David C. Hodge

Adjustment to Natural and Technological Hazards A Study of an Urban Residential Community

Human adjustments to natural and technological hazards were examined using questionnaire data provided by a sample of residents on the Beach Strip in Hamilton, Ontario. This area is exposed to five hazards: flooding, severe storms, air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution. It was hypothesized that residents made cognitive and/or behavioral adjustments to these problems. The results indicate that behavioral adjustments are widespread but do not reduce the perceived severity of environmental problems. It appears that many residents remain in the area because of low-cost housing and a closely knit community structure.

Information, Place, Cyberspace, and Accessibility

This chapter provides a broad overview of alternate ways for seeing the operative linkages between human experiences on the ground (in place) and user experi ences in cyberspace. Information is treated as the resource that binds these realms into functional human systems, while computer, telecommunication, and transpor tation technologies are viewed as tools of accessibility that are allocated differen tially among people, institutions, and regions. Two general propositions guide the discussion. First, there are significant structural linkages among information re sources, traditional places, and cyberspace; and second, grasping these linkages requires expanded models of space (and time) that encompass both the physical and virtual worlds.

SOCIAL RELATIONS AND GEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF URBAN ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR

This study describes and explains geographic patterns of support for basic dimensions of urban electoral behavior. Sixty-two ballots reduce to two major electoral dimensions, one partisan, one issue-oriented, which have very strong geographic identity. Findings indicate that partisan responses are governed by position in both the sphere of production and sphere of consumption. Issue politics, on the other hand, are affected most strongly by position in the sphere of production even though they often include what appear to be consumption-oriented ballots. Location within the metropolitan region is implicated in the ways consumption and production relations are joined within individuals and in the political cultures of the central city and suburbs.

Information and communication technologies and transportation: European-US collaborative and comparative research possibilities

Abstract This paper highlights key questions regarding information and communication technology that have the greatest potential for collaborative and comparative research between the US and Europe. The paper begins with a brief summary of information and communication technology relevant to transportation and of key differences in the US and Europe that make collaborative and comparative research rewarding. It then turns to an analysis of the impact of information and communication technology on travel behavior, i.e. transportation use broken down by type of activity. Finally, potential research questions regarding the impact of information and communication technology on industrial organization, spatial form, and transportation networks are examined.

IMPLICATIONS OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS FOR METROPOLITAN FORM

The potential role of “intelligent transportation systems” (ITS) in influencing metropolitan form and household behavior is reviewed. First, a portrait is drawn of the broad economic, social, and political forces that are expected to govern the evolution of urban settlement and transportation. Next, three ITS technologies are evaluated. Traveler information systems will logically increase the efficiency of driving and be a force for continued decentralization, although impacts will be modest. Congestion pricing is contentious: although it clearly can make a difference in travel behavior, it is very unpopular, raises serious ethical concerns, and will not necessarily support the goals of a more compact city. Advanced public transit systems are designed to make transit more effective and attractive; although they may raise transit use, the shift is unlikely to be great enough to influence urban form and travel behavior. We therefore conclude that intelligent transportation systems are a significant extensio...

URBAN CONGESTION: RESHAPING URBAN LIFE

The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the nature of urban transportation congestion and its significance to contemporary and future urban life. The paper is organized in five sections. First, it outlines current knowledge in quantitative terms about the actual and perceived magnitude of congestion. Second, it reviews and critically evaluates the underlying factors creating patterns of congestion. Third, it provides an overview of the consequences of congestion. Fourth, it evaluates the likely future levels of congestion and, finally, it turns to a discussion of possible remedies and responses to the problem.

Industrial affiliation and community culture: voting in Seattle

Abstract Previous analyses of intra-metropolitan variations in voting patterns on major public issues have emphasized explanations in terms of class-status and ethnicity characteristics of communities. This paper supplements that literature by arguing that residential segregation by type of industrial affiliation is an important determinant of community cultures, as indicated by voting patterns on 36 issues which tap conceptions of the public good. In this case study of the Seattle metropolitan region, communities are divided spatially by the degree to which residents work in service as opposed to durable manufacturing (especially aerospace) industry. Communities with high employment in service activities are especially characterized by support of what is called the Pluralistic Culture, involving high tolerance of minorities, and support for open and responsive government. These communities are also less supportive of the Rights of Business than other parts of the metropolis. Industrial affiliation is more important than class, ethnic, or mobility factors in explaining variations in the Pluralistic Culture; it is less important than the other predictors in interpreting support for the Rights of Business.