Transportation Investment Research Articles

How does transportation facilitate regional economic development? A heuristic mapping of the literature

Despite a growing body of literature, the relationship between transport investment and regional economic development remains elusive. Individual studies highlight certain aspects but neglect others, and yet do not add up to a holistic framework. This paper engages with this gap by developing a holistic conceptual framework based on the synthesis of the literature. A list of variables and relationships were extracted and classified into a broad framework representing common elements of a regional economic system. Then, a causal loop diagram (CLD) was produced as a conceptual model by employing a system dynamics method that captures the interaction of the elements. The conceptual model reveals that the underlying mechanisms of regional economic development represent a complex and dynamic process engaging multiple factors, causalities, and temporal dynamics. Transport investment improves the attractiveness of regions and generates economic activities, reinforcing further investments, thereby fostering regional GDP and urban growth. The conditions of interregional transport infrastructure determine where cities can emerge and grow, and urban transport infrastructure conditions guide how big (population) and wide (area) a city can become. Three additional soft policies (urban transport, urban policies, and institutions and innovation) influence the attractiveness of regions and their economic activities. The time and scales of the policy inputs may produce different outcomes, i.e., city(ies) size and regional GDP, leading to income inequality across regions. We conclude that the generated conceptual model offers a distinct contribution by originally mapping the links between different studies and provides an overarching framework for further explorations.

Structural Racism and Pedestrian Safety: Measuring the Association Between Historical Redlining and Contemporary Pedestrian Fatalities Across the United States, 2010‒2019.

Objectives. To examine the association between historical redlining and contemporary pedestrian fatalities across the United States. Methods. We analyzed 2010-2019 traffic fatality data, obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, for all US pedestrian fatalities linked by location of crash to 1930s Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) grades and current sociodemographic factors at the census tract level. We applied generalized estimating equation models to assess the relationship between the count of pedestrian fatalities and redlining. Results. In an adjusted multivariable analysis, tracts graded D ("Hazardous") had a 2.60 (95% confidence interval = 2.26, 2.99) incidence rate ratio (per residential population) of pedestrian fatalities compared with tracts graded A ("Best"). We found a significant dose‒response relationship: as grades worsened from A to D, rates of pedestrian fatalities increased. Conclusions. Historical redlining policy, initiated in the 1930s, has an impact on present-day transportation inequities in the United States. Public Health Implications. To reduce transportation inequities, understanding how structurally racist policies, past and present, have an impact on community-level investments in transportation and health is crucial. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(4):420-428. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307192).

Socio-economic approach to transport investments evaluation

Background: Transport plays a crucial role in socio-economic and social processes. Despite the fact that transport can be considered as an independent industry, and transport development projects can be considered as independent business projects, the spectrum of transport influence has not yet been fully studied. A qualitative examination of the spheres of influence of transport shows its impact on all significant aspects of socio-economic relations in society.
 Nevertheless, classical methods of financial management are used to assess the effectiveness of investments in transport, which do not allow to fully reflect the effects arising from the implementation of such investments.
 As practice shows, the use of classical approaches does not allow us to reliably assess the effectiveness of investments in transport. The choice of approaches to assessment is directly dependent on the socio-economic model of the state. The capitalist model focuses on the income received from the implementation of any investment project, whereas the socially oriented model peculiar to Russia is initially focused on the formation of the public good.
 The latter approach, in our opinion, is strategically more advantageous on a national scale and requires wide dissemination for the purposes of financial and economic analysis
 Aim: to consider the list of methods for evaluating investments in transport and determine a set of factors that require consideration for a socially oriented economy.
 Materials and methods: the research methodology is based on the analysis of methods of financial and economic evaluation of investment projects, socio-economic analysis, as well as macroeconomic methods. The information base of the study is based on official legal and methodological information of the authorities of the Russian Federation.
 Results: as a result of the study, a list of factors that need to be taken into account when assessing the effectiveness of investments in transport within the framework of the paradigm of socially oriented public administration is determined.
 Conclusion: the study confirms that the methods currently used to assess the effectiveness of investments in transport do not fully reflect the effects arising from their implementation. The proposed approach to determining the list of socio-economic effects resulting from the impact of transport projects will improve the quality of management decisions in the transport sector.

