A general framework to testing the effect of transport policy measures to achieve a modal shift: a sequental hybrid model

In order to achieve to minimize car-based trips, transport planners have been particularly interested in understanding the factors that explain modal choices. In the transport modelling literature there has been an increasing awareness that socioeconomic attributes and quantitative variables are not sufficient to characterize travelers and forecast their travel behavior. Recent studies have also recognized that users? social interactions and land use patterns influence travel behavior, especially when changes to transport systems are introduced, but links between international and Spanish perspectives are rarely deal. In this paper, factorial and path analyses through a Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Cause (MIMIC) model are used to understand and describe the relationship between the different psychological and environmental constructs with social influence and socioeconomic variables. The MIMIC model generates Latent Variables (LVs) to be incorporated sequentially into Discrete Choice Models (DCM) where the levels of service and cost attributes of travel modes are also included directly to measure the effect of the transport policies that have been introduced in Madrid during the last three years in the context of the economic crisis. The data used for this paper are collected from a two panel smartphone-based survey (n=255 and 190 respondents, respectively) of Madrid.

Assessing the impact of adaptive accessibility on the optimal transport policy implementation by using an integrated land-use/transport model for Madrid

Accessibility is an essential concept widely used to evaluate the impact of land-use and transport strategies in transport and urban planning. Accessibility is typically evaluated by using a transport model or a land-use model independently or successively without a feedback loop, thus neglecting the interaction effects between the two systems and the induced competition effects among opportunities due to accessibility improvements. More than a mere methodological curiosity, failure to account for land- use/transport interactions and the competition effect may result in large underestimation of the policy effects. With the recent development of land-use and transport interaction (LUTI) models, there is a growing interest in using these models to adequately measure accessibility and evaluate its impact. The current study joins this research stream by embedding an accessibility measure in a LUTI model with two main aims. The first aim is to account for adaptive accessibility, namely the adjustment of the potential accessibility due to the effect of competition among opportunities (e.g., workplaces) as a result of improved accessibility. LUTI models are particularly suitable for assessing adaptive accessibility because the competition factor is a function of the number of jobs, which is related to land-use attractiveness and the number of workers which is related, among other factors, to the transport demand. The second aim is to identify the optimal implementation scenario of policy measures on the basis of the potential and adaptive accessibility and analyse the results in terms of social welfare and accessibility. The metropolitan area of Madrid is used as a case-study and two transport policy instruments, namely a cordon toll and bus frequency increase, have been chosen for the simulation study in order to present the usefulness of the approach to urban planners and policy makers. The MARS model (Metropolitan Activity Relocation Simulator) calibrated for Madrid was employed as the analysis tool. The impact of accessibility is embedded in the model through a social welfare function that includes not only costs and benefits to both road users and transport operators, but also costs and benefits for the government and society in general (external costs). An optimisation procedure is performed by the MARS model for maximizing the value of objective function in order to find the best (optimal) policy imp lementations intensity (i.e., price, frequency). Last, the two policy strategies are evaluated in terms of their accessibility. Results show that the accessibility with competition factor influences the optimal policy implementation level and also generates different results in terms of social welfare. In addition, mapping the difference between the potential and the adaptive accessibility indicators shows that the main changes occur in areas where there is a strong competition among land-use opportunities.

Assessing the accessibility impact of transport policy by a land-use and transport interaction model - The case of Madrid

Accessibility is an essential concept widely used to evaluate the impact of transport and land-use strategies in urban planning and policy making. Accessibility is typically evaluated by using separately a transport model or a land-use model. This paper embeds two accessibility indicators (i.e., potential and adaptive accessibility) in a land use and transport interaction (LUTI) model in order to assess transport policies implementation. The first aim is to define the adaptive accessibility, considering the competition factor at territorial level (e.g. workplaces and workers). The second aim is to identify the optimal implementation scenario of policy measures using potential and adaptive accessibility indicators. The analysis of the results in terms of social welfare and accessibility changes closes the paper. Two transport policy measures are applied in Madrid region: a cordon toll and increase bus frequency. They have been simulated through the MARS model (Metropolitan Activity Relocation Simulator, i.e. LUTI model). An optimisation procedure is performed by MARS for maximizing the value of the objective function in order to find the optimal policy implementation (first best). Both policy measures are evaluated in terms of accessibility. Results show that the introduction of the accessibility indicators (potential and adaptive) influence the optimal value of the toll price and bus frequency level, generating different results in terms of social welfare. Mapping the difference between potential and adaptive accessibility indicator shows that the main changes occur in areas where there is a strong competition among different land-use opportunities.

