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Air transportation is a mode of transport developed specifically to provide access to long-distance destinations that may otherwise be infeasible or at least more difficult to reach. Accordingly, there are distinct aspects of air travel that require consideration when assessing accessibility by air transportation, which are not addressed in general local accessibility studies. This paper reviews studies of accessibility by air transportation. The studies in question were published in academic journals, and we analysed them using the broad theoretical framework of accessibility of Geurs and van Wee [Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: Review and research directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(2), 127–140]. We discuss the characteristics of accessibility by air transportation to consider when designing research, as well as trends and knowledge gaps in the existing literature. An important gap is that, while there is a growing interest towards perceived accessibility by air transportation, accessibility measures based on this perspective have not yet been applied yet. Additionally, the literature is largely focused on the transport and land-use components of accessibility as opposed to the individual and temporal components. We finish by discussing the benefits and drawbacks of directly applying conventional accessibility measures for research on accessibility by air transportation, as well as options to modify the temporal component of conventional person-based accessibility measures for better applicability in the air travel context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our societies struggle to provide a good life for all without overconsuming environmental resources. Consequently, scholarly search for approaches to meet environmental and social goals of sustainability have become popular. In transport research, accessibility is a key tool to characterise linkages between people, transport, and land use. In the current paper, we propose a conceptual framework for measuring just accessibility within planetary boundaries. We reviewed transport studies and discovered a substantial literature body on accessibility and social disadvantage, much vaster compared to the literature around environmental and ecological impacts of accessibility. We also show a gap in approaches that have integrated these two perspectives. Building on the review, we suggest a conceptual framework for incorporating environmental and social sustainability goals in accessibility research. We conclude the paper by pointing to key challenges and research avenues related to the framework, including (i) dealing with uncertainty and complexity in socio-ecological thresholds, (ii) integrating environmental limits into the conceptualisations of transport equity, (iii) measuring accessibility through other costs than travel time, and (iv) integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct a systematic scoping review of the academic literature concerning pedestrian accessibility. We distinguish "walking accessibility" from the broader topic of "walkability" by two criteria: papers must consider one or more destination type(s), and papers must address the issue of distance or impedance. After searching Web of Science, TRID, and Google Scholar databases and conducting screening, we identify 85 papers meeting these criteria. We organise the literature review according to the four components of accessibility identified by Geurs and van Wee [(2004). Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: Review and research directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(2), 127–140]: (1) Land use; (2) transport; (3) temporal; and (4) individual and also add a section on the topic of impedance. Walking accessibility studies address a much greater range of land uses or destination types than is typically found for other modes. The transportation component is relatively undeveloped, as pedestrian infrastructure includes many influential elements not currently tracked in GIS systems. Few studies address the temporal component of walk accessibility, which varies according to climatic and nighttime conditions. Most papers do not account for the significant variation across individual capabilities and preferences regarding walking. We note that developing detailed pedestrian networks is a key first step, as most published analysis is conducted on roadway networks. A second major recommendation is to consider individual variations in walk accessibility across demographic classifications, accounting for varying levels of physical mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, accessibility – i.e. the ease of reaching destinations – has been an important concept in transport planning, resulting in many studies trying to measure it and put it into practice. Also walkability, a mode-specific type of accessibility referring to how easy it is to walk (to destinations) received increased attention in the last two decades. In recent years, a new focus has been on how people perceive their accessibility as this may be a stronger predictor of travel behaviour than objective elements of accessibility (such as built environment characteristics). Perceived walkability, i.e. how walk-friendly people experience a certain area, however, has only been explored by a limited number of studies. In this review paper, we give an overview of existing studies analysing perceived walkability, which mostly have focused on its effects on walking frequency/duration, physical activity and various aspects of mental well-being. Based on this literature review, a conceptual model is created, emphasising the determinants and effects of perceived walkability and how it is related to objective walkability. We end this paper by providing avenues for further research, including the introduction of a Short Perceived Walkability Scale (SPWS) and recommendations for data collection and analysis. Doing so can create new insights into perceived walkability and links with related elements, and therefore can contribute to stimulating walking trips and improving the experience of these trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capability Approach, developed by Sen and Nussbaum, has recently gained increasing attention in the transport literature. This paper adds to this growing body of literature by investigating how the approach can generate consistent evaluative approaches to inform (urban) transport planning. The paper reviews the mobility literature that has investigated the Capabilities Approach and identifies the opportunities and challenges of employing the approach as a basis for transport planning. The review highlights the different, and sometimes patchy, ways in which the key notions of the approach have been conceptualised and operationalised. Discussing this growing but scattered literature, the paper embraces the emerging direction that understands accessibility as the capability that transport planning and policy should consider. Further refining this understanding, the paper proposes a twofold evaluative approach combining a top-down and a bottom-up component to capture the myriad of conversion factors shaping people's accessibility-as-capability and functioning. By systematically adopting the Capabilities