Substrate nanopatterning by e-beam lithography to growth ordered arrays of III-nitride nanodetectors, white light emitters, and solar cells

III-nitride nanorods have attracted much scientific interest during the last decade because of their unique optical and electrical properties [1,2]. The high crystal quality and the absence of extended defects make them ideal candidates for the fabrication of high efficiency opto-electronic devices such as nano-photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells [1-3]. Nitride nanorods are commonly grown in the self-assembled mode by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) [4]. However, self-assembled nanorods are characterized by inhomogeneous heights and diameters, which render the device processing very difficult and negatively affect the electronic transport properties of the final device. For this reason, the selective area growth (SAG) mode has been proposed, where the nanorods preferentially grow with high order on pre-defined sites on a pre-patterned substrate

La Península Ibérica en el transporte masivo de mercancías entre Europa y África : futuras autopistas del mar

La competitividad del transporte de mercancías depende del estado y funcionamiento de las redes existentes y de sus infraestructuras, no del modo de transporte. En concreto, la rentabilidad o la reducción de los costes de producción del transporte marítimo se vería incrementado con el uso de buques de mayor capacidad y con el desarrollo de plataformas portuarias de distribución o puertos secos, ya que el 90% del comercio entre la Unión Europea y terceros países se realiza a través de sus puertos a un promedio de 3,2 billones de toneladas de mercancías manipuladas cada año y el 40% del tráfico intraeuropeo utiliza el transporte marítimo de corta distancia. A pesar de que los puertos europeos acogen anualmente a más de 400 millones de pasajeros, los grandes desarrollos se han producido en los puertos del norte de Europa (Róterdam, Amberes, Ámsterdam). Los países del Sur de Europa deben buscar nuevas fórmulas para ser más competitivos, ya sea mediante creación de nuevas infraestructuras o mediante refuerzo de las existentes, ofreciendo los costes de los puertos del Norte. El fomento del transporte marítimo y fluvial como alternativa al transporte por carretera, especialmente el transporte marítimo de corta distancia, ha sido impulsado por la Comisión Europea (CE) desde 2003 a través de programas de apoyo comunitario de aplicación directa a las Autopistas del Mar, a modo de ejemplo, cabría citar los programas Marco Polo I y II, los cuales contaron con una dotación presupuestaria total de 855 millones de euros para el período 2003 – 2013; en ese período de tiempo se establecieron objetivos de reducción de congestión vial y mejora del comportamiento medio ambiental del sistema de transporte de mercancías dentro de la comunidad y la potenciación de la intermodalidad. El concepto de Autopista del Mar surge en el Libro Blanco de Transportes de la Comisión Europea “La política europea de transportes de cara al 2010: La hora de la verdad” del 12 de diciembre de 2001, en el marco de una política europea para fomento y desarrollo de sistemas de transportes sostenibles. Las Autopistas del Mar consisten en rutas marítimas de corta distancia entre dos puntos, de menor distancia que por vía terrestre, en las que a través del transporte intermodal mejoran significativamente los tiempos y costes de la cadena logística, contribuyen a la reducción de accidentes, ruidos y emisiones de CO2 a la atmósfera, permite que los conductores pierdan horas de trabajo al volante y evita el deterioro de las infraestructuras terrestres, con el consiguiente ahorro en mantenimiento. La viabilidad de una Autopista del Mar depende tanto de factores de ubicación geográficos, como de características propias del puerto, pasando por los diferentes requerimientos del mercado en cada momento (energéticos, medio ambientales y tecnológicos). Existe un elemento nuevo creado por la Comisión Europea: la red transeuropea de transportes (RTE-T). En el caso de España, con sus dos accesos por los Pirineos (La Junquera e Irún) como únicos pasos terrestres de comunicación con el continente y con importantes limitaciones ferroviarias debido a los tres anchos de vía distintos, le resta competitividad frente al conjunto europeo; por el contrario, España es el país europeo con más kilómetros de costa (con más de 8.000 km) y con un emplazamiento geográfico estratégico, lo que le convierte en una plataforma logística para todo el sur de Europa, por lo que las Autopistas del Mar tendrán un papel importante y casi obligado para el desarrollo de los grandes corredores marítimos que promueve Europa. De hecho, Gijón y Vigo lo han hecho muy bien con sus respectivas líneas definidas como Autopistas del Mar y que conectan con el puerto francés de Nantes-Saint Nazaire, ya que desde ahí los camiones pueden coger rutas hacia el Norte. Paralelamente, la Unión Europea ha iniciado los pasos para el impulso de la primera Autopista del Mar que conectará España con el mercado de Reino Unido, concretamente los Puertos de Bilbao y Tilbury. Además, España e Italia sellaron un acuerdo internacional para desarrollar Autopistas del Mar entre ambos países, comprometiéndose a impulsar una docena de rutas entre puertos del litoral mediterráneo español y el italiano. Actualmente, están en funcionando los trayectos como Barcelona-Génova, Valencia-Civitavecchia y Alicante- Nápoles, notablemente más cortos por mar que por carretera. Bruselas identificó cuatro grandes corredores marítimos que podrían concentrar una alta densidad de tráfico de buques, y en dos de ellos España ya tenía desde un principio un papel crucial. La Comisión diseñó el 14 de abril de 2004, a través del proyecto West-Mos, una red de tráfico marítimo que tiene como vías fundamentales la denominada Autopista del Báltico (que enlaza Europa central y occidental con los países