Empirical analysis of R&D spending, transport infrastructure development and CO2 emissions in China

Over the past few decades, the transportation sector has been the largest contributor to CO2 emissions in China. Research and Development spending leads to technological innovation in the country and could affect the CO2 emission in the country. Therefore, this study analyzes the nexus between CO2 emissions, transport infrastructure and R&D spending in China. A QARDL approach was used for the data analysis, which revealed Research and Development and Transport infrastructure has a positive impact on CO2 emissions. R&D was only significant in the first 25% quantile, while transportation was significant in almost all quantiles. These results suggest that R&D spending in China is mainly allocated to the sectors that emit the CO2 emission. It is recommended that government should allocate more R&D to carbon-reducing sectors. Furthermore, the government should consider green transportation investments and renewable energy projects in the transportation sector to reduce CO2 emissions in the country.

Export Potential of Ham Yen Oranges

This study assessed the situation and analyzed the factors affecting the export potential of Ham Yen orange. This study conducted a survey using the questionnaire for 50 people, who are stakeholders in the value chain of Ham Yen oranges. The study results show that Tuyen Quang province has many potentials and advantages to develop export-oriented Ham Yen orange production. Specifically on area, productivity, and output of oranges to increase rapidly. Oranges are good quality with famous brands. The selling price is low, ensuring competitiveness; and there are many natural – economic-social factors favorable for the development of export-oriented Ham Yen orange production. However, the study also identified many difficulties and challenges. In order to develop Ham Yen orange production to meet export requirements. It is necessary to implement synchronous solutions like strongly shifting the area of ​​orange cultivation in the direction of meeting standards as follows VietGAP, organic oranges, EuroGAP, GlobalGAP ...; Application of science and technology in the stage of varieties, planting, care, harvesting and transportation of oranges. Investment in transport, infrastructure, irrigation, wholesale market, cold storage, and factory for preliminary processing, packing, and exporting products. Supporting capital, market information, training, and transfer of science and technology to orange growers; would strengthen linkages in the growth and market of their fruit, especially with enterprises that purchase, preserve, process, and export fruits.

Connecting up embedded knowledge across Northern Powerhouse cities

One of the driving rationales behind plans for major transport investment between Northern UK cities is that of connecting labour pools. Integrated labour pools, the argument goes, will give rise to agglomeration economies and subsequent growth. Behind this logic lies the idea that access to complementary skills in neighbouring cities will yield benefits for firms. Yet, at what travel time radius is access to these skills beneficial? Can a better understanding of this inform our assessment of the likely economic impact of proposed transport investments and subsequent reductions in travel times? Here we develop a method to estimate this radius based on the relationship between industry employment growth in a city and the size of employment in ‘skill-related’ sectors. Assuming car or rail travel, we find that for Northern cities the radius is around 45 min while for the South it is around 110 min. Manufacturing peaks around 45 min for the whole UK, including both North and South. Services, however, peak around 110 min in the South but 70 min in the North. A comparison between the UK’s Integrated Rail Plan and earlier proposals to invest in High Speed 2 rail and Northern rail connections uncovers lost opportunities for employment growth in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. This study provides a road-map for the deployment of methods from Evolutionary Economic Geography, originally developed to predict regional and urban growth and diversification processes as a function of the local skill mix, to evaluate the potential gains from transport infrastructure schemes.

Cost overruns of Belgian transport infrastructure projects: Analyzing variations over three land transport modes and two project phases

