined as miles sailed per day, were significantly higher in the crew lists compared to the port books and voyage cycle times, defined as days between starting two identical voyages, were substantially lower. We also show voyage times in the east coast coal trade were substantially lower around 1840 than around 1700, but the difference was much smaller when peace years are compared. Our new data imply that total factor productivity growth in the east coast coal trade was significant, especially if one accounts for gains from peace after 1815. The findings contribute to the larger literature studying the rate and sources of productivity growth during the industrial revolutionLeverhulme Trust National Science Foundation (US

Effects of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery: an international prospective cohort study an international prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care. We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care