Integrated economic-hydrologic analysis of policy responses

Water is a vital resource, but also a critical limiting factor for economic and social development in many parts of the world. The recent rapid growth in human population and water use for social and economic development is increasing the pressure on water resources and the environment, as well as leading to growing conflicts among competing water use sectors (agriculture, urban, tourism, industry) and regions (Gleick et al., 2009; World Bank, 2006). In Spain, as in many other arid and semi-arid regions affected by drought and wide climate variability, irrigated agriculture is responsible for most consumptive water use and plays an important role in sustaining rural livelihoods (Varela-Ortega, 2007). Historically, the evolution of irrigation has been based on publicly-funded irrigation development plans that promoted economic growth and improved the socio-economic conditions of rural farmers in agrarian Spain, but increased environmental damage and led to excessive and inefficient exploitation of water resources (Garrido and Llamas, 2010; Varela-Ortega et al., 2010). Currently, water policies in Spain focus on rehabilitating and improving the efficiency of irrigation systems, and are moving from technocratic towards integrated water management strategies driven by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD).

A first approach to an axiomatic model of multi-measures

We establish an axiomatic model of multi-measures, capturing some classes of measures studied in the fuzzy sets literature, where they are applied to only one or two arguments.

Development of a methodology and tool to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on road transport emissions

The paper presents the main elements of a project entitled ICT-Emissions that aims at developing a novel methodology to evaluate the impact of ICT-related measures on mobility, vehicle energy consumption and CO2 emissions of vehicle fleets at the local scale, in order to promote the wider application of the most appropriate ICT measures. The proposed methodology combines traffic and emission modelling at micro and macro scales. These will be linked with interfaces and submodules which will be specifically designed and developed. A number of sources are available to the consortium to obtain the necessary input data. Also, experimental campaigns are offered to fill in gaps of information in traffic and emission patterns. The application of the methodology will be demonstrated using commercially available software. However, the methodology is developed in such a way as to enable its implementation by a variety of emission and traffic models. Particular emphasis is given to (a) the correct estimation of driver behaviour, as a result of traffic-related ICT measures, (b) the coverage of a large number of current vehicle technologies, including ICT systems, and (c) near future technologies such as hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. The innovative combination of traffic, driver, and emission models produces a versatile toolbox that can simulate the impact on energy and CO2 of infrastructure measures (traffic management, dynamic traffic signs, etc.), driver assistance systems and ecosolutions (speed/cruise control, start/stop systems, etc.) or a combination of measures (cooperative systems).The methodology is validated by application in the Turin area and its capacity is further demonstrated by application in real world conditions in Madrid and Rome.

Integrated assessment of policy interventions for promoting sustainable irrigation in semi-arid environments: A hydro-economic modeling approach

