Suchergebnisse

This Special Issue presents eight papers that were delivered at the International Conference on Climate Change Targets and Urban Transport Policy which was hosted by the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta, in conjunction with the World Conference of Transport Research Society Special Interest Group (WCTRS SIG G3) on Urban Transport Planning and Policy, in Valletta between the 13th and 14th of April 2015. The conference brought together 68 academics, practitioners, policy makers, representatives of environmental NGOs and postgraduate students, from 19 countries and 4 continents. Delegates travelled from Australia, India, Israel, Japan, Turkey, and the US, in addition to 13 European nations, to share their research. The twoday conference included 3 keynote presentations, 6 paper sessions and 2 poster sessions in which 23 papers and 13 posters were delivered, debated and discussed. This special issue brings together a selection of the papers to showcase some of the latest research in the area of climate change and sustainable urban transport policy. ; peer-reviewed

The requirement for sustainable transport in urban areas has become more onerous in the past decade due to a number of negative externalities which have been increasingly associated with growing mobility and the advances made in the technology and available options for sustainable transport. However, whilst on one hand technology has supported the reduction of environmental impacts of increased (car) mobility, other policies and actions influencing behaviour have been identified as key contributors to reduce the impact of transport. While the intentions behind particular policies point towards sustainability goals, attitudes towards mode choice are proving more difficult to shift. Specific actions are driving best practice in reducing car dependence by providing alternative means of car sharing and public transport use, whilst others look at promoting non-motorized forms of transport. This publication brings together an international group of researchers and presents work from different countries dealing with issues related to transport policy, attitudes and mode choice, car sharing and alternative modes of transport, and discusses the future of non-motorized modes of transport.

Malta, an island state in the Mediterranean and an EU member since 2004, has an area of 316 km² (National Statistics Office 2017). The archipelago made up of three main islands, two of which are inhabited, has a population of around half a million and with 1,867 persons per km² is one of the densest countries in the EU (National Statistics Office 2019a). Malta is composed of six districts, these being the Northern Harbour, Southern Harbour, North, South Eastern, Western and Gozo and Comino, the latter being two separate islands. Most of the population is concentrated on the main island, Malta, with the urban area stretching from the eastern side of the island covering primarily the Northern Harbour, Southern Harbour, Western and South-Eastern districts. A car-oriented culture predominates in this small island state. Car ownership and associated car use has been increasing steadily with economic growth since the early 1990s (80 % of trips are done by car). In 2018, there were 608 cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Malta, placing it sixth in rank within the EU. Luxembourg was first with 676 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (European Commission 2021). One of the main reasons for this dependence is the priority given to cars in the design of the urban environment. Priority to other modes of transport, such as the bus, is negligible. Bus priority lanes, which were included and shared with other modes of transport such as EVs and motorcycles are often used illegally also by other vehicles and cars. Enforcement is lacking, leading the bus to struggle with car traffic at the detriment of its passengers. The recent road infrastructure projects that took place all over Malta led to the majority of the bus lanes - eight in all - being reduced or removed to cater for the car. ; peer-reviewed

Priseljevanje v Sredozemlje ima večtisočletno zgodovino, ki se na malteškem otočju odraža skozi zaporedje okupatorjev, ki so ga kolonizirali. Vendar pa so trendi v zadnjih desetletjih pokazali izrazite spremembe v starih vzorcih, tako da namesto povratnih migrantov in naseljevanja britanskih izseljencev sedaj prevladujejo selitveni tokovi iz Evrope in podsaharske Afrike, zlasti po vključitvi Malte v Evropsko unijo leta 2004. Članek preučuje količine vključenih v te tokove, spreminjajočo se prostorsko razmestitev izhodiščnih držav ter spreminjajoče se starostne strukture priseljencev v zadnjih dveh desetletjih. Da bi zagotovili zanesljivost podatkov, so bili uporabljeni podatki zaporednih popisov prebivalstva in stanovanj, ki jih je zbral Državni statistični urad Malte. Glavni ugotovitvi prispevka sta spreminjajoča se starostna struktura priseljencev ter njihove regionalne porazdelitve na Malti. Ker je Malta najmanjša država v EU in ima eno najvišjih gostot prebivalstva na svetu, je bila obravnavana tudi problematika gostote priseljencev. Pokaže se, da je gostota priseljenega prebivalstva na Malti tako visoka kot gostote vsega prebivalstva v nekaterih evropskih državah.

