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Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure Provision in Megacities of the Developing World

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 18207

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: sustainability and sustainable Infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
Interests: sustainability; transportation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

World population statistics are showing large peaks in growth figures in developing countries such as those in Asia and Africa. The rapid urbanisation created by a frenzy of rural to urban migration is evolving many cities into 'accidental' mega-cities (cities with more than 10 million people) beset by a mosaic of urban slums, creeping urban mobility and significant transportation infrastructure deficits. These rapid urban development challenges significantly affect the achievement of sustainable transportation infrastructure in many fast-growing cities in both the developed and developing worlds. Rapid growth and changes in spatial-temporal dynamics of cities impacts not only the socio-economic well-being of the urban population but also the ability to plan appropriately for urban infrastructure development within complex and multi-scale dimensions of physical planning spheres. However, provision of essential infrastructures and amenities are necessary for these cities to thrive and function for current and future generations to come.

This Special Issue focuses on the latest research conducted in the field of sustainable transportation infrastructure provision for megacities of the developing world. The aim is to present the current and potential future state(s) of transportation infrastructure provision paradigms, therein highlighting a range of methodological processes (including indicators, metrics and benchmarks) used to measure and evaluate the sustainability pillars and drivers for change (i.e., societal, technological, economic, environmental, political and organisational). Both original research and review papers are welcome.

Dr. Dexter Hunt
Prof. Miles Tight
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • sustainable assessment
  • multi-criteria analysis
  • predictive transportation modelling
  • spatial-temporal dynamics
  • driver behaviour
  • transport
  • mobility infrastructures
  • land use
  • land cover change
  • urban growth dynamics
  • sustainable future cities