bálticos), la Autopista de Europa suroriental (que une el Adriático con el Jónico y el Mediterráneo más oriental) y también la Autopista de Europa occidental y la Autopista de Europa suroccidental (que enlazan España con Reino Unido y la Francia atlántica y con la Francia mediterránea e Italia, respectivamente). Para poder establecer Autopistas del Mar entre la Península Ibérica y el Norte de Europa primará especialmente la retirada de camiones en la frontera pirenaica, donde el tráfico pesado tiene actualmente una intensidad media diaria de 8.000 unidades, actuando sobre los puntos de mayor congestión, como por ejemplo los Alpes, los Pirineos, el Canal de la Mancha, las carreteras fronterizas de Francia y Euskadi, y proponiendo el traslado de las mercancías en barcos o en trenes. Por su parte, para contar con los subsidios y apoyos europeos las rutas seleccionadas como Autopistas del Mar deben mantener una serie de criterios de calidad relacionados con la frecuencia, coste “plataforma logística a plataforma logística”, simplicidad en procedimientos administrativos y participación de varios países, entre otros. Los estudios consideran inicialmente viables los tramos marítimos superiores a 450 millas, con un volumen de unas 15.000 plataformas al año y que dispongan de eficientes comunicaciones desde el puerto a las redes transeuropeas de autopistas y ferrocarril. Otro objetivo de las Autopistas del Mar es desarrollar las capacidades portuarias de forma que se puedan conectar mejor las regiones periféricas a escala del continente europeo. En lo que a Puertos se refiere, las terminales en los muelles deben contar con una línea de atraque de 250 m., un calado superior a 8 m., una rampa “ro-ro” de doble calzada, grúas portainer, y garantizar operatividad para un mínimo de dos frecuencias de carga semanales. El 28 de marzo de 2011 se publicó el segundo Libro Blanco sobre el futuro del transporte en Europa “Hoja de ruta hacia un espacio único europeo de transporte: por una política de transportes competitiva y sostenible”, donde se definió el marco general de las acciones a emprender en los próximos diez años en el ámbito de las infraestructuras de transporte, la legislación del mercado interior, la reducción de la dependencia del carbono, la tecnología para la gestión del tráfico y los vehículos limpios, así como la estandarización de los distintos mercados. Entre los principales desafíos se encuentran la eliminación de los cuellos de botella y obstáculos diversos de nuestra red europea de transporte, minimizar la dependencia del petróleo, reducir las emisiones de GEI en un 60% para 2050 con respecto a los niveles de 1990 y la inversión en nuevas tecnologías e infraestructuras que reduzcan estas emisiones de transporte en la UE. La conexión entre la UE y el norte de África provoca elevados niveles de congestión en los puntos más críticos del trayecto: frontera hispano-francesa, corredor del Mediterráneo y el paso del estrecho. A esto se le añade el hecho de que el sector del transporte por carretera está sujeto a una creciente competencia de mercado motivada por la eliminación de las barreras europeas, mayores exigencias de los cargadores, mayores restricciones a los conductores y aumento del precio del gasóleo. Por otro lado, el mercado potencial de pasajeros tiene una clara diferenciación en tipos de flujos: los flujos en el período extraordinario de la Operación Paso del Estrecho (OPE), enfocado principalmente a marroquíes que vuelven a su país de vacaciones; y los flujos en el período ordinario, enfocado a la movilidad global de la población. Por tanto, lo que se pretende conseguir con este estudio es analizar la situación actual del tráfico de mercancías y pasajeros con origen o destino la península ibérica y sus causas, así como la investigación de las ventajas de la creación de una conexión marítima (Autopista del Mar) con el Norte de África, basándose en los condicionantes técnicos, administrativos, económicos, políticos, sociales y medio ambientales. The competitiveness of freight transport depends on the condition and operation of existing networks and infrastructure, not the mode of transport. In particular, profitability could be increased or production costs of maritime transport could be reduced by using vessels with greater capacity and developing port distribution platforms or dry ports, seeing as 90% of trade between the European Union and third countries happens through its ports. On average 3,2 billion tonnes of freight are handled annualy and 40% of intra-European traffic uses Short Sea Shipping. In spite of European ports annually hosting more than 400 million passengers, there have been major developments in the northern European ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp, Amsterdam). Southern European countries need to find new ways to be more competitive, either by building new infrastructure or by strengthening existing infrastructure, offering costs northern ports. The use of maritime and river transport as an alternative to road transport, especially Short Sea Shipping, has been driven by the European Commission (EC) from 2003 through community support programs for the Motorways of the Sea. These programs include, for example, the Marco Polo I and II programs, which had a total budget of 855 million euros for the period 2003-2013. During this time objectives were set for reducing road congestion, improving the environmental performance of the freight transport system within the community and enhancing intermodal transport. The “Motorway of the Sea” concept arises in the European Commission’s Transport White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide" on 12 December 2001, as part of a European policy for the development and promotion of sustainable transport systems. A Motorway of the Sea is defined as a short sea route between two points, covering less distance than by road, which provides a significant improvement in intermodal transport