Priseljevanje v Sredozemlje ima večtisočletno zgodovino, ki se na malteškem otočju odraža skozi zaporedje okupatorjev, ki so ga kolonizirali. Vendar pa so trendi v zadnjih desetletjih pokazali izrazite spremembe v starih vzorcih, tako da namesto povratnih migrantov in naseljevanja britanskih izseljencev sedaj prevladujejo selitveni tokovi iz Evrope in podsaharske Afrike, zlasti po vključitvi Malte v Evropsko unijo leta 2004. Članek preučuje količine vključenih v te tokove, spreminjajočo se prostorsko razmestitev izhodiščnih držav ter spreminjajoče se starostne strukture priseljencev v zadnjih dveh desetletjih. Da bi zagotovili zanesljivost podatkov, so bili uporabljeni podatki zaporednih popisov prebivalstva in stanovanj, ki jih je zbral Državni statistični urad Malte. Glavni ugotovitvi prispevka sta spreminjajoča se starostna struktura priseljencev ter njihove regionalne porazdelitve na Malti. Ker je Malta najmanjša država v EU in ima eno najvišjih gostot prebivalstva na svetu, je bila obravnavana tudi problematika gostote priseljencev. Pokaže se, da je gostota priseljenega prebivalstva na Malti tako visoka kot gostote vsega prebivalstva v nekaterih evropskih državah.

As transport systems are pushed to the limits in many cities, governments have tried to resolve problems of traffic and congestion by increasing capacity. Miller (2013) contends the need to identify new capabilities (instead of capacity) of the transport infrastructure in order to increase efficiency without extending the physical infrastructure. Kenyon and Lyons (2003) identified integrated traveller information as a facilitator for better transport decisions. Today, with further developments in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and a greater disposition by the public to provide volunteered geographic information (VGI), the potential of information is not only integrated across modes but also user-generated, real-time and available on smartphones anywhere. This geographic information plays today an important role in sectors such as politics, businesses and entertainment, and presumably this would extend to transport in revealing people's preferences for mobility and therefore be useful for decision-making. The widespread availability of networks and smartphones offer new opportunities supported by apps and crowdsourcing through social media such as the successful traffic and navigation app Waze, car sharing programmes such as Zipcar, and ride sharing systems such as Uber. This study aims to develop insights into the potential of governments to use voluntary (crowdsourced) geographic information effectively to achieve sustainable mobility. A review of the literature and existing technology informs this article. Further research into this area is identified and presented at the end of the paper. ; peer-reviewed

As transport systems are pushed to the limits in many cities, governments have tried to resolve problems of traffic and congestion by increasing capacity. Miller (2013) contends the need to identify new capabilities (instead of capacity) of the transport infrastructure in order to increase efficiency without extending the physical infrastructure. Kenyon and Lyons (2003) identified integrated traveller information as a facilitator for better transport decisions. Today, with further developments in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and a greater disposition by the public to provide volunteered geographic information (VGI), the potential of information is not only integrated across modes but also user-generated, real-time and available on smartphones anywhere. This geographic information plays today an important role in sectors such as politics, businesses and entertainment, and presumably this would extend to transport in revealing people's preferences for mobility and therefore be useful for decision-making. The widespread availability of networks and smartphones offer new opportunities supported by apps and crowdsourcing through social media such as the successful traffic and navigation app Waze, car sharing programmes such as Zipcar, and ride sharing systems such as Uber. This study aims to develop insights into the potential of governments to use voluntary (crowdsourced) geographic information effectively to achieve sustainable mobility. A review of the literature and existing technology informs this article. Further research into this area is identified and presented at the end of the paper.

As transport systems are pushed to the limits in many cities, governments have tried to resolve problems of traffic and congestion by increasing capacity. Miller (2013) contends the need to identify new capabilities (instead of capacity) of the transport infrastructure in order to increase efficiency without extending the physical infrastructure. Kenyon and Lyons (2003) identified integrated traveller information as a facilitator for better transport decisions. Today, with further developments in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and a greater disposition by the public to provide volunteered geographic information (VGI), the potential of information is not only integrated across modes but also user-generated, real-time and available on smartphones anywhere. This geographic information plays today an important role in sectors such as politics, businesses and entertainment, and presumably this would extend to transport in revealing people's preferences for mobility and therefore be useful for decision-making. The widespread availability of networks and smartphones offer new opportunities supported by apps and crowdsourcing through social media such as the successful traffic and navigation app Waze, car sharing programmes such as Zipcar, and ride sharing systems such as Uber. This study aims to develop insights into the potential of governments to use voluntary (crowdsourced) geographic information effectively to achieve sustainable mobility. A review of the literature and existing technology informs this article. Further research into this area is identified and presented at the end of the paper.

