This paper examines the determinants of air traffic volume in the major European urban regions, distinguishing those that depend on the metropolitan features of cities from those that implement strategies pursued by airlines and governments. This distinction is made by drawing on the homogeneous data that make international comparisons possible. The number of inhabitants, the importance of the functions of economic decision-making and of tourism, and the distance from a major airport account for about two-thirds of the localisation of air service. The other third is attributable in part to the specificities of the urban economy, to the strategies pursued by governments and airlines and to competition from high-speed trains.
A High Speed Rail line serving a downtown often gives birth to an important development of office & corporate real estate programs around the central station in which business services firms are expected to flourish. The aim is here therefore to identify the exact role of the High Speed Rail line in the location choice of these firms and consequently its role in the attractiveness of served territories. From a theoretical point of view, we show that we have to reason not only in terms of location demand of these firms, but also in terms of real estate offer. Thus, the High Speed Rail Line is seldom, in itself, a location factor. But, it triggers a dynamic of real estate supply which explains the quick development of firm settlement around the TGV stations located near the downtown. This theoretical framework is illustrated by the results of an empirical survey on firms located next to the central station in Rheims. Its results show clearly that the use of the high-speed rail do not explain directly these locations. By the effect of the mental picture it produces, it generates real estate investments. Moreover, if these real estate programs quickly find buyers, this corresponds most often to an internal relocation demand into the agglomeration and less to locations of outside firms.
The relationship between transport infrastructure and local development has been the subject of many controversies. If the systematic character of the effects has been questioned and the need for accompanying strategies emphasized, the latter ones are not a sufficient condition. However, in some cases, there is a relationship between infrastructure existence and local development. The aim of this article is to clarify the conditions under which this relationship might exist by using economic analyses of services. Transport infrastructures are then analyzed through the service offer which is directly associated to their presence (transport or logistic services) or indirectly (additional services production). But beyond the services themsel-ves, we propose to analyze the conditions of their production which can, according to us, facilitate their appropriation by local actors. More specifically, we wish to emphasize the relational innovations importance (new relations between the actors) in the production process of these services. These possible relational innovations (like co-operation between various public actors and/or various private actors and/or public and private actors) seem to be central in the possible positive effects of the infra-structures. This theoretical framework is then confronted with two cases: a multimodal logistic platform in Dourges and a high speed rail service in Reims.
The analysis of the spatial dimensions of the canal “Seine-North Europe” being built between Seine basin and those of north-west Europe is an interesting opportunity for study again these aspects of such a large building project. It also allows to discuss one more time some methodological locks already examined in earlier studies but renewed by more knowledge needs.
A new political space is emerging in Europe at the alpine scale. It tends to be structured around the issue of transalpine transit traffic, which has facilitated the gradual creation of a common and shared policy within the Alpine region. This paper analyzes the conditions and the challenges of an emerging geopolitical space around the Alps on the basis of two case studies. The first one deals with the project of a new railway link connecting Italy to France across the Alps, from Turin to Lyon. The significance of a major infra-structure project can be measured not only in terms of the amount of investment necessary for its construction, but also by analysing the project from a more political point of view. Actually, the definition of a great transport project often afford an interesting opportunity to launch a large debate on themes such as territorial planning and general aims and impacts of a transport policy. In such conditions, these projects provide an opportunity for new ideas and new knowledge to be raised and to enter the political decision-making process. Consequently, they often result in a change of political priorities, problems at stake and finding solutions within the transport political agendas. By analysing the evolution of the strategic goals that the Lyon-Turin project has integrated over time, this paper shows the emerging of an alpine dimension within the transportation policy debated in France and in Italy. The second case study supplements and enlarges […]
Since the end of 1980’s, own account transport has sizeable decreased, regulation could be one of the reasons of this reduction. Nevertheless, own account transport is still used in intraregional trade. Average distances are almost the same that in 1980’s. Average distances have little varied as showed results of a recent survey. A classification of regions by products transported by own account transport show diversity of its utilization. Then, utilization of own account transport is different according to regions regardless the structure of their activity. The specificity of products isn’t only the factor of utilization of own account transport.
The ‘100% scanning’ law, or House Resolution One (H.R. 1), aims to protect U.S. territory against terrorist risks likely to affect the global logistic chain. A unilateral step, it may be perceived as a disguised protectionist measure which would transfer the risk of ‘seacurity’ to its partners, particularly if the principle of reciprocity does not apply. In this changing economic (over 500 million containers handled in 2008, under 0.5% of which are currently scanned) and regulatory context (following the SAFE framework of standards developed by the World Customs Organization), this paper provides an analysis of the likely impacts of this law. The first part begins by examining the reactions to the introduction of the law and we draw upon official and operational responses to the scanning requirements from several international bodies and based upon some of the trials that have been carried out in several ports by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. We also add the results of a survey of a sample of port authorities that the authors undertook for the WCO which focuses on an appraisal of the global cost of a scanned container and we broaden this evidence by considering the actual.