Abstract:The emergence of fully Automated Vehicles (AVs) is expected to occur in the next 10 to 30 years. The uncertainties related to AVs pose a series of questions about what the societal consequences of such technology are. Mainly, what are the consequences of AVs regarding accessibility? This paper uses Geurs and Van Wee's definition of accessibility to give an exploratory answer to this question. Using a scenario-based approach which allows identifying critical decisions that will emerge shortly (or are already emerging) concerning automated travelling, this paper proposes that AVs have great potential to both seriously aggravate and considerably alleviate accessibility problems. A great deal will depend on how these critical decisions will be approached and the choices that will be made. This debate is most needed because existing research on AVs tends to focus on how to make them a commercially viable and safe technological enterprise, and on what their benefits and drawbacks are regarding variables such as carbon emissions, energy consumption, and total miles travelled. Narratives of this nature can be problematic, as they are unlikely to promote sufficient awareness about the real disruptive potential of AVs. It is crucial that stakeholders realise the extent to which-if the governance of AVs implementation processes is not taken very seriously, and the identified critical decisions are not carefully approached-these machines can materialise a dystopian mobility future.
Worldwide volume production and consumption of engineered composite materials, namely fiber reinforced polymers (FRP), have increased in the last decades, mostly in the construction, automobile, aeronautic and wind energy sectors. This rising production and consumption have also led to an increasing amount of FRP waste, either end-of-life (EoL) products or manufacturing rejects. Taking into account the actual and impending EU framework on waste management, in which clear targets are set with concrete measures to ensure effective implementation, landfill and incineration will be progressively unavailable as traditional end-routes for this kind of waste. Recycling techniques and end-use applications for the recyclates have been investigated over the past twenty years, but even so, more cost-effective and feasible market outlets for the recyclates should be identified that meet both the economic and the environmental points of view. This paper is aimed at enclosing and summarizing an update overview regarding all these issues: current legislation, recycling techniques and end-use applications for the recyclates. Additionally, as a case study, the assessment of the potential improvements that could be made on the eco-efficiency performance (sustainability) of a typical FRP composite materials' industry by recycling and re-engineering process approaches is also reported.
The world is currently witnessing its largest surge of urban growth in human history; a trend that draws attention to the need to understand and address health impacts of urban living. Whilst transport is instrumental in this urbanisation wave, it also has significant positive and negative impacts on population health, which are disproportionately distributed.In this paper, we bring together expertise in transport engineering, transport and urban planning, research and strategic management, epidemiology and health impact assessment in an exercise to scope and discuss the health impacts of transport in urban areas. Adopting a cross-disciplinary, coproduction approach, we explore the key driving forces behind the current state of urban mobility and outline recommendations for practices that could facilitate positioning health at the core of transport design, planning and policy.Current knowledge on the health-related impacts of urban transport shows that motor vehicle traffic is causing significant premature mortality and morbidity through motor vehicle crashes, physical inactivity and traffic-related environmental exposures including increases in air pollution, noise and temperature levels, as well as reductions in green space. Trends of rapid and car-centred urbanisation, mass motorisation and a tendency of policy to favour car mobility and undervalue health in the transport and development agenda has both led to, and exacerbated the negative health impacts of the transport systems. Simultaneously, we also argue that the benefits of new transport schemes on the economy are emphasised whilst the range and severity of identified health impacts associated with transport are often downplayed. We conclude the paper by outlining stakeholders recommendations for the adoption of a cross-disciplinary co-production approach that takes a health-aware perspective and has the potential to promote a paradigm shift in transport practices.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.