times and to the cost supply chain. It contributes to reducing accidents, noise and CO2 emissions, allows drivers to shorten their driving time and prevents the deterioration of land infrastructure thereby saving on maintenance costs. The viability of a Motorway of the Sea depends as much on geographical location factors as on characteristics of the port, taking into account the different market requirements at all times (energy, environmental and technological). There is a new element created by the European Commission: the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). In the case of Spain, with its two access points in the Pyrenees (La Junquera and Irun) as the only land crossings connected to the mainland and major railway limitations due to the three different gauges, it appears less competitive compared to Europe as a whole. However, Spain is the European country with the most kilometers of coastline (over 8,000 km) and a strategic geographical location, which makes it a logistics platform for the all of Southern Europe. This is why the Motorways of the Sea will have an important role, and an almost necessary one to develop major maritime corridors that Europe supports. In fact, Gijon and Vigo have done very well with their respective sea lanes defined as Motorways of the Sea and which connect with the French port of Nantes-Saint Nazaire, as from there trucks can use nort-heading routes. In parallel, the European Union has taken the first steps to boost the first Motorway of the Sea linking Spain to the UK market, specifically the ports of Bilbao and Tilbury. Furthermore, Spain and Italy sealed an international agreement to develop Motorways of the Sea between both countries, pledging to develop a dozen routes between ports on the Spanish and Italian Mediterranean coasts. Currently, there are sea lanes already in use such as Barcelona-Genova, Valencia-Civitavecchia and Alicante-Naples, these are significantly shorter routes by sea than by road. Brussels identified four major maritime corridors that could hold heavy concentrate shipping traffic, and Spain had a crucial role in two of these from the beginning. On 14 April 2004 the Commission planned through the West-Mos project, a network of maritime traffic which includes the essential sea passages the so-called Baltic Motorway (linking Central and Western Europe with the Baltic countries), the southeast Europe Motorway (linking the Adriatic to the Ionian and eastern Mediterranean Sea), the Western Europe Motorway and southwestern Europe Motorway (that links Spain with Britain and the Atlantic coast of France and with the French Mediterranean coast and Italy, respectively). In order to establish Motorways of the Sea between the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Europe especially, it is necessary to remove trucks from the Pyrenean border, where sees heavy traffic (on average 8000 trucks per day) and addressing the points of greatest congestion, such as the Alps, the Pyrenees, the English Channel, the border roads of France and Euskadi, and proposing the transfer of freight on ships or trains. For its part, in order to receive subsidies and support from the European Commission, the routes selected as Motorways of the Sea should maintain a series of quality criteria related to frequency, costs "from logistics platform to logistics platform," simplicity in administrative procedures and participation of several countries, among others. To begin with, studies consider viable a maritime stretch of at least 450 miles with a volume of about 15,000 platforms per year and that have efficient connections from port to trans-European motorways and rail networks. Another objective of the Motorways of the Sea is to develop port capacity so that they can better connect peripheral regions across the European continent. Referring ports, the terminals at the docks must have a berthing line of 250 m., a draft greater than 8 m, a dual carriageway "ro-ro" ramp, portainer cranes, and ensure operability for a minimum of two loads per week. On 28 March 2011 the second White Paper about the future of transport in Europe "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system" was published. In this Paper the general framework of actions to be undertaken in the next ten years in the field of transport infrastructure was defined, including internal market legislation, reduction of carbon dependency, traffic management technology and clean vehicles, as well as the standardization of different markets. The main challenges are how to eliminate bottlenecks and various obstacles in our European transport network, minimize dependence on oil, reduce GHG emissions by 60% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels and encourage investment in new technologies and infrastructure that reduce EU transport emissions. The connection between the EU and North Africa causes high levels of congestion on the most critical points of the journey: the Spanish-French border, the Mediterranean corridor and Gibraltar Strait. In addition to this, the road transport sector is subject to increased market competition motivated by the elimination of European barriers, greater demands of shippers, greater restrictions on drivers and an increase in the price of diesel. On the other hand, the potential passenger market has a clear differentiation in type of flows: flows in the special period of the Crossing the Straits Operation (CSO), mainly focused on Moroccans who return home on vacation; and flows in the regular session, focused on the global mobile population. Therefore, what I want to achieve with this study is present an analysis of the current situation of freight and passengers to or from the Iberian Peninsula and their causes, as well as present research on the advantages of creating a maritime connection (Motorways of the Sea) with North Africa, based on the technical, administrative, economic, political, social and environmental conditions.