Malta is one of the smallest member states, but has also one of the highest rates of motorization, in Europe. In 2010, the number of private vehicles per thousand population stood at 555. Seventy-one percent of all trips were carried out by car and only a small percentage of trips (22.6%) were carried out by other means (mainly bus and on foot). Malta's economic development has progressed steadily since joining the European Union in 2004, and the islands have managed to avoid the impact of the global financial crisis, mostly due to island insularity. Heavy car dependence is a cause for concern as it is increasing congestion and pollution, and putting significant strain on infrastructure in an island with limited land and space resources. Gender differences in transport and mobility patterns are high. The 2010 Household Travel Survey reported that, whilst 60 per cent of frequent bus users were female, 61 per cent of non-bus-users were male. This gender disparity is also reflected in the population of licensed drivers and the car ownership patterns. The research aims to (i) study the mobility patterns of men and women in the islands and identify the changes that occurred over the 12-year period between 1998 and 2010, (ii) examine the relationships between transport patterns and selected socio-economic characteristics of females and men such as age, status and employment, and (iii) discuss the policy implications for future transport policy. This research uses the data of the 1998 and 2010 Household Travel Surveys to study the mobility patterns of men and women in the islands. In answering the research questions, descriptive statistics, correlations, co-variance and regression will be used. The research will provide a first ever review of gender based transport patterns in Malta and will highlight some of the more pressing concerns supporting future mobility. The study will conclude with a discussion on the policy implications for future transport as well as some interesting avenues for further research. ; peer-reviewed

Policy makers have to consider the sustainability perspective in strategic planning decisions. Identifyand measure the level of sustainability, through its three dimensions, is a priority. Therefore, the aim of this work is to present a new model, called GeoUmbriaSUIT, integrating Multicriteria Analysis and Geographic Information Systems, specifically developed for helping Decision Makers to take policy decisions about sustainability in planning. The model provides outputs which are easy to be understood by not experts; the evaluation path is traceable and transparent, thanks to back analysis. To better explain the potentiality of GeoUmbriaSUIT and its functioning, a case study about Malta is described. Our results showed that in four regions of Malta the best dimension was the environmental one, while only for two regions (Northern Harbour and Southern Harbour) respectively the economic and social dimensions obtained the best scores. The integration of MCDA-GIS resulted to be a useful tool for sustainability assessment. ; peer-reviewed

The aim with this paper is to show the differences in the performance of eight insurance companies in the Mediterranean region and how each country deals with risks. Risk management is crucial in insurance companies because if risks are not mitigated, the company will suffer financial losses and poor performance within the company. With the introduction of the Solvency II Directive, consumer protection is improved by law at European Union. This paper shows the steps of risk management and comparison of these eight Mediterranean countries before the Solvency II directive and after it came into force. The eight Mediterranean countries are Spain, France, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Malta and Croatia and the economy of each country and the economy of insurance is presented. The aim of this study is to examine the different risk management practices adopted by insurance companies and how risk management affects the performance of insurance companies in these countries, as well as the relationship between risk management and insurance. ; peer-reviewed

The aim with this paper is to show the differences in the performance of eight insurance companies in the Mediterranean region and how each country deals with risks. Risk management is crucial in insurance companies because if risks are not mitigated, the company will suffer financial losses and poor performance within the company. With the introduction of the Solvency II Directive, consumer protection is improved by law at European Union. This paper shows the steps of risk management and comparison of these eight Mediterranean countries before the Solvency II directive and after it came into force. The eight Mediterranean countries are Spain, France, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Malta and Croatia and the economy of each country and the economy of insurance is presented. The aim of this study is to examine the different risk management practices adopted by insurance companies and how risk management affects the performance of insurance companies in these countries, as well as the relationship between risk management and insurance.