Transport infrastructure agencies are increasingly coping with strong budget constraints, while being highly under pressure to manage and upgrade an infrastructure network that meets the increasing service level expectations of all its stakeholders. Sound infrastructure management therefore includes tight cost control, a long-term vision and budget planning. Belgium has long been structurally underinvesting in infrastructure, but is in recent years trying to clear the backlog. However, it seems that cost overruns for transport investment projects – paid by the same budget as structural maintenance projects – may seriously reduce the number of critical projects to be carried out in the next years, delaying the necessary catching up process as compared to neighboring countries’ state of infrastructure (in the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany). This study analyzes quantitatively the cost developments, from the first publicly released estimates to the final execution costs, of 36 Belgian railway, road and inland waterway projects, representing a total final value of € 1,059,754,416.37 in 2020 prices, or approximately almost 10% of all transport infrastructure investments (in % of CAPEX) in Belgium during the last two decades is captured in our sample. We obtain results on the cost variation itself, and on the phase of the project in which the deviation is higher. We also investigate the transport mode as the independent variable. We find that overruns are higher in the project stage before contract awarding, and that cost overruns for road projects exceed those of rail or inland navigation projects. This case-based quantitative analysis, together with the variables researched in the case analysis, will enable Belgian governing bodies and transport agencies, separately responsible for one mode per region, to learn from these deviations, and to prioritize the need to further explore causes and develop solutions.

Using the revenues from carbon pricing - Insights into the acceptance and perceptions of particularly burdened groups

Carbon pricing is a policy instrument that is very popular with researchers and many policy makers as well. To be implemented effectively, it requires widespread acceptance by society. This paper presents an empirical study carried out in Germany directly before the implementation of its new carbon-pricing scheme for fuels in 2021. The empirical study with 83 participants focused on how different revenue use options were perceived by population groups that are particularly burdened by carbon pricing: single parents with commutes, social welfare recipients, long-distance commuters as well as pensioners with large homes. The study applied a mixed methods design involving focus group participants also completing questionnaires. The findings show a good level of acceptance of carbon pricing in view of the need to mitigate climate change and the widespread expectation that the revenues will be used to achieve this. The preferred option for revenue use are public investments in sustainable transport and climate protection. Overall, the topics discussed were often perceived as complex. The paper concludes by recommending policy makers to use combinations of revenue uses and to ensure that the overall impacts of carbon pricing and revenue use are visible to the public.

Construction projects of the German occupier in Kamnik

During the Second World War, the area of Kamnik came under the German occupation administration, which took various measures to integrate it into the Reich and make it as German as possible. Apart from Germanizing the population, these efforts also included ample investments in transport, administrative, and housing infrastructure, with which the occupier introduced its characteristic architecture into the annexed landscape. Most investments made by the German occupation administration in Kamnik were implemented between the summer of 1941 and the autumn of 1943. By employing the preserved documents or, more specifically, archival sources, plans, and photographs, the author presents historically the most important buildings and other infrastructural investments made in Kamnik during the German occupation, their “prehistory” as well as their designated use both during and after the war.

Transportation Justice in Vermont Communities of High Environmental Risk

Transportation justice studies have largely focused on metropolitan areas, and the transportation disparities in rural areas and their most disadvantaged population are not well understood. Our study explored transportation injustices in high environmental risk communities in Vermont. We found that low-income communities and people of color disproportionately face inequitable access to transportation services: they are more likely to be concerned about lack of transportation, more likely to not own or lease a personal vehicle and rely more heavily on public transportation. Our study also found that those without a personal vehicle and those largely dependent on public transportation have less access to healthy food, are likely to go hungry, have greater reports of asthma, and have less access to primary care physicians and jobs. The transportation policies in the state are also procedurally unjust. These disadvantages, combined with higher exposures to environmental risks, also pose implications for public health and well-being. A combined transition toward sustainable mobility and transportation justice should prioritize greater equity in the distribution of transportation investment in infrastructure and services; recognition of historical patterns that inform current uneven and unequal mobilities; procedural and democratic engagement of the marginalized in transportation design, planning and policy-making; a capabilities approach to plan transportation systems that improve opportunities, wellness, and quality of life for the most disadvantaged population. Consideration should also be given to designing a sustainable transportation transition that prioritizes attention for all modes of transport accessibility and mobility, including non-motorized and public transit modes, in planning and policies so that streets are not dominated by a single mode of transportation, such as cars.