Study of PM10 and PM2.5 levels in three European cities: Analysis of intra and inter urban variations

In the present paper, 1-year PM10 and PM 2.5 data from roadside and urban background monitoring stations in Athens (Greece), Madrid (Spain) and London (UK) are analysed in relation to other air pollutants (NO,NO2,NOx,CO,O3 and SO2)and several meteorological parameters (wind velocity, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, solar radiation and atmospheric pressure), in order to investigate the sources and factors affecting particulate pollution in large European cities. Principal component and regression analyses are therefore used to quantify the contribution of both combustion and non-combustion sources to the PM10 and PM 2.5 levels observed. The analysis reveals that the EU legislated PM 10 and PM2.5 limit values are frequently breached, forming a potential public health hazard in the areas studied. The seasonal variability patterns of particulates varies among cities and sites, with Athens and Madrid presenting higher PM10 concentrations during the warm period and suggesting the larger relative contribution of secondary and natural particles during hot and dry days. It is estimated that the contribution of non-combustion sources varies substantially among cities, sites and seasons and ranges between 38-67% and 40-62% in London, 26-50% and 20-62% in Athens, and 31-58% and 33-68% in Madrid, for both PM10 and PM 2.5. Higher contributions from non-combustion sources are found at urban background sites in all three cities, whereas in the traffic sites the seasonal differences are smaller. In addition, the non-combustion fraction of both particle metrics is higher during the warm season at all sites. On the whole, the analysis provides evidence of the substantial impact of non-combustion sources on local air quality in all three cities. While vehicular exhaust emissions carry a large part of the risk posed on human health by particle exposure, it is most likely that mitigation measures designed for their reduction will have a major effect only at traffic sites and additional measures will be necessary for the control of background levels. However, efforts in mitigation strategies should always focus on optimal health effects.

