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This article undertakes a ‘backcasting’ analysis exploring strategic approaches for overall systems sustainability in personal transport. Starting from a robust definition of sustainability for the...

Introduction Increases in recent times in electricity costs and in associated emissions of greenhouse gases are having an impact on societies to adopt business and lifestyle strategies based on sustainability practices. The emergence of the smart grid (Xinghuo et al., 2011) facilitates both suppliers and consumers of electricity in reducing carbon footprint and improving the reliability and efficiency of electricity generation, distribution and utilization. The smart grid unifies recent developments in the electrical power area with those in information and communication technologies (ICT) to bring to bear changes to business practices and life styles of consumers. The smart grid recognizes the distributed nature of electricity industry and the unifying power of the ICT. Traditional power grids consist of (i) large-scale electricity generators that are located within easy reach of energy resources, (ii) highvoltage transmission lines to bring bulk electricity to load centres that are close to loads, such as industries, cities, townships etc., and (iii) lower voltage distribution networks which in turn distribute electrical power to smaller consumers of electricity. Unlike such traditional power grids, smart grids have distributed energy generation that encompasses both centrally-located large-scale generators with ratings of 100's of megawatts (MWs) and many geographically distributed smaller generators of widely varying sizes from 10's of MWs that use fossil fuels and renewables to a few kilo watts (kW) that may be solar photo voltaic (PV) panels mounted on the roof of a small house. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Several geographically distributed power generators need to be integrated into the smart grid, recognizing the varying capacities, characteristics and technologies associated with generators (Figure 1). Electricity generated using renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and wind turbines, is variable depending upon the season, weather conditions and the period of any given day. This variability has a strong influence on the delivery of reliable power to consumers. Storage of electrical energy to dampen the effects of variability in the power from renewables is therefore an important aspect of the smart grid. Various types of energy storage: pumped hydro storage, batteries, fuel cells, flywheels etc. need to be integrated into a smart grid. Such distributed energy storages in the grid may serve different networks within the grid so that they continue to operate as self-powered islands during outages resulting from natural causes or system faults (Nourai & Keane, 2010). The electricity generated by solar PV panels and by some wind generators is in the form of direct current (DC). This DC power must be converted (or inverted) to make alternating current (AC) power to enable connection to an AC smart grid. Smart grids need smart inverters with controls to maximise renewable power utilization, and to supply power to either the local load and/or the grid (Xinghuo et al., 2011). The smart grid needs to integrate the action of generators, energy suppliers and customers. The smart grid must provide suitable multi-way communication of relevant information between various business actors associated with the grid. The smart grid includes even a small household as a business actor into its business model because a household contributes towards sustainable business outcomes. There are many research papers on smart grids with a focus on large power systems (Brown, 2008; Ipakchi & Albuyeh, 2009; and Farhangi, 2010) that emphasize the importance of pervasive control and monitoring requirements in a smart grid. They point out the convergence of ICT with power system engineering. There are also many publications (Guinard, 2011; Kamilaris, et al., 2011) that deal with energy management at household levels using the ICT strategy, such as Web of things. …

Abstract The paper presents a life-cycle assessment of costs and greenhouse gas emissions for transit buses deploying a hybrid input–output model to compare ultra-low sulfur diesel to hybrid diesel-electric, compressed natural gas, and hydrogen fuel-cell. We estimate the costs of emissions reductions from alternative fuel vehicles over the life cycle and examine the sensitivity of the results to changes in fuel prices, passenger demand, and to technological characteristics influencing performance and emissions. We find that the alternative fuel buses reduce operating costs and emissions, but increase life-cycle costs. The infrastructure requirement to deploy and operate alternative fuel buses is critical in the comparison of life-cycle emissions. Additionally, efficient bus choice is sensitive to passenger demand, but only moderately sensitive to technological characteristics, and that the relative efficiency of compressed natural gas buses is more sensitive to changes in fuel prices than that of the other bus types.

An extensive number of studies uses trade-to-GDP as a proxy for globalisation in environmental research. Globalisation encompasses much more than just trade in goods. Globalisation is the integration of various countries and includes spillovers of ideas and technology, financial flows, the worldwide movement of labour, and national governments meeting on an international level in a bid to solve social and political problems. This study considers the effect of globalisation on carbon dioxide emissions by using a more flexible and comprehensive measure based on the KOF globalisation index for a panel of 21 OECD nations covering the period 1970–2014. Since the globalisation process is not uniform across countries and time, we use a fully-fledged nonparametric technique to estimate the time-varying coefficient and trend functions. Our results show that the effect of globalization on CO2 emissions is positive up until 2000, then switches to turns negative thereafter.

