Kate Pangbourne

Household ecological footprinting using a new diary-based data-gathering approach

Abstract Although the household level is recognized as a potentially important area for the application of ecological footprint (EF) analysis, almost no work has been reported in the academic literature on EF analysis at this level. This paper describes the application of a new, diary-based data acquisition methodology used in a component approach to estimate the EF of a small number of households in Aberdeen, Scotland. Feedback from householders indicated that the diary proved useful in educating participants about their environmental impacts and made EF findings convincing. The methodology was, however, time consuming for both participants and researchers, and it is concluded that future household level applications of EF analysis might combine a simplified diary with other forms of data acquisition. Findings also suggest that the presentation of EF results alone is unlikely to promote more environmentally conscious attitudes amongst householders unless specific EF components are identified for the householder to act upon.

The Case of Mobility as a Service: A Critical Reflection on Challenges for Urban Transport and Mobility Governance

This chapter provides a reflective critique of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), an emerging development seeking a role within the Smart Mobility paradigm. We assess a range of its future implications for urban policymakers in terms of governance and sustainability (i.e., social and environmental impacts). We begin by describing the origins of the MaaS concept, along with the features of precursor technologies and current early examples. We then reflect on the marketing of MaaS and use it to consider how we might anticipate some potentially less desirable aspects of the promoted business models. Finally, we discuss the implications for governance.

Future prospects for personal security in travel by public transport

This paper reports findings from a project focused on understanding the interaction between transport technologies and user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport. The research engaged over 60 experts from across the UK transport sector in a combination of interviews, workshops and scenario planning activities to address a set of four application areas in relation to secure travel. These areas were information provision, travel disruption, automated transport services and flexible transport services. Four future scenario narratives (to a 2040 time horizon) were developed for each application area. A final workshop consolidated and reviewed the narrative scenarios and pulled out key themes and priority issues for policy, practice and research for the near term. Consequently a set of policy recommendations, operator and business opportunities, knowledge gaps and research priorities were identified to support and enhance provision for personal security in travel by public transport.

Small Towns and Agriculture: Understanding the Spatial Pattern of Farm Linkages

Abstract Agricultural policy and farm lobby groups often stress the role of farm production in sustaining local economies. This paper considers the spatial pattern of upstream and downstream agricultural transactions of farms in North East Scotland and, in particular, the extent to which they take place within the locality of the farm holding. Three alternative definitions of “local” are considered: a distance-based measure; a measure which takes into account the location of the farm in relation to the nearest town; and a measure which takes into account the location of agribusinesses, defining a transaction as local if the farmer buys from (sells to) the nearest available input supplier (output purchaser). The results highlight the importance of allowing for context when explaining farmer purchasing and sales decisions. They also reveal a highly complex pattern of production-related linkages in the region, with many farmers choosing to bypass their most proximate agribusinesses. Certain towns are found to dominate agriculture-related transactions in the region, reflecting the spatial concentration of upstream and downstream agribusinesses. The findings provide new insights into theoretical debates on the role of small towns in the urban system and the changing importance of geographical distance in determining business transactions.

Lessons learnt from the deployment of a semantic virtual research environment

The ourSpaces Virtual Research Environment makes use of Semantic Web technologies to create a platform to support multi-disciplinary research groups. This paper introduces the main semantic components of the system: a framework to capture the provenance of the research process, a collection of services to create and visualise metadata and a policy reasoning service. We also describe different approaches to authoring and accessing metadata within the VRE. Using evidence gathered from data provided by the users of the system we discuss the lessons learnt from deployment with three case study groups.

DEMO: ourspaces --- a provenance enabled virtual research environment

In this demo we present ourSpaces, a Virtual Research Environment designed to support inter-disciplinary research teams. This system has been developed to facilitate collaboration and interaction between researchers by enabling users to create, visualise and manage the provenance of research artefacts and processes.

Chapter 11 Transport and Climate Change Policy in the United Kingdom: A Social Justice Perspective

Purpose – The social dimensions of the relationship between transport and climate change are examined, in particular, the potential for unintended negative consequences to directly and/or indirectly arise from policies to reduce the climate change impact of the transport sector. It takes the example of current policies in the UK as its primary focus. Methodology/approach – A combination of literature, policy review and the quantitative and qualitative evidence gathered through primary fieldwork research from a number of related studies. Findings – It is identified that different social groups can experience very different outcomes in accessing transport and adapting to changes to the transport system, whether these are uniquely targeted towards certain individuals or more systemically applied across the whole population. For this reason, it is essential that policy makers fully understand the potential vulnerability and resilience of different social groups to policies that are intended to address transport-related climate change. The key component of social impacts should be systematically analyzed, by income, potential vulnerability and their spatial and temporal distribution, as well as according to resilience/adaptability to the proposed intervention. This continues to pose an important future challenge for research in this area of transport policy making. Originality/value – This chapter highlights the potential for unintended negative social consequences to directly and/or indirectly arise from policies to reduce the climate change impact of the transport sector.

Mobility and Ageing: A Review of Interactions Between Transport and Technology from the Perspective of Older People

This chapter is an overview of the issues for older people in relation to transport and technology. I demonstrate that mobility and technology are intertwined in complex ways, and that non-transport technologies may impact older people’s experience and achievement of mobility. Understanding the nexus between mobility, information and communication technologies and older people can help us design accessible and acceptable technologies to support well-being and health in older age. This matters because new ICT is increasingly relied on to support service delivery in both the public and private sectors. Older people are heterogeneous, with different attitudes, levels of income and education affecting technology uptake. Age-related cognitive and physical impairments can also impact on technology adoption. The chapter concludes with how age-friendly design principles can support active ageing.

Scale (Key Ideas in Geography Series)

‘integration’. In the concluding chapter, Samers argues for an approach to the study of migration that is informed by a ‘geographic lens’ involving thoughtful articulation of spatial metaphors such as space, place, scale and territory. Such ‘spatial thinking’ can fruitfully engage with and contribute to the contentious economic, social, cultural and political debates that will no doubt continue to surround discussions of international migration well into the twenty-first century and beyond. Overall this text represents a highly readable, advanced introductory text on the topic of migration which, as the author rightly points out, has rarely been the focus of comprehensive single volumes despite the vast quantity of academic literature that has been produced on the issue and the issues that surround it. Samers chooses to mainly focus on contemporary as opposed to historical migration flows and mobility from poorer to wealthier countries rather than internal migration. However, the omission of some aspects of migration flows can be excused given the sizeable task of encapsulating such a diverse and wide-ranging topic into a single volume. This book is a very recommendable read, it is well written and is highly informative and will prove to be a useful resource for those interested in studying, teaching and researching international migration issues at all levels.