Sustaining irrigated agriculture to meet food production needs while maintaining aquatic ecosystems is at the heart of many policy debates in various parts of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly calling for integrated approaches, and policy-makers are progressively supporting the inclusion of ecological and social aspects in water management programs. This paper contributes to this policy debate by providing an integrated economic-hydrologic modeling framework that captures the socio-economic and environmental effects of various policy initiatives and climate variability. This modeling integration includes a risk-based economic optimization model and a hydrologic water management simulation model that have been specified for the Middle Guadiana basin, a vulnerable drought-prone agro-ecological area with highly regulated river systems in southwest Spain. Namely, two key water policy interventions were investigated: the implementation of minimum environmental flows (supported by the European Water Framework Directive, EU WFD), and a reduction in the legal amount of water delivered for irrigation (planned measure included in the new Guadiana River Basin Management Plan, GRBMP, still under discussion). Results indicate that current patterns of excessive water use for irrigation in the basin may put environmental flow demands at risk, jeopardizing the WFD s goal of restoring the ?good ecological status? of water bodies by 2015. Conflicts between environmental and agricultural water uses will be stressed during prolonged dry episodes, and particularly in summer low-flow periods, when there is an important increase of crop irrigation water requirements. Securing minimum stream flows would entail a substantial reduction in irrigation water use for rice cultivation, which might affect the profitability and economic viability of small rice-growing farms located upstream in the river. The new GRBMP could contribute to balance competing water demands in the basin and to increase economic water productivity, but might not be sufficient to ensure the provision of environmental flows as required by the WFD. A thoroughly revision of the basin s water use concession system for irrigation seems to be needed in order to bring the GRBMP in line with the WFD objectives. Furthermore, the study illustrates that social, economic, institutional, and technological factors, in addition to bio-physical conditions, are important issues to be considered for designing and developing water management strategies. The research initiative presented in this paper demonstrates that hydro-economic models can explicitly integrate all these issues, constituting a valuable tool that could assist policy makers for implementing sustainable irrigation policies.

Using floating car data to analyse the effects of ITS measures and eco-driving

The road transportation sector is responsible for around 25% of total man-made CO2 emissions worldwide. Considerable efforts are therefore underway to reduce these emissions using several approaches, including improved vehicle technologies, traffic management and changing driving behaviour. Detailed traffic and emissions models are used extensively to assess the potential effects of these measures. However, if the input and calibration data are not sufficiently detailed there is an inherent risk that the results may be inaccurate. This article presents the use of Floating Car Data to derive useful speed and acceleration values in the process of traffic model calibration as a means of ensuring more accurate results when simulating the effects of particular measures. The data acquired includes instantaneous GPS coordinates to track and select the itineraries, and speed and engine performance extracted directly from the on-board diagnostics system. Once the data is processed, the variations in several calibration parameters can be analyzed by comparing the base case model with the measure application scenarios. Depending on the measure, the results show changes of up to 6.4% in maximum speed values, and reductions of nearly 15% in acceleration and braking levels, especially when eco-driving is applied.

Assessment of innovative measures implemented in European bus systems using key performance indicators

This paper reports the results of the assessment of a range of measures implemented in bus systems in five European cities to improve the use of public transport by increasing its attractiveness and enhancing its image in urban areas. This research was conducted as part of the EBSF project (European Bus System of the Future) from 2008 to 2012. New buses (prototypes), new vehicle and infrastructure technologies, and operational best practices were introduced, all of which were combined in a system approach. The measures were assessed using multicriteria analysis to simultaneously evaluate a certain number of criteria that need to be aggregated. Each criterion is measured by one or more key performance indicators (KPI) calculated in two scenarios (reference scenario, with no measure implemented; and project scenario, with the implementation of some measures), in order to evaluate the difference in the KPI performance between the reference and project scenario. The results indicate that the measures produce a greater benefit in issues related to bus system productivity and customer satisfaction, with the greatest impact on aspects of perceptions of comfort, cleanliness and quality of service, information to passengers and environmental issues. The study also reveals that the implementation of several measures has greater social utility than very specific and isolated measures.

Diffusion of photovoltaic in Germany: roles of policy, system suppliers and adopters

In some countries photovoltaic (PV) technology is at a stage of development at which it can compete with conventional electricity sources. A case in point is Germany where PV market has reached a mature stage. As a manifest of this, the German government has recently reduced the feed-in-tariff, which had been the strongest driver of PV diffusion. This development raises a fundamental question: Why would potential adopters be motivated to adopt PV when feed-in tariff diminishes? The point of departure for the literature on diffusion of PV has been on the effect of subsidies but little attention has paid to adopter motives when the policy support is scaled down. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the adopter motives for photovoltaic applications. Anchored in an extensive exploratory case study we provide an encompassing explanation of roles of policy, adopters and system suppliers on diffusion of PV.