Approach, transport planning and mobility policies will be directed to enhancing each person's freedom to pursue the life they have reason to value in contemporary societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous methodologies measuring walkability have been developed over the last years. This paper reviews the Walkability Index (WI) literature of the last decade (2009–2018) and highlights some limitations in the current approaches. Only a few studies have evaluated walkability in Latin America, mainly in big cities but not in medium and small-sized cities in the region, which present their own urbanisation dynamics, security issues, sidewalk invasion problems, and poor planning. Furthermore, most WIs in the literature use objective mesoscale variables to assess walkability in a given area. This paper contributes to filling these gaps by generating new evidence from a medium-sized city in Latin America to question if characteristics of the built environment encourage walking trips, as found in the literature, are transferable among regions. The study also proposes a novel index comprised of microscale and mesoscale built environment variables to assess walkability using virtual tools and considering users' perceptions. The WI estimation relies on ranking probability models. The results of the case study suggest that subjective Security and Traffic Safety are the most crucial factors influencing walkability in these kind of cities, which is different from what is found in the literature from cities in developed countries where Sidewalk Condition and Attractiveness are the most important factors. Security appeared to be strongly associated with a subjective dimension, represented by the fear of crime or perceived risk for crime, instead of the actual occurrence of crimes. This result evidences the importance of the physical attributes of the real world and how they are captured, judged, and processed by pedestrians. Then, regional transferability of WIs needs to be done carefully. Finally, results in this paper highlight the importance of microscale built environment characteristics in the WI formulation in these cities. Results are in line with other research in some cities of the region, which found that microscale variables such as pavement quality and presence of obstacles on the sidewalks are relevant components to promote walkability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic research on automated vehicles (AVs) has to date been dominated by the fields of engineering and computer science. Questions of how this potentially transformative technology should be governed remain under-researched and tend to concentrate on governing the technology's early development. We respond in this paper by exploring the possible longer-term effect of government (lack of) intervention. The paper tests the hypothesis that a "laissez-faire" governance approach is likely to produce less desirable outcomes in a scenario of mass uptake of AVs than would a well-planned set of government interventions. This is done using two prominent themes in transport policy - traffic flow and accessibility - in a scenario of high market penetration of Level-5 automated vehicles in capitalist market economies. The evidence used is drawn from a literature review and from the findings of a set of workshops with stakeholders. We suggest that a laissez-faire approach will lead to an increase in traffic volume as a result of a growing population of "drivers" and a probable increase in kilometres driven per passenger. At the same time, the hoped-for increases in network efficiency commonly claimed are not guaranteed to come about without appropriate government intervention. The likely consequence is an increase in congestion. And, with respect to accessibility, it is likely that the benefits of AVs will be enjoyed by wealthier individuals and that the wider impacts of AV use (including sprawl) may lead to a deterioration in accessibility for those who depend on walking, cycling or collective transport. We consider the range of possible government intervention in five categories: Planning/land-use; Regulation/policy; Infrastructure/technology; Service provision; and Economic instruments. For each category, we set out a series of interventions that might be used by governments (at city, region or state level) to manage congestion or protect accessibility in the AV scenario described. Many of these (e.g. road pricing) are already part of the policy mix but some (e.g. ban empty running of AVs) would be new. We find that all interventions applicable to the management of traffic flow would also be expected to contribute to the management of accessibility; we define a small number of additional interventions aimed at protecting the accessibility of priority groups. Our general finding is that the adoption of a package of these interventions could be expected to lead to better performance against generic traffic-flow and accessibility objectives than would a laissez-faire approach, though questions of extent of application remain. In our conclusions, we contrast laissez-faire with both anticipatory governance and "precautionary" governance and acknowledge the political difficulty associated with acting in the context of uncertainty. We point out that AVs do not represent the first emerging technology to offer both opportunities and risks and challenge governments at all levels to acknowledge the extent of their potential influence and, in particular, to examine methodically the options available to them and the potential consequences of pursuing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The built environment (BE) is widely accepted to influence transit use (TU). Evidence to date suggests the relationship is dependent on many factors which can be difficult to account for in quantitative studies. This creates barriers to transferring research into practice. Considering many studies together can be useful for accounting for more of the factors impacting transit use. Yet, meta-analysis of research measuring these influences was last undertaken in 2010 based on 18 studies. Since then 90 new quantitative studies have been published. These recent studies use improved methodologies and are conducted in more diverse geographies. This paper reports an improved and updated meta-analysis of built environment impacts on transit use. It compares elasticity estimates from research published pre-and post-2010 and explores the impact of new methods and a more diverse geographical representation on findings. Updated meta-elasticities range from <0.01 to 0.26; a similar range to the 2010 study. However, at the individual indicator levels, more recent results are different. Elasticities for urban density, including population, employment and commercial density, have increased significantly in studies published since 2010, as did that of land use mix. However, measures of local access, design and jobs-housing balance decreased in post-2010 studies. These results confirm the small but imprecise relationship between the BE and TU. Results also suggest that while the range of elasticity impacts is relatively consistent, new study methodologies, notably those that control for regional accessibility and self-selection, and the increasing geographical diversity in study applications, is acting to change BE-TU findings at the indicator