Optimization of urban mobility measures to achieve win-win strategies

European cities are essential in the development of Europe as they constitute the living environment of more than 60% of the population in the European Union and are drivers of the European economy – just under 85% of the EU’s gross domestic product is produced in urban areas (EC, 2007a). The car has been one of the main factors of development during the 20th century, but it is at the same time the origin of the key problems cities have to face: traffic increase. This has resulted in chronic congestion with many adverse consequences such as air pollution and noise. This loss of environmental quality is one of the reasons for urban sprawl in European cities during recent decades. But this urban sprawl at the same time worsens the environmental conditions. We must return to the dense city, but clean and competitive, and this implies reducing car use yet provides quality transport alternatives sufficient to recover and maintain the competitiveness of cities (EC, 2007a). Consequently, European cities need to establish an urban transport strategy which helps reduce their environmental problems –mainly emissions and noise – but without decreasing their trip attraction. This aspect is very important because a loss of trip attraction would result in an increase of people moving to more disperse areas, contributing towards worsening the current situation. This thesis is an attempt to contribute solutions to this problem in two ways: 1) The first is to analyze the complementarity and possible synergies of several urban transport measures aimed at improving a modal split to a more sustainable means of transport. This analysis will focus on the three aspects already mentioned: emissions, noise and attractiveness or competitiveness. 2) Once possible synergies and complementarities have been analyzed, the second objective is to propose the best combination of these measures, in terms of level of implementation, to achieve the maximum benefit with respect to the three aspects previously established: emissions, noise and attractiveness or competitiveness. Therefore, within the wide range of measures enhancing sustainable urban transport, three of them have been be selected in this thesis to establish a methodology for achieving these objectives. The analysis will be based on the region of Madrid, which is also the case study selected for this research. Las ciudades europeas son piezas fundamentales para el desarrollo europeo, ya que son el lugar de residencia de más del 60% de la población de la unión europea así como los motores de su economía – casi el 85% del PIB europeo se produce en áreas urbanas (EC, 2007a). El coche ha sido uno de los principales motores de desarrollo de las ciudades durante el siglo XX, pero se ha terminado por convertir a su vez en uno de los principales problemas con los que tiene que lidiar las ciudades: el aumento del tráfico. Esto ha derivado en unos niveles crónicos de congestión, con multitud de efectos adversos, entre los que cabe destacar la contaminación del aire y el ruido. Esta pérdida de calidad ambiental es una de las razones que ha propiciado la dispersión urbana que han experimentado las ciudades europeas en las últimas décadas. Pero esta dispersión urbana a su vez contribuye a empeorar las condiciones ambientales de las ciudades. Debemos retornar a la ciudad densa, pero limpia y competitiva, y esto implica reducir el uso del coche, pero proporcionando alternativas de transporte que permitan recuperar y mantener la competitividad de las ciudades (EC, 2007a). Por lo tanto, las ciudades europeas necesitan encontrar una estrategia de transporte urbano que ayude a reducir sus problemas medio ambientales – principalmente ruido y emisiones – pero sin hacerlas perder atractividad o competitividad. Este aspecto tiene gran importancia porque una pérdida de la misma se traduciría en un aumento de dispersión de la población hacia áreas periféricas, contribuyendo a empeorar la situación actual. Esta tesis contribuye a solucionar este problema de dos maneras: 1) La primera, analizando la complementariedad y posibles sinergias de diferentes medidas de transporte urbano orientadas a promover un reparto modal hacia modos más sostenibles. Este análisis se centrará en los tres aspectos anteriormente citados: emisiones, ruido y atractividad o competitividad. 2) Una vez las posibles sinergias y complementariedades se han analizado, el segundo objetivo es proponer la mejor combinación de estas medidas – en términos de grado de aplicación - para lograr el máximo beneficio en lo que respecta a los tres objetivos previamente establecidos. Para ello, en esta tesis se han seleccionado una serie de medidas que permitan establecer una metodología para alcanzar estos objetivos previamente definidos. El análisis se centra en la ciudad de Madrid y su área metropolitana, la cual se ha escogido como caso de estudio para realizar esta investigación.

