Transcript Environmental Sustainability

Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
Access to activities and services
in urban Canada: behavioural processes that
condition equity and sustainability
the work of the PROCESSUS Network
under the sponsorship of SSHRC, NCE-GEOIDE and the Ministère des
transports du Québec
2nd PROCESSUS International Colloquium, Toronto, 13 June 2005
_______________________________________________________________
Réseau PROCESSUS Network
PROCesses of behaviour underlying Equity and Sustainability in Systems of Urban access and their Simulation
PROcessus Comportementaux Essentiels aux SystèmeS d’accès Urbain durables et équitables et à leur Simulation
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
1
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
2
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
A father’s dilemma (me):
- In the neighbourhood where I went unaccompanied to
school at the age of 4
- I am told I am an irresponsible parent unless I drive my 10
year old to school……
…because there so many cars that it is unsafe to walk!
Many small intentional decisions => unintentional
consequences
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
3
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What business are we in?
• Building tools (models and simulations) to help cities or
provinces explore what may happen if something changes
the conditions under which people move around,
communicate and use land -- in the short term and the long
term
• Use big computers to explore the interactions between
millions of those small intentional decisions -- and some
big ones too, like moving house or opening a shopping
centre
• Helping public agencies to look at many futures, and to
learn by criticising what a model suggests
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
4
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
The context for our work
• The need to make policy simulation feasible for more
sustainable and equitable access to activities and services
• Two horizons:
– 5-10 years: managing the short term “policy gap”, e.g., transport’s
contribution to the Kyoto climate change commitments means
difficult choices about managing transport demand (“TDM”) – i.e.,
behavioural changes
– 10-20 years: taking best advantage of information and transport
technology and steering the form of urbanisation in Canada
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
5
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
Canada has a competitive edge:
– its unusual multidisciplinarity
– Canada is different because of its transport and land-use
planning and transit heritage
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
6
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
History
1993 - 1994
1994 - 1990
1999 - 2005
2006 - ????
Pioneering work on urban transport and
emissions modelling (Ont)
ILUTE (Integrated Land Use, Transport and
Environment) modelling consortium formed - found the computers could do great things,
but behavioural foundations were the major
barrier to development
PROCESSUS: unprecedented federal,
provincial and local support to understand
behavioural processes: 20 projects - >$3M
If funding is continued, put findings into
immediate practice + operationalise ILUTE
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
7
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
PROCESSUS: who are we?
A working network of:
 14 professors in 8 Canadian universities
 11 distinguished international collaborators in 7
countries
 more than 70 current and recent doctoral and
master’s students who are the best in their fields
 dedicated professional support staff
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
8
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What have we done (1)
1. Addressing major gaps in knowledge:
– Radical new data collection methods on how people decide
to do what they do, and where and when they do it
– A large part of our efforts provide and analyse unique
longitudinal data on the evolving consumption of transport
in urban regions of different scale in Canada
– Breakthroughs from linking of data and information from
many sources (vehicle purchases, house prices,
commercial rents, local conflicts, public consultations,
disadvantaged groups, life trajectories…..)
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
9
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What have we done (2)
2. Generating new ideas, new theories, new
assumptions about the behaviour underlying land
use and transport
– New ways of looking at the choices open to people,
households, property developers, retail trades,
employers, public agencies, etc. -- and the ways these
are evolving in Canada and how each choice affects
others
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
10
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What have we done (3)
3. Setting up “test” regions for ILUTE applications:
– Greater Toronto, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton and
now Montréal
– Hands-on involvement with regional and provincial
agencies
– Helping understand what individual behaviours will
mean for the shape of cities (e.g. the role of corridors)
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
11
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What have we done (4)
4. Honing the tools
– Cutting edge modelling methods: behaviour in
space/time
– Learning to model the “right level” of complexity (you
can’t model everything)
– Significantly improve simulation tools for policy
makers to imagine and compare alternative futures in
which personal travel, commercial movements (goods
and services) and land-use evolve together
– Constructing a common language: engineers,
economists, geographers, psychologists……
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
12
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
What have we done (5)
5. An international presence
– Canada’s approach is recognised internationally
(e.g. Our researchers co-chair the key US scientific
committee on ILUTE modelling, transatlantic
cooperation on sustainable transport research, etc.)
– Focussed working relationships with our international
scientific collaborators
– More than 400 papers, presentations -- 80% of which
are co-owned by the next generation, our students
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
13
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
In sum…
Our ambition is not a “black box” but building up
a flexible shell of the most up-to-date models and
analysis tools, with the help of some of the leading
experts in the world, through solid practical and
theoretical work in Canadian conditions
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
14
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
Staying in the lead
• Getting the right heads together is not easy university and grant council structures “against the
odds” for social scientists to work with engineers
• We are “boundary spanners” and have pulled
something off that is unique in North America and
rare in the World
• Get out there and lobby like crazy to find the
funds to keep up the momentum and fulfil our
vision -- of “trying a future on for size before
going down that path”-- and counting the cost to
equity and the environment of our cities
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
15
Joint Program in Transportation
University of Toronto
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Thank you
16