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1134 KiB  
Article
Factors Influencing Cycling among Secondary School Adolescents in an Ethnically Diverse City: The Perspective of Birmingham Transport Stakeholders
by Esther Fasan, Miles Tight and Harry Evdorides
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12400; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212400 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Despite strategies and schemes to increase cycling among adolescents in England, the levels of cycling among secondary school adolescents in various cities is low. This study aims to understand the factors influencing cycling among Birmingham secondary school adolescents from the perspectives of local [...] Read more.
Despite strategies and schemes to increase cycling among adolescents in England, the levels of cycling among secondary school adolescents in various cities is low. This study aims to understand the factors influencing cycling among Birmingham secondary school adolescents from the perspectives of local transport stakeholders promoting cycling among secondary school adolescents. In 2019, 14 local transport stakeholders promoting cycling among secondary school adolescents in Birmingham participated in a semi-structured interview. The discussions focused on barriers and facilitators to increasing cycling among secondary school adolescents for school and non-school travel. Thematic content analysis was performed using NVIVO 12. The five-level socio-ecological model provided the framework for the analysis, resulting in five main themes. The study found the majority of the schemes and programs organised to increase cycling among secondary school adolescents focused on promoting school travel, with less focus on non-school travel. It was noted that cycling for leisure was more appealing to adolescents than utility cycling. Future interventions should include cycling promotion for non-school travel. In addition, increased support for leisure cycling may increase the overall appeal and enthusiasm of cycling among adolescents. Full article
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16 pages, 1976 KiB  
Article
Road User Attitudes and Their Reported Behaviours in Abuja, Nigeria
by Uchenna Nnabuihe Uhegbu and Miles R. Tight
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4222; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084222 - 10 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3781
Abstract
The continuous increases in the numbers of road traffic crashes (RTC) over the years, especially in developing countries, have been a source of worry. The majority of the RTC are attributed to road user behaviours exhibited by the drivers. This study sets out [...] Read more.
The continuous increases in the numbers of road traffic crashes (RTC) over the years, especially in developing countries, have been a source of worry. The majority of the RTC are attributed to road user behaviours exhibited by the drivers. This study sets out to investigate the road user attitudes and behaviours in Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 1526 questionnaires were distributed, of which 321 questionnaires were completed and returned. The questionnaires tried to understand four major road user behaviours, namely use of seatbelts, drink driving, use of mobile phone while driving, and use of child restraints. The results after analysing the questionnaires showed that the majority of the road users in Abuja showed high non-compliance with the use of seatbelts, either when driving or when being driven. About 64% of the respondents admitted to not using seatbelts. Results from the cross-tabulation process showed that the high non-compliance to seatbelt usage was statistically associated with young, single road users. Around one-third of Abuja road users admitted to drink driving. Road users who were married engaged in more frequent drink driving than road users who were single, and the association was statistically significant. A high percentage of Abuja road users admitted to using mobile phones while driving and 55.8% of the total respondents admitted to not using child restraints while driving. A lack of child restraints was statistically associated more with male road users than female road users. It is recommended that stricter enforcement of road safety laws should be undertaken and that the government should provide road safety agents with the right equipment (e.g., speed guns, breathalyzers) that would aid road safety agents to perform their duties effectively in order to curb the excessive bad road user behaviours in Abuja. Full article
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18 pages, 2998 KiB  
Article
Economic, Social, and Ecological Impact Evaluation of Traffic Network in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Urban Agglomeration Based on the Entropy Weight TOPSIS Method
by Liang Zhang, Xubing Zhang, Shenggu Yuan and Kai Wang
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1862; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041862 - 9 Feb 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3157
Abstract
In recent years, with the rapid development of urban transportation network in China, many problems have been exposed, especially in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region. Under the call of sustainable development, it is of great significance to evaluate the economic, social, and ecological (ESE) [...] Read more.
In recent years, with the rapid development of urban transportation network in China, many problems have been exposed, especially in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region. Under the call of sustainable development, it is of great significance to evaluate the economic, social, and ecological (ESE) impact of transportation network in BTH urban agglomeration for promoting the sustainable development of transportation ESE in BTH urban agglomeration. In this paper, 12 indicators in the field of transportation are selected to build the evaluation index system of ESE effects of transportation network in BTH urban agglomeration. By using entropy weight TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) model and the Jenks natural breaks classification method, the ESE impacts of transportation network in 13 cities of BTH from 2013 to 2017 are analyzed from the temporal and spatial dimensions. The research shows that: (1) From 2013 to 2017, the economic impact degree of traffic network shows an annual fluctuation trend, the social impact degree increases year by year, and the ecological impact degree decreases year by year; (2) For the cities of BTH, the ESE impact assessment results of transportation network from 2013 to 2017 can be divided into seven clusters. Except Handan City, the ESE impact assessment categories of other cities’ transportation network have been improved, but the proportion of cities in the transition period is still large, especially the “Low-Low-Low” cities. The types of cities in the transitional period need to be focused. It is still a heavy burden to realize the ESE coordination and sustainable development of BTH urban agglomeration transportation network. Full article
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20 pages, 4060 KiB  
Article
Neural Network Approach to Modelling Transport System Resilience for Major Cities: Case Studies of Lagos and Kano (Nigeria)
by Suleiman Hassan Otuoze, Dexter V. L. Hunt and Ian Jefferson
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1371; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031371 - 28 Jan 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3888
Abstract
Congestion has become part of everyday urban life, and resilience is very crucial to traffic vulnerability and sustainable urban mobility. This research employed a neural network as an adaptive artificially-intelligent application to study the complex domains of traffic vulnerability and the resilience of [...] Read more.
Congestion has become part of everyday urban life, and resilience is very crucial to traffic vulnerability and sustainable urban mobility. This research employed a neural network as an adaptive artificially-intelligent application to study the complex domains of traffic vulnerability and the resilience of the transport system in Nigerian cities (Kano and Lagos). The input criteria to train and check the models for the neural resilience network are the demographic variables, the geospatial data, traffic parameters, and infrastructure inventories. The training targets were set as congestion elements (traffic volume, saturation degree and congestion indices), which are in line with the relevant design standards obtained from the literature. A multi-layer feed-forward and back-propagation model involving input–output and curve fitting (nftool) in the MATLAB R2019b software wizard was used. Three algorithms—including Levenberg–Marquardt (LM), Bayesian Regularization (BR), and a Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG)—were selected for the simulation. LM converged easily with the Mean Squared Error (MSE) (2.675 × 10−3) and regression coefficient (R) (1.0) for the city of Lagos. Furthermore, the LM algorithm provided a better fit for the model training and for the overall validation of the Kano network analysis with MSE (4.424 × 10−1) and R (1.0). The model offers a modern method for the simulation of urban traffic and discrete congestion prediction. Full article
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20 pages, 4535 KiB  
Article
Predictive Modeling of Transport Infrastructure Space for Urban Growth Phenomena in Developing Countries’ Cities: A Case Study of Kano — Nigeria
by Suleiman Hassan Otuoze, Dexter V. L. Hunt and Ian Jefferson
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010308 - 31 Dec 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4202
Abstract
Global urbanization has the most tremendous negative effects on the changing landscapes in many developing countries’ cities. It is necessary to develop appropriate monitoring techniques for tracking transport space evolution. The work explores the impacts of urban growth dynamics of transport space over [...] Read more.
Global urbanization has the most tremendous negative effects on the changing landscapes in many developing countries’ cities. It is necessary to develop appropriate monitoring techniques for tracking transport space evolution. The work explores the impacts of urban growth dynamics of transport space over the past decades as a basis for predicting future space demands in Kano, Nigeria. Three epochs of Landsat images from 1984, 2013 and 2019 were processed, classified and analyzed. Spatial classifications of land-use/land-cover (LULC) types in Kano include transport space, built-up areas, vegetation, farmland, bare land and water. The data analysis involves model calibration, validation and prediction using areas using the hybrid modeling techniques—cellular automata-Markov (CA-Markov) in IDIRISI SELVA 17.0 and remote-sensing ARC-GIS 10.7 softwares. The result finds significant expansion of transport and built-up areas while other LULC receded throughout the entire study period. Predictive modeling of transport infrastructure shows spatial expansion by 345 km2 (3.9%) and 410 km2 (11.7%) in 2030 and 2050 respectively. Kappa reliability indices of agreement (KIA) classified images and ground maps were 85%, 86% and 88%, respectively, for 1984, 2013 and 2019 time series. The calibration quality met the 80% minimum suggested in literature for the spatial-temporal track and prediction of urban growth phenomena. Full article
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