Building the qualification and a skill development program within the ENEN-III European Project

The ENEN III project covers the structuring, organization, coordination and implementation of training schemes in cooperation with local, national and international training organizations, to provide training to professionals active in nuclear organizations or their contractors and sub-contractors. The training schemes provide a portfolio of courses, training sessions, seminars, and workshops for continuous learning for upgrading knowledge and developing skills. The training schemes allow individuals to acquire qualifications and skills, as required by the specific positions in the nuclear sector which will be documented in a training passport. The essence of such passport is to be recognized within the EU by the whole nuclear sector which provides mobility to the individual looking for employment and an EU wide recruitment field for the nuclear employers.

A comparative analysis of ABE Bachelor of Science programs in European and US Universities.

European Universities are involved in series of great changes regarding teaching and education organization during the last few years. The origin of these changes is the creation of the so-called European Higher Education Area (EHEA), which main target is to harmonize the different University studies throughout Europe. As a consequence, most of the programs of studies in all degrees are suffering changes in order to converge to common structures. Taking advantage of the actual process, some European universities are moving from traditional Agricultural Engineering programs to a more wide discipline named recently as Biosystems Engineering, which is a science- based engineering discipline that integrates engineering science and design with applied biological, environmental and agricultural sciences, broadening in this way the area of application of Engineering sciences not strictly to agricultural sciences, but to the biologic al sciences in general, including the agricultural sciences. This paper presents a comparative study of different Bachelor of Science degrees offered by American and European Universities in the field of Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering. To carry out the analysis 40 programs accredited by ABET in American Universities and 50 European programs. Among other questions, the total number of credits, the number of semesters, the kind of modules and the distribution of subjects in groups (Basic Sciences, Engineering Fundamentals, Agricultural/Biological Sciences, Humanities & Economic Sciences, Applied Agricultural/Biological Engineering and electives) are discussed in the paper. The information provided can be an useful starting point in future definitions of new or renewed degrees with the aim of advancing in internationalization of the programs and helping student’s mobility.

Urban built environment analysis: evidence from a mobility survey in Madrid

Applications involving travel behavior from the perspective of land use are dating from the 1990s. Usually, four important components are distinguished: density, diversity and design (3D?s of Cervero and Kockelman) and accessibility (introduced by Geurs and van Wee). But there is not a general agreement on how to measure each of those 4 components. Density is used to be measured as population and employment densities, but others authors separate population density between residential and building densities. A lot of measures have been developed to estimate diversity: among others, a dissimilarity index to indicate the degree to which different land uses lie within one another?s surrounding, an entropy index to quantify the degree of balance across various land use types or proximities to commercial-retail uses. Design has been characterized by site design, and dwelling and street characteristics. Lastly, accessibility has become a frequently used concept, but its meaning on travel behavior field always refers to the ability ?to reach activities or locations by means of a travel mode?, measured as accessibility to jobs, to leisure activities, and others. Furthermore, the previous evidence is mainly based on US data or on north European countries. Therefore, this paper adds some new evidence from a Spanish perspective to the research debate. Through a Madrid smartphone-based survey, factor analysis is used to linearly combine variables into the 3D?s and accessibility dimensions of the built environment. At a first step for future investigations, land use variables will be treated to define accurately the previous 4 components.