The environmental and economic effects of innovative measures in urban parcels delivery

The main scope of this research is to identify and evaluate solutions to redesign the parcels delivery logistic process to achieve higher level of quality, lower operational costs, energy consumptions and air pollution. The study is starting from the analysis of the delivery process managed by a leader company operating in Rome. Main delivery flows, personnel and fleet management costs, quality performances and environmental impacts are investigated. The results of this analysis are benchmarked with other European situations. On the basis of the feedback of this analysis, a set of operational measures, potentially able tackle the objectives, are identified and assessed by means of a simulative approach. The assessment is based on environmental and economic indicators allowing the comparison between new and reference scenarios from the viewpoints of the key players: operator, customer and Society. Moreover, the operational measures are combined into alternative packages by looking for the sets capable to maximize the benefits for the key players. The methodology, tested on Rome case study, is general and flexible enough to be extended to parcels delivery problem in different urban contexts, as well as to similar urban distribution problems (e.g. press, food, security, school)

Motivators for adoption of photovoltaic systems at grid parity: A case study from Southern Germany

In some countries, photovoltaic (PV) technology is at a stage of development at which it can compete with conventional electricity sources in terms of electricity generation costs, i.e., grid parity. A case in point is Germany, where the PV market has reached a mature stage, the policy support has scaled down and the diffusion rate of PV systems has declined. This development raises a fundamental question: what are the motives to adopt PV systems at grid parity? The point of departure for the relevant literature has been on the impact of policy support, adopters and, recently, local solar companies. However, less attention has been paid to the motivators for adoption at grid parity. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the diffusion of PV systems, explaining the impact of policy measures, adopters and system suppliers. Anchored in an extensive and exploratory case study in Germany, we provide a context-specific explanation to the motivations to adopt PV systems at grid parity.

Modelling the Impact of Built Environment, Geographical Scales and Latent Constructs On Individual Travel Behaviour

