The International Journal of Urban Sciences 

About: The International Journal of Urban Sciences is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Metropolitan area. It has an ISSN identifier of 1226-5934. Over the lifetime, 583 publications have been published receiving 5597 citations. The journal is also known as: IJUS & Journal on Asian-Pacific Urban Studies and Affairs.

Activity-based models of travel demand : promises, progress and prospects

Abstract: Because two decades have almost passed since the introduction of activity-based models of travel demand, this seems the right time to evaluate progress made in the development and application of these models. This invited paper seeks to discuss the initial promises of activity-based models as an alternative to four-step and tour-based models, summarize progress made and identify still unsolved issues that require further research.

Review of pollutants in urban road dust and stormwater runoff: part 1. Heavy metals released from vehicles

Abstract: Urban road dust can be highly enriched with trace metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and platinum group elements (PGEs) that are released primarily from vehicles. Concentrations of these metals are up to about 100 times higher than background levels. Lead concentrations in sediment core have declined dramatically due to phase out of leaded gasoline. Recent ban on the use of lead wheel balancing weight in Europe and in some US states will accelerate the decline of lead in the environment. Concentrations of copper, zinc, and PGEs in sediments in many urban areas have increased continuously due to increase of urban sprawl and increased numbers and travel distance of vehicle. Wear of brake pads and tyres are the primary sources of copper and zinc in urban road dust. PGEs have been released from catalytic converters since the mid-1970s. Contaminated urban road dust is picked up by stormwater runoff and delivered into local receiving waterbodies (e.g. streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries). Concentratio...

Transport modelling in the age of big data

Abstract: New Big Data sources such as mobile phone call data records, smart card data and geo-coded social media records allow to observe and understand mobility behaviour on an unprecedented level of detail. Despite the availability of such new Big Data sources, transport demand models used in planning practice still, almost exclusively, are based on conventional data such as travel diary surveys and population census. This literature review brings together recent advances in harnessing Big Data sources to understand travel behaviour and inform travel demand models that allow transport planners to compute what-if scenarios. From trip identification to activity inference, we review and analyse the existing data-mining methods that enable these opportunistically collected mobility traces inform transport demand models. We identify that future research should tap on the potential of probabilistic models and machine learning techniques as commonly used in data science. Those data-mining approaches are designe...

Citizen-generated local development initiative: recent English experience

Abstract: This paper looks at the civil society enterprises which have been emerging in many parts of Europe in recent years, focusing on the experience in England. Rather than forms of citizen ‘participation’ in public policy, these enterprises involve the direct provision of goods and services through citizen-generated initiatives. They respond to the deficiencies arising from financial constraints and changes in the public sector's role and from inadequacies in the quality of market delivery of welfare services. They also reflect a search by citizens for more locally sensitive provision of goods and services. The paper briefly reviews the place of civil society enterprises, illustrated with examples from relatively successful ones which have emerged in the past two decades. The paper concludes with a commentary on what has enabled these enterprises to get started and grow in scale and scope, how they relate to the formal government sector and their potential future.

Bus rapid transit – a review

Abstract: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has been demonstrated to provide efficient and effective public transport that can even increase transit ridership and attractiveness within defined urban corridors in both developing and developed countries. The merit of the BRT system lies in its ability to provide a high quality public transit service with limited infrastructure and at a relatively low capital and operating cost. In this paper an attempt is made to review BRT characteristics in some detail. An overview of the elements of BRT systems: the running ways, vehicles, stations, as well as operational control, fare collection and passenger information systems is presented. This paper also discusses how these elements allows BRT services to achieve the speed, capacity, reliability, accessibility and operational safety characteristics that distinguishes such systems from regular express bus services. Each built BRT system is unique and depends on how these basic elements are designed and integrated. Environmental, social ...