level. Research setting and context are important to consider when using empirical results to design BE strategies to promote transit use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing concern for mobility-related social inclusion and equity is evident from both academic research and planning best practices. Scholarly research promotes accessibility as the main aim of transport planning, assuming it as the evaluative approach that better conveys how mobility contributes to individuals' well-being and participation in social life. Accessibility can be crucial to address the socio-spatial inequalities that characterise manifold settings across the world. Amongst them, Latin American countries have been keen in tackling such imbalances through mobility-related interventions, as the renowned cases of Curitiba, Medellin and Bogotá show. The widespread interest in mobility as both a cause and effect of social disparities has generated an increasing stream of work that examines Latin American settings through the lenses of accessibility. This paper aims at critically reviewing the growing scholarly works that, providing accessibility-based evaluations, has examined issues of transport and equity in Latin America. Proposing a novel conceptual framework that considers the underlying ethical stance, components of accessibility and implications for planning and policy, this work examines what approaches, features and indicators are present in the current literature, as well as what settings have been taken into consideration by scholarly research. Moreover, the review has an explicit operational interest, to define what indicators are relevant or missing to assess accessibility in the light of social concerns, as well as to consider the current and potential implications that such research findings have on transport planning and policy. The review highlights how a growing but still limited body of work has examined transport and equity in Latin America, suggesting academic, technical and operational avenues to enhance theoretical and practical approaches to the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the conceptual essence of a number of justice theories and their possible consequences for transport project appraisal. In this paper, we discuss three alternative philosophical approaches to the still-dominant approach of utilitarianism: Rawls’s approach, Walzer’s approach, and the capability approach (CA), as they have different practical implications. We discuss which of these approaches could potentially give guidance to transportation appraisal, and which approaches are not suited for this purpose. We demonstrate the use of the CA and compare it to utilitarianism in a case study, and discuss the implications of adopting the former for transport evaluation and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Automated vehicles (AVs) could completely change mobility in the coming years and decades. As AVs are still under development and gathering empirical data for further analysis is not yet possible, existing studies mainly applied models and simulations to assess their impact. This paper provides a comprehensive review of modelling studies investigating the impacts of AVs on travel behaviour and land use. It shows that AVs are mostly found to increase vehicle miles travelled and reduce public transport and slow modes share. This particularly applies to private AVs, which are also leading to a more dispersed urban growth pattern. Shared automated vehicle fleets, conversely, could have positive impacts, including reducing the overall number of vehicles and parking spaces. Moreover, if it is assumed that automation would make the public transport system more efficient, AVs could lead to a favouring of urbanisation processes. However, results are very sensitive to model assumptions which are still very uncertain (e.g. the perception of time in AVs) and more research to gain further insight should have priority in future research as well as the development of the models and their further adaptation to AVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community severance occurs when transport infrastructure or motorised traffic divides space and people. Despite the growing awareness of its effects on the wellbeing of local communities, the problem is not usually assessed quantitatively or assigned a monetary value. This paper reviews existing practice and research on quantitative methods dealing with community severance. The problem is first decomposed into a series of questions, which are then used as a base to review the methods found in governmental guidance documents, technical reports, and academic studies. The paper ends with recommendations for the integration of severance issues into transport planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, transport researchers and policy-makers have devoted increasing attention to questions about justice and equity. Nonetheless, there is still little engagement with theories in political philosophy to frame what justice means in the context of transport policies. This paper reviews key theories of justice (utilitarianism, libertarianism, intuitionism, Rawls’ egalitarianism, and Capability Approaches (CAs)) and critically evaluates the insights they generate when applied to transport. Based on a combination of Rawlsian and CAs, we propose that distributive justice concerns over transport disadvantage and social exclusion should focus primarily on accessibility as a human capability. This means that, in policy evaluation, a detailed analysis of the distributional effects of transport policies should take account of the setting of minimum standards of accessibility to key destinations and the extent to which these policies respect individuals’ rights and prioritise disadvantaged groups, reduce inequalities of opportunities, and mitigate transport externalities. A full account of justice in transportation requires a more complete understanding of accessibility than traditional approaches have been able to deliver to date. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Active transportation modes are increasingly being acknowledged for their individual and societal benefits. As a result, funding for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the United States has increased substantially in recent years. However, pedestrian and bicycle equity impacts often go overlooked, which has resulted in an inequitable distribution of active transportation costs and benefits. The paper contributes to this small but growing field by developing an enhanced understanding of active transportation equity, identifying limitations in research and in practice, and providing a set of recommendations for planners and researchers. These recommendations include considering other transportation-disadvantaged groups beyond low-income and minority populations in equity analysis, adopting new performance measures, increasing inter-agency coordination, the need for stronger guidance from the federal government, and more representation from transportation-disadvantaged groups in the public participation and decision-making process. If the costs and benefits of active transportation are to be fairly shared among all users, equity will need to be meaningfully addressed in the planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]