La relación entre la estructura urbana y la movilidad ha sido estudiada desde hace más de 70 años. El entorno urbano incluye múltiples dimensiones como por ejemplo: la estructura urbana, los usos de suelo, la distribución de instalaciones diversas (comercios, escuelas y zonas de restauración, parking, etc.). Al realizar una revisión de la literatura existente en este contexto, se encuentran distintos análisis, metodologías, escalas geográficas y dimensiones, tanto de la movilidad como de la estructura urbana. En este sentido, se trata de una relación muy estudiada pero muy compleja, sobre la que no existe hasta el momento un consenso sobre qué dimensión del entorno urbano influye sobre qué dimensión de la movilidad, y cuál es la manera apropiada de representar esta relación. Con el propósito de contestar estas preguntas investigación, la presente tesis tiene los siguientes objetivos generales: (1) Contribuir al mejor entendimiento de la compleja relación estructura urbana y movilidad. y (2) Entender el rol de los atributos latentes en la relación entorno urbano y movilidad. El objetivo específico de la tesis es analizar la influencia del entorno urbano sobre dos dimensiones de la movilidad: número de viajes y tipo de tour. Vista la complejidad de la relación entorno urbano y movilidad, se pretende contribuir al mejor entendimiento de la relación a través de la utilización de 3 escalas geográficas de las variables y del análisis de la influencia de efectos inobservados en la movilidad. Para el análisis se utiliza una base de datos conformada por tres tipos de datos: (1) Una encuesta de movilidad realizada durante los años 2006 y 2007. Se obtuvo un total de 943 encuestas, en 3 barrios de Madrid: Chamberí, Pozuelo y Algete. (2) Información municipal del Instituto Nacional de Estadística: dicha información se encuentra enlazada con los orígenes y destinos de los viajes recogidos en la encuesta. Y (3) Información georeferenciada en Arc-GIS de los hogares participantes en la encuesta: la base de datos contiene información respecto a la estructura de las calles, localización de escuelas, parking, centros médicos y lugares de restauración. Se analizó la correlación entre e intra-grupos y se modelizaron 4 casos de atributos bajo la estructura ordinal logit. Posteriormente se evalúa la auto-selección a través de la estimación conjunta de las elecciones de tipo de barrio y número de viajes. La elección del tipo de barrio consta de 3 alternativas: CBD, Urban y Suburban, según la zona de residencia recogida en las encuestas. Mientras que la elección del número de viajes consta de 4 categorías ordinales: 0 viajes, 1-2 viajes, 3-4 viajes y 5 o más viajes. A partir de la mejor especificación del modelo ordinal logit. Se desarrolló un modelo joint mixed-ordinal conjunto. Los resultados indican que las variables exógenas requieren un análisis exhaustivo de correlaciones con el fin de evitar resultados sesgados. ha determinado que es importante medir los atributos del BE donde se realiza el viaje, pero también la información municipal es muy explicativa de la movilidad individual. Por tanto, la percepción de las zonas de destino a nivel municipal es considerada importante. En el contexto de la Auto-selección (self-selection) es importante modelizar conjuntamente las decisiones. La Auto-selección existe, puesto que los parámetros estimados conjuntamente son significativos. Sin embargo, sólo ciertos atributos del entorno urbano son igualmente importantes sobre la elección de la zona de residencia y frecuencia de viajes. Para analizar la Propensión al Viaje, se desarrolló un modelo híbrido, formado por: una variable latente, un indicador y un modelo de elección discreta. La variable latente se denomina “Propensión al Viaje”, cuyo indicador en ecuación de medida es el número de viajes; la elección discreta es el tipo de tour. El modelo de elección consiste en 5 alternativas, según la jerarquía de actividades establecida en la tesis: HOME, no realiza viajes durante el día de estudio, HWH tour cuya actividad principal es el trabajo o estudios, y no se realizan paradas intermedias; HWHs tour si el individuo reaiza paradas intermedias; HOH tour cuya actividad principal es distinta a trabajo y estudios, y no se realizan paradas intermedias; HOHs donde se realizan paradas intermedias. Para llegar a la mejor especificación del modelo, se realizó un trabajo importante considerando diferentes estructuras de modelos y tres tipos de estimaciones. De tal manera, se obtuvieron parámetros consistentes y eficientes. Los resultados muestran que la modelización de los tours, representa una ventaja sobre la modelización de los viajes, puesto que supera las limitaciones de espacio y tiempo, enlazando los viajes realizados por la misma persona en el día de estudio. La propensión al viaje (PT) existe y es específica para cada tipo de tour. Los parámetros estimados en el modelo híbrido resultaron significativos y distintos para cada alternativa de tipo de tour. Por último, en la tesis se verifica que los modelos híbridos representan una mejora sobre los modelos tradicionales de elección discreta, dando como resultado parámetros consistentes y más robustos. En cuanto a políticas de transporte, se ha demostrado que los atributos del entorno urbano son más importantes que los LOS (Level of Service) en la generación de tours multi-etapas. la presente tesis representa el primer análisis empírico de la relación entre los tipos de tours y la propensión al viaje. El concepto Propensity to Travel ha sido desarrollado exclusivamente para la tesis. Igualmente, el desarrollo de un modelo conjunto RC-Number of trips basado en tres escalas de medida representa innovación en cuanto a la comparación de las escalas geográficas, que no había sido hecha en la modelización de la self-selection. The relationship between built environment (BE) and travel behaviour (TB) has been studied in a number of cases, using several methods - aggregate and disaggregate approaches - and different focuses – trip frequency, automobile use, and vehicle miles travelled and so on. Definitely, travel is generated by the need to undertake activities and obtain services, and there is a general consensus that urban components affect TB. However researches are still needed to better understand which components of the travel behaviour are affected most and by which of the urban components. In order to fill the gap in the research, the present dissertation faced two main objectives: (1) To contribute to the better understanding of the relationship between travel demand and urban environment. And (2) To develop an econometric model for estimating travel demand with urban environment attributes. With this purpose, the present thesis faced an exhaustive research and computation of land-use variables in order to find the best representation of BE for modelling trip frequency. In particular two empirical analyses are carried out: 1. Estimation of three dimensions of travel demand using dimensions of urban environment. We compare different travel dimensions and geographical scales, and we measure self-selection contribution following the joint models. 