AbstractFood security remains a critical global issue, made more difficult because of the rising world population, climate challenges affecting food production and a focus on market-based solutions that undermine subsistence production in vulnerable rural areas. Particularly affected are countries across Asia where poverty, hunger and malnourishment affect a significant proportion of the population. Drawing on Sen’s entitlement theory, we argue that a shift in focus from national food production to intra-household food access enables a critical reflection on consumption smoothing strategies adopted at this level. In particular, we draw attention to the tendency for women and girls to eat less as an intra-household adaptation strategy. We present findings from our research in rural areas of Bangladesh and note that adaptation strategies adopted by households in response to food insecurity. We note that strategies designed to address food insecurity must include gender mainstreaming to ensure that women and...

Alcohol outlets tend to be located in lower income areas, exposing lower income populations to excess risks associated with alcohol sales through these establishments. The objective of this study was to test two hypotheses about the etiology of these differential exposures based on theories of the economic geography of retail markets: (a) outlets will locate within or near areas of high alcohol demand, and (b) outlets will be excluded from areas with high land and structure rents.Data from the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey were used to develop a surrogate for alcohol demand (i.e., market potential) at two census geographies for the city of Melbourne, Australia. Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson models estimated multilevel spatial relationships between counts of bars, restaurants, and off-premise outlets and market potential, income, and zoning ordinances (Level 1: n = 8,914).Market potentials were greatest in areas with larger older age, male, English-speaking, high-income populations. Independent of zoning characteristics, greater numbers of outlets appeared in areas with greater market potentials and the immediately surrounding areas. Greater income excluded outlets in local and surrounding areas.These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that alcohol outlets are located in areas with high demand and are excluded from high-income areas. These processes appear to take place at relatively small geographic scales, encourage the concentration of outlets in specific low-income areas, and represent a very general economic process likely to take place in communities throughout the world.

With the rapid aging population, the number of elderly passengers using bus services for daily travel will increase. Thus, it is increasingly more important for bus companies to understand the specific service requirements and expectations of elderly passengers. However, we are not aware of any dedicated studies on service requirement and travel satisfaction of the elderly. As an inclusive society is considered a key aspect of sustainable development, guaranteeing travel satisfaction is a sine qua non for sustainable transportation. Therefore, this study develops a customer satisfaction index (CSI) for the elderly. Assuming that perceived service quality affects passenger satisfaction, a structural equation model (SEM) is estimated to derive the importance of 10 dimensions of perceived service quality: reliability, time schedule, route characteristics, ticketing, driver service, convenience, safety and security, cleanliness, comfort, and information services. Furthermore, the effect of satisfaction on loyalty and filing complaints against the service company is examined. SEM is developed using data from a bus passenger survey, administered in 2017 in Harbin, China. The results show while some service dimensions such as time schedule and reliability are less important to the elderly (possibly due to their less strict time constraints) other dimensions such as service and security, convenience and driver service are in need of improvement due to the fact that they are very important for the elderly but their perceived performance from the elderly’s perspective is low.

High-density living in inner-urban areas has been promoted to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, previous research presents mixed results on the relationship between living in proximity to transport systems and reduced car-dependency. This research examines inner-city residents' transportation practices and perceptions, via 24 qualitative interviews with residents from high-density dwellings in inner-city Brisbane, Australia. Whilst participants consider public transport accessible and convenient, car use continues to be relied on for many journeys. Transportation choices are justified through complex definitions of convenience containing both utilitarian and psycho-social elements, with three key themes identified: time-efficiency, single versus multi-modal trips, and distance to and purpose of journey, as well as attitudinal, affective and symbolic elements related to transport mode use. Understanding conceptions of transport convenience held by different segments of the transport users market, alongside other factors strongly implicated in travel mode choice, can ensure targeted improvements in sustainable transport service levels and infrastructure as well as information service provision and behavioural change campaigns.

Abstract The primary objective of this paper is to make a connection between the Singapore story of land transport policy development and the pathway towards sustainable transport planning. Its innovation is to allow a parallel growth in motorization and public transit. The Singapore experience shows how a range of well-coordinated policies including efforts to control the number of cars in both ownership and usage, and at the same time increase the availability and rider-ship of public transit contribute to a sustainable transport system. The Singapore model provides a valuable reference for not only developing an alternative approach towards sustainable transport in countries where motorization is desired but also for understanding the various parameters important to the formulation of management policies. In particular, the paper contends the Singapore experience provides a model for Asian nations and cities.