Planning and Management of Mobility in Natural Protected Areas

The paper describes some relevant results of an on-going research aiming to elaborate a methodology to help the mobility management in natural parks, compatible with their protection missions: it has been developed a procedure to reproduce the mobility-environment relationships in various operational conditions. The final purpose is the identification of: a) the effects of various choices in transport planning, both at long term and strategic level; b) the most effective policies of mobility management. The work is articulated in the following steps: 1) definition of protected area on the basis of ecological and socio-economic criteria and legislative constraints; 2) analysis of mobility needs in the protected areas; 3) reconstruction of the state of the art of mobility management in natural parks at European level; 4) analysis of used traffic flows measurement methods; 5) analysis of environmental impacts due to transport systems modelling (air pollution and noise only); 6) identification of mitigation measures to be potentially applied. The whole methodology has been tested and validated on Italian case studies: i) the concerned area has been zoned according to the land-use peculiarities; ii) the local situations of transport infrastructure (roads and parking), services (public transport systems) and rules (traffic regulations) have been mapped with references to physical and functional attributes; iii) the mobility, both systematic and touristic, has been represented in an origin-destination matrix. By means of an assignment model the flows have been distributed and the corresponding average speeds to quantify gaseous and noise emissions was calculated, the criticalities in the reference scenario have been highlighted, as well as some alternative scenarios, including both operational and infrastructural measures have been identified. The comparison between projects and reference scenario allowed the quantification of effects (variation of emissions) for each scenario and a selection of the most effective management actions to be taken.

Planning and management of mobility in natural protected areas

The final purpose is the identification of: a) the effects of various choices in transport planning, both at long term and strategic level; b) the most effective policies of mobility management. The preliminary work was articulated in the following steps: 1) definition of protected area on the basis of ecological and socio-economic criteria and legislative constraints; 2) analysis of mobility needs in the protected areas; 3) reconstruction of the state of the art of mobility management in natural parks at European level; 4) analysis of used traffic flows measurement methods; 5) analysis of environmental impacts due to transport systems modelling (limited to air pollution and noise); 6) identification of mitigation measures to the potentially applied. The whole methodology has been firstly tested on the case study of the National Park of ?Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga? and further validated on the National Park of ?Gargano?, both located Italy: i) the concerned area has been zoned according to the land-use peculiarities; ii) the local situations of transport infrastructure (roads and parking), services (public transport systems) and rules (traffic regulations) have been mapped with references to physical and functional attributes; iii) the mobility, both systematic and touristic, has been synthetically represented in an origin-destination matrix. By means of an assignment model it has been determined the distribution of flows and the corresponding average speeds to quantify gaseous and noise emissions. On this basis the environmental criticalities in the reference scenario have been highlighted, as well as some alternative scenarios including both operational and infrastructural measures have been identified. The comparison between the projects and the reference scenario allowed the quantification of the effects (variation of emissions) for each scenario and a selection of the most effective management actions to be taken.

A CO2-saving-based methodology to measure the impact of the SUMP in European Cities: Application to the City of Burgos

Urban mobility in Europe is always a responsibility of the municipalities which propose measures to reduce CO2 emissions in terms of mobility aimed at reducing individual private transport (car). The European Commission's Action Plan on Urban Mobility calls for an increase in the take-up of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Europe. SUMPs aim to create a sustainable urban transport system. Europe has got some long term initiatives and has been using some evaluation procedures, many of them through European projects. Nevertheless, the weak point with the SUMPs in Spain, has been the lack of concern about the evaluation and the effectiveness of the measures implemented in a SUMP. For this reason, it is difficult to know exactly whether or not the SUMPs have positively influenced in the modal split of the cities, and its contribution to reduce CO2 levels. The case of the City of Burgos is a very illustrative example as it developed a CiViTAS project during the years 2005-2009, with a total investment of 6M?. The results have been considered as ?very successful? even at European level. The modal split has changed considerably for better, The cost-effectiveness ratio of the SUMP in the city can be measured with the CO2 ton saved, specifically 36 ? per CO2 ton saved, which is fully satisfactory and in line with calculations from other European researchers. Additionally, the authors propose a single formula to measure the effectiveness of the activities developed under the umbrella of a SUMP.