Regional Intelligent Transportation Systems Architectures and the Competitive Region

Abstract

The role of an architecture for deploying intelligent transportation systems in finding solutions to regional transportation problems is analyzed. The concept of a competitive region, a region with changing economic interests, stakeholders, and borders, is reviewed. The competitive region motivates finding solutions to transportation problems of regional scope. The concept of a regional system architecture is then introduced as a catalyst for reaching coordinated regional solutions. The regional architecture’s flexibility and ability to bring different stakeholders together make it an ideal tool for planning for intelligent transportation systems deployment in the competitive region while strengthening the traditional transportation planning process. The province of Mendoza, Argentina, is presented as a research case study for using an architecture for shaping a regional transportation system. The research shows that the fundamental issues to address in ITS deployment are institutional in nature and that a system architecture can become a strategic tool for developing transportation improvements in the context of regional coordination.