Quantifying the Impact of Light Rail Transit on Commercial Property Values: New Evidence From Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Evidence shows that improving accessibility through investment in public transport, such as urban rail transit, can have a positive impact on land values and subsequently on property values. This paper, therefore, presents empirical results on the impact of proximity to the nearest Kelana Jaya light rail transit (LRT) station on commercial property values in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Using the hedonic pricing model, the paper attempts to quantify these effects. The sample consists of 399 office transaction data for the years 2014 and 2018, marking more than a decade of Kelana Jaya LRT line operation in the region. The results show that an office unit located within a 400 m radius of the nearest Kelana Jaya LRT station enjoys the highest premium, reaching about 0.637%, which, at the mean, is MYR802,620 (USD200,655). However, the premium appears to decrease rapidly for an office unit located within a radius of 401–800 m from the nearest Kelana Jaya LRT station, reaching 0.232% (MYR292,320 or USD73,080 of the mean office price). From the results of this study, it can be concluded that this paper contributes to the growing literature on the positive relationship between urban rail transit and commercial property values. More importantly, this paper provides the necessary evidence for the potential implementation of a land value capture policy as an alternative source of revenue to fund or partially fund urban rail transit in Greater Kuala Lumpur, which is presently absent.

How road investment can improve economic prosperity : The case for Northern England

Good roads are critical to modern functioning society, providing flexible mobility options for people to access jobs and services via private car, by bus, or for local trips by foot or cycle. Likewise, almost all freight movements depend on good strategic and local road connections. Investment in transport, including roads, can deliver economic agglomeration and an increase in effective density, also direct user benefits, productivity gains, greater labour market participation and business investment. This paper posits that, to maximise the benefits of road investment, we need a holistic whole-systems approach to aligning policy and infrastructure investment focused on achieving sustainable economic prosperity, improved social inclusivity, environmental goals, and most critically, decarbonisation of transport and the wider economy.

The Changing Nature of Hazardous Weather and Implications for Transportation: Example from Oklahoma, USA

Central Oklahoma is undergoing investment in new intermodal transportation and rehabilitation of its infrastructure. Despite a highly variable historical climate, future changes resulting from anthropogenic climate change may be outside of the range for which infrastructure was designed. We examined 21st century trends, focusing on weather and climate extremes of demonstrated importance to transportation professionals as identified through expert input. We assessed trends from a suite of 15 global climate models (GCMs) using two emissions scenarios and two high-resolution statistically downscaled datasets. This ensemble provided a quantitative range for potential future climate conditions whilst revealing uncertainties associated with different models and downscaling methods. Our results support the general consensus of a reduction in the frequency of cold temperatures, freeze–thaw cycles, and winter weather; however, for the latter, there is not necessarily a reduction in intensity. Extreme heat days (e.g., days ≥100 °F) increased by factors of 3–6, with this upper range associated with high greenhouse gas emissions, while the seasonal duration of extreme heat extended by 4–10 weeks. Projected return intervals for heavy rainfall increased in frequency and magnitude in the mid and late 21st century. Although the contribution of the emissions pathway to these changes is evident, different extreme value distributions and the varying simulations of precipitation from the GCMs have a large effect on magnitudes, leading to a range of possible futures to consider in infrastructure design. Precipitation metrics, particularly at the extremes, were more sensitive to the selection of downscaled data, as compared with temperature metrics. Our approach represents a resource for transportation professionals seeking to identify changing risk probabilities at regional to local scales, as a precursor to planning and adaptation.

Enhancing farmer linkages to markets in developing countries through mapping of supply chains and optimising transport

Getting products to market where transport infrastructure is underdeveloped or unreliable is a major barrier to agricultural development, particularly in less-developed countries. Transport represents a high proportion of farm gate costs of moving livestock and crops to processors and local markets throughout the region. This is confounded by poor transport network infrastructure throughout the supply chain, wet weather accessibility constraints, food losses in transit, and congestion. Evidence-based approaches can inform transport and logistics infrastructure investments at different locations to maximise cost reductions.The Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT) was developed by Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), to map freight movement and associated costs. The tool was applied to create the largest supply chain analysis ever conducted in Australia, mapping more than 170 commodities and 25 million vehicle trips per year. It is used extensively by the Federal and state governments to inform over $5 billion per year in major infrastructure and freight strategies.Drawing on experience through an investment by the Australian Government in partnership with agencies in Vietnam and Indonesia, we show how the TraNSIT methods can be extended and implemented in these developing countries. Several challenges are addressed around securing commitment from key in-country ministries and state-owned enterprises, accessing quality data, and modelling freight and supply chains that differ considerably to those in developed countries. Applications to key cropping and livestock commodities are used to demonstrate how TraNSIT can be used to analyse existing supply chains and test scenarios for various infrastructure investments.

