Belén Martín

Landscape character assessment with GIS using map-based indicators and photographs in the relationship between landscape and roads

Planning and monitoring of landscapes cannot be reduced to its outstanding features, but must take into account all its characteristics. In this context, the relationship of landscape with roads is of particular importance, because roads alter the territorys environmental resources but also constitute a resource through which the individual comes into contact with the landscape. The aim of this work is to design a methodology to evaluate both the character and the scenic quality of the landscape as viewed from motorways and to provide measures to assess whether the motorway conveys the character of the landscape of which it forms part. The main contribution of this research consists of assessing landscape character through a novel series of map-based indicators and combining the findings with a photo-based method of assessing visual landscape quality. The method has been applied to a case study around a motorway in Madrid Region (Spain). Landscape character values regarding coherence, complexity, naturalness, visual scale, disturbance, historicity, and ephemera are obtained using Geographic Information Systems. Additionally, the landscape quality results derived using photographs allow the incorporation of the users perception at a local scale.

A contribution for the evaluation of the territorial impact of transport infrastructures in the early stages of the EIA: application to the Huelva (Spain)–Faro (Portugal) rail link

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure should predict and identify the major impacts of a project development that may cause specific spatial and temporal effects. Early in the EIA, the scoping stage provides all the relevant information on the impacts of the project alternatives. In particular, potential effects on the territorial network such as habitat connectivity loss and accessibility improvements should be taken into account in the various proposed layout alternatives when evaluating transport infrastructure projects. However, several authors have identified deficiencies in practice. The aim of this article is to provide a methodology for the assessment of these territorial impacts using adequate indicators in the early stages of the EIA procedure. The proposed method is based on a comparison of a range of alternative layouts for a railway line linking two population centres, using indicators calculated with geographic information systems. The methodology was applied to a case study – the rail link between Huelva (Spain) and Faro (Portugal) – and the high speed rail (HSR) and conventional rail were evaluated in different layouts. The method was effective in spatially identifying significant impacts on accessibility improvements, which occurred closer to the cross border area. The conventional railway alternatives have similar accessibility values to the HSR. The results also reveal that connectivity loss is not limited to the area around the infrastructure, but extends throughout the territory. The results are at variance with the initiative proposed by Spanish and Portuguese transport decision-makers, and raise the possibility of selecting a conventional railway option. An adequate territorial evaluation methodology enables the new action to be correctly assessed, and supplies the information required to propose the most suitable alternative from a socio-economic and environmental standpoint, regardless of whether this proposal was initially included in the transport policy.

Transport Planning and Global Warming

Transport energy consumption in industrialised countries is based primarily on fossil fuels, and is associated with the main negative impacts of transport: climate change, air pollution, congestion and accidents (Sperling, 2004). The emissions of many pollutants are being moderated due to improvements in engines and fuels, but the consequences for health are a growing concern, and particularly the risks posed by nitrogen oxides and particles, which are closely associated to transport. CO2 emissions (the gas considered mainly responsible for the greenhouse effect) are also increasing, and this phenomenon can be seen most intensely in the transport sector. The European Commission’s 2001 White Paper on transport (and the 2006 revised edition) declared that the sustainability of the transport energy model must include the control of transport demand and an improvement in the efficiency of transport modes. It is this area which offers the greatest potential for establishing an effective strategy of action. This requires a greater commitment to the processes of transport deregulation –in order to make consumers aware of price considerations–, the establishment of mechanisms to ensure that these prices reflect actual costs, and the promotion of energy savings. This approach was underlined in the 2005 Green Paper on energy end-use efficiency and energy services, which suggests that overall consumption in the European Union can be reduced by up to 20% without compromising economic profitability. This was subsequently ratified by the European Council’s March 2007 Action Plan which established this as an objective for the year 2020. The European Parliament and Council has also approved Directive 2006/32/EC concerning end-use energy efficiency, as well as revising a proposal for a directive for the development of clean and energy-efficient road vehicles. However, measures require some time after their implementation in order to take effect, and they must be supported by changes in lifestyle which will effectively influence transport use over the forthcoming decades (Rodenburg et al., 2002). A reduction in transport GHG emissions can be achieved by reducing the need for transport, improving the energy efficiency of the different modes of transport and fuels, and balancing modal distribution (Schipper et al., 1997; Steenhof et al., 2006). The measures that can be applied in the transport sector to promote savings and improvements in energy efficiency are well known in general terms (Rodenburg et al., 2002; Cuddihy et al., 2005). These include everything from correctly setting energy prices, and reflecting these prices in the cost of services, including external costs; economic and tax