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This paper serves as an introduction to this special issue on new developments in urban transportation planning. The papers in this issue highlight how physical mobility is still an essential priority for urban life, but that there are associated costs in the terms of environmental impacts, quality of life and economic performance of cities. Four features of the emerging urban transportation field are identified. The first defining feature is that it is a discipline in the midst of a paradigmatic transition. Second is its overarching aim of achieving sustainable urban mobility as part of a broader effort towards enhancing quality of life in cities. The third feature is the emphasis on collaboration, integration and exchange with other professions and policy sectors. The last distinctive feature is the recognition that urban transportation planning is a communication-oriented activity.

An integrated software tool environment is presented, and a methodology is proposed for the operational support of the local authority, for analysis of the impact of transport measures in terms of network energy consumption and pollutant emissions. It is based on work done by the European Union within the save program (speci®c actions for vigorous energy eciency)ÐSlam project (supporting local authorities methodology). As background, the Slam project is described, with the principal aspects and needs of environmental and trac network management. The central section de®nes a methodology able to support technicians in recognizing the trac asset and decision makers in evaluating interventions on urban transport infrastructures or technological systems. The role of the di€erent models and their interactions with the transport telematics services currently active on the Florence (Italy) network is discussed. Finally, the procedure for calculating the trac impacts on energy consumption is described with the help of a test case, the evaluation of a dedicated bus corridor in Florence. # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT Many studies consider substitution of aircraft services with high-speed train (HST) services on short-haul routes desirable for environmental reasons. This paper empirically examined this perception by evaluating local air pollution (LAP) and climate change impacts from a flight and an HST service between London and Paris. Comparing the emissions, the impact, and the cost of damage from the aircraft journey with the HST journey, it was found that substituting an aircraft seat with an HST seat is beneficial. These benefits are likely to occur on all routes on which aircraft and HST substitution is likely to take place. Despite the many limitations in the evaluation of environmental impact, the analysis suggests that such an evaluation is valuable and provides important information.

In most parts of the world, strikingly small amounts of turnover in the building and construction industry (BCI) are used for R&D as compared to other industries. Despite the apparent difficulties with introducing new technologies in the construction sector, there are success stories as well. One of these concerns the introduction of solar energy systems in the Sydney Olympic Village, which represents a remarkable case of network knowledge renewal, involving competence development among a range of actors in the industry. We follow this case and identify a set of key success factors. Selection of technologies with proven track records, careful network configuration and management and a strong emphasis on knowledge dissemination are important factors for mobilising resources and convincing actors to adopt new recipes for construction.