2. Develop a hybrid model, integrated latent variable and discrete choice model. The implementation of hybrid models is new in the analysis of land-use and travel behaviour. BE and TB explicitly interact and allow richness information about a specific individual decision process For all empirical analysis is used a data-base from a survey conducted in 2006 and 2007 in Madrid. Spatial attributes describing neighbourhood environment are derived from different data sources: National Institute of Statistics-INE (Administrative: municipality and district) and GIS (circular units). INE provides raw data for such spatial units as: municipality and district. The construction of census units is trivial as the census bureau provides tables that readily define districts and municipalities. The construction of circular units requires us to determine the radius and associate the spatial information to our households. The first empirical part analyzes trip frequency by applying an ordered logit model. In this part is studied the effect of socio-economic, transport and land use characteristics on two travel dimensions: trip frequency and type of tour. In particular the land use is defined in terms of type of neighbourhoods and types of dwellers. Three neighbourhood representations are explored, and described three for constructing neighbourhood attributes. In particular administrative units are examined to represent neighbourhood and circular – unit representation. Ordered logit models are applied, while ordinal logit models are well-known, an intensive work for constructing a spatial attributes was carried out. On the other hand, the second empirical analysis consists of the development of an innovative econometric model that considers a latent variable called “propensity to travel”, and choice model is the choice of type of tour. The first two specifications of ordinal models help to estimate this latent variable. The latent variable is unobserved but the manifestation is called “indicators”, then the probability of choosing an alternative of tour is conditional to the probability of latent variable and type of tour. Since latent variable is unknown we fit the integral over its distribution. Four “sets of best variables” are specified, following the specification obtained from the correlation analysis. The results evidence that the relative importance of SE variables versus BE variables depends on how BE variables are measured. We found that each of these three spatial scales has its intangible qualities and drawbacks. Spatial scales play an important role on predicting travel demand due to the variability in measures at trip origin/destinations within the same administrative unit (municipality, district and so on). Larger units will produce less variation in data; but it does not affect certain variables, such as public transport supply, that are more significant at municipality level. By contrast, land-use measures are more efficient at district level. Self-selection in this context, is weak. Thus, the influence of BE attributes is true. The results of the hybrid model show that unobserved factors affect the choice of tour complexity. The latent variable used in this model is propensity to travel that is explained by socioeconomic aspects and neighbourhood attributes. The results show that neighbourhood attributes have indeed a significant impact on the choice of the type of tours either directly and through the propensity to travel. The propensity to travel has a different impact depending on the structure of each tour and increases the probability of choosing more complex tours, such as tours with many intermediate stops. The integration of choice and latent variable model shows that omitting important perception and attitudes leads to inconsistent estimates. The results also indicate that goodness of fit improves by adding the latent variable in both sequential and simultaneous estimation. There are significant differences in the sensitivity to the latent variable across alternatives. In general, as expected, the hybrid models show a major improvement into the goodness of fit of the model, compared to a classical discrete choice model that does not incorporate latent effects. The integrated model leads to a more detailed analysis of the behavioural process. Summarizing, the effect that built environment characteristics on trip frequency studied is deeply analyzed. In particular we tried to better understand how land use characteristics can be defined and measured and which of these measures do have really an impact on trip frequency. We also tried to test the superiority of HCM on this field. We can concluded that HCM shows a major improvement into the goodness of fit of the model, compared to classical discrete choice model that does not incorporate latent effects. And consequently, the application of HCM shows the importance of LV on the decision of tour complexity. People are more elastic to built environment attributes than level of services. Thus, policy implications must take place to develop more mixed areas, work-places in combination with commercial retails.

Legal Aspects which Implement Good Practice Measures in the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste

The construction industry, one of the most important ones in the development of a country, generates unavoidable impacts on the environment. The social demand towards greater respect for the environment is a high and general outcry. Therefore, the construction industry needs to reduce the impact it produces. Proper waste management is not enough; we must take a further step in environmental management, where new measures need to be introduced for the prevention at source, such as good practices to promote recycling. Following the amendment of the legal frame applicable to Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D waste), important developments have been incorporated in European and International laws, aiming to promote the culture of reusing and recycling. This change of mindset, that is progressively taking place in society, is allowing for the consideration of C&D waste