Transport and urban infrastructure

Transport studies and planning's engagement with urban infrastructure is mostly based on policyoriented perspectives. However, the field is conceptually rich, includes fundamental critiques of business as usual infrastructure development and has been heavily influenced by normative social and environmental discourses. Over the last decades, transport studies has also broadened its relationship with other disciplines and established a stronger relationship with urban studies, design and planning (Banister ۱۹۹۷, Gertz ۱۹۹۷, Cervero ۲۰۰۱). On the infrastructural side, it has branched out and built connections with economic geography and econometric analysis (Baum-Snow ۲۰۰۷, Duranton and Turner ۲۰۱۲), development studies (Vasconcellos ۲۰۰۱, Hickman, Givoni et al. ۲۰۱۵) and environmental science (Dora, Phillips et al. ۲۰۰۰, Banister ۲۰۰۲). As part of a mobility service perspective, transport research borrow concepts and methodologies from sociology, psychology and behavioural economics (Metcalfe and Dolan ۲۰۱۲ Gehlert, Dziekan et al. ۲۰۱۳), and more recently from computer science (Batty ۲۰۱۳, Bettencourt ۲۰۱۳). The 'mobilities' subfield in transport (Urry ۲۰۰۷) which emerged during the late ۱۹۹۰s may come closest to critical and conceptual work beyond an inherent techno-policy bias of this field of academic inquiry.The diversity of these cross-disciplinary connection points reflects the fields complexity. Transport infrastructure systems feature several unique characteristics compared to other utilities. In contrast to water, sanitation, electricity and communication services, transport infrastructures are heterogeneous structures and exposed to a diversity of uses, their flows usually involve people, and definitions of related policy objectives are difficult and contested. Transport infrastructures also give shape to cities (Hamilton and Hoyle ۱۹۹۹), usually determining the location of other infrastructures and share with communication infrastructure a particularly rapid technological change of user equipment. Finally, unlike the demand for water, transport is largely derived demand or a means to an end, i.e. not desired in and of itself but as a result of a demand for accessibility. The provision of access to other people, goods, services and information underpins socioeconomic well-being (Vickerman ۲۰۰۰) and at the same time is exposed to entrenched levels ofinequality (Vasconcellos ۲۰۰۱). Improving and establishing more equitable access is considered a critical factor of development particularly in lower income countries (Hickman, Givoni et al. ۲۰۱۵).Over the last decades, transport planning theory has engaged more proactively with the field's complexity and as a result been confronted with a fundamental reframing of its main assumptions and developmental objectives.

کلیدواژه ها:

Urban transport system ، urban infrastructure ، public transport ، transport infrastructure.