Glasgow to Paris—The impact of the Glasgow commitments for the Paris climate agreement

In the Glasgow COP26, several major emitters have announced new climate neutrality commitments. Others revised their nationally determined contributions (NDC). The climate, energy, and economic repercussion of these revised pledges is still unclear. Here, using a detailed-process integrated assessment model (WITCH), we analyze the impact of the Glasgow net-zero commitments and compare it to scenarios consistent with the Paris' agreement. We find that-if fully implemented-the Glasgow strategies would help close the gap to 2 C , covering more than 80% of the world's needed emission reductions by 2070. The pledged commitments would exceed 1.5°C, with a temperature increase (50% likelihood) of 1.6 C- 1.8 C by the end of the century. We find that the Glasgow net-zero pledges would require substantial increases in investment in electric transportation and power generation in all major economies. Compared to a scenario with uniform carbon taxation, Glasgow differentiated pledges' do not significantly increase global policy costs, are more fair, and save more lives by promoting cleaner air. However, they delay coal phase-out and increase the need for negative emission technologies.

Cross-Regional Cooperation and Counter-Market-Oriented Spatial Linkage: A Case Study of Collaborative Industrial Parks in the Yangtze River Delta Region.

At present, collaborative industrial parks (CIPs) in the Yangtze River Delta Region (YRDR) have become an important spatial strategy for coordinating regional development. However, existing studies tend to focus on individualized micro-studies, ignoring the regional-scale production space reconstruction by the geographical expansion of CIPs. Based on this, this study takes the YRDR, where the development of CIPs is relatively mature, as an example and systematically analyzes their geographic expansion process and driving mechanism. The results found that CIPs in the YRDR have gone through three stages: the exploration period of CIP construction under the guidance of assistance policies; the blowout development period of CIPs under the demonstration effect; and the complete cluster formation period of CIPs. Regional central cities, such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and underdeveloped cities, such as Tongling and Xuancheng, are core nodes, with Shanghai-Nantong; Shanghai-Anqing; Nanjing-Huainan; Wuxi-Xuzhou; Suzhou-Suqian; and Jiaxing-Lishui being important elements in the flow channel. The CIP network is basically formed. During this period, the degree of all nodes increased to 134, the network connection rate increased to 2.26, and the network complexity was more significant. Furthermore, CIPs are essentially a form of capital re-territorialization and space restoration organized and coordinated by the government (provincial government or central government). In the meantime, the market and the social environment, such as residents' living standards, urban development foundation, urban transportation, and urban investment, also have an important impact on the geographic expansion of CIPs. In the regression results, the coefficients of popu, finance, labor, and passenger are significantly negative, but the coefficients of wage, gdp, freight, and govrd are significantly positive.

The impact of transport development on construction land use efficiency of shrinking cities in China

With the development of China’s urbanization process, vacant land has become a critical issue in shrinking cities. Based on the panel data of 28 shrinking cities in China from 2006 to 2018, the impact of transport development (including transport investment and transport mobility) on construction land use efficiency (CLUE) was analyzed in this study. The results show that transport mobility plays a greater role than transport investment in improving CLUE of shrinking cities. Specifically, the increase of transport investment and transport mobility per unit will increase CLUE of shrinking cities by 0.01 and 0.1, respectively. Then, the shrinking cities are divided into three types, which include resource-based cities, post-industrial cities and less-developed cities. We find that transport development has the most significant impact on CLUE of less-developed cities while having no significant impact on resource-based cities. Finally, the results based on the mediating effect model show that the change of land use structure is the main mediating variable through which transport development affected CLUE of shrinking cities.

Development and financing of infrastructure investments to shape sustainable and resilient mobility

Purpose: The aim of the study is to identify the essential attributes that determine the development of a sustainable, innovative and resistant to disruption transport infrastructure and to answer two research questions: How to shape models for the development of sustainable and innovative transport infrastructure, while maintaining the logistic continuity of mobility and transport systems? and What actions should organizations take in the conditions of permanent change in order to maintain operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness of implemented investments, not only thinking about the possible return of the pandemic, but also about increasingly difficult access to resources, climate change and social needs? Design/methodology/approach: The research methods and techniques used included, among others: content analysis, cause and effect analysis, selected methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis, which were used to present and discuss the results of the study. Findings: Searching for methods of operationalization of the implementation of the assumptions of the new development paradigm, a conceptual framework for the model of sustainable development of transport infrastructure was developed. EU programs and instruments supporting the financing of activities in the field of development of sustainable, innovative and resilient transport infrastructure were reviewed. Attributes were indicated so that the development would strive for the simultaneous implementation of economic, social and environmental goals. Research limitations/implications: The study did not measure the sustainability of infrastructure investments in transport. The precondition for successfully performing such a task is the availability of an accurate data set and the selection of appropriate measurement indicators. This has implications for future research. Practical implications: One of the key challenges in cities is making decisions about investments in the development of economically effective, environmentally safe and socially important transport infrastructure. Hence, the development of algorithmic approaches that allow the use of the proposed qualitative model may contribute to improving the efficiency in making investment decisions. Originality/value: The originality of the conducted research was achieved through its measurable character. The proposed model can contribute to the improvement of decision- making tools in the field of allocation of public and other funds for investments, so that they contribute to the sustainability of mobility systems. Keywords: transport infrastructure, sustainable development, financial instruments. Category of the paper: research paper.

Desarrollo económico, inversión en transporte y urbanización en México: causalidad y efectos

The transport investment is often used as a tool for economic development and urbanization. However, there is still debate about whether transport improvements promote development and urbanization or, conversely, these latter create the conditions that stimulate the transport. In theory, the transport system contributes to development and urbanization because it speeds up the exchange of goods and services, but the effects can also be reversed, so the direction of causality is not so easily identified. This work uses Mexican state information of the 1988-2018 period, grouped as panel, to know both magnitude and direction of the impacts. Methodology consists in cointegration tests and VECM regressions. The results reveal that long-term causality goes from economic development to transport and its subsectors, which means that economic development is a necessary condition to modernize transport in Mexico. For urbanization, the causality and magnitude of the effects vary depending on the transport subsector. The total economy and passenger sector’s investments cause urbanization, but transportation and subsectors of cargo carriers and communications estimate two-way causality. The conclusions suggest that urbanization depends on improvements in transportation and the latter, in turn, on economic development.

Consumer surplus estimation comparisons on a Korea highway network master plan

In the cost–benefit analysis of transportation investment, although the benefit estimation method due to the effect of travel time saving has been widely used, several limitations with the method have been pointed out in a number of studies. As an alternative, a logsum-based benefit calculation has been widely adopted, with most of the research focused on urban transportation. Therefore, it is rarely applied to interregional transportation. In this study, we applied a logsum-based approach to the calculation of benefits for expressway road projects in Korea's long-term transportation plan. To calculate the logsum, this study used input data from both the mode choice and destination choice models, finding that an analysis of the feasibility of inter-regional road investment was possible. Various studies have calculated the benefits based on one of the two models. The two methods have similar formulas; however, varying results were derived due to differences in the application of formulas for parameter estimation and benefit estimation. In conclusion, the proposed methods are expected to enable a more comprehensive evaluation of the transport system. Looking at more detailed research results, the logsum based on the mode choice model had great benefits in the Seoul metropolitan area where demand was high; however, the logsum of the destination-based model showed a large difference in distribution of benefits evenly by various metropolitan areas. On the other hand, it was found that the traditional reduction of travel time was much less by region than the logsum methods, but the effect was large in the metropolitan area. From the perspective of the theoretical and practical consumer surplus analysis, we suggest open discussions regarding which method to choose when calculating benefits from the mode choice logsum model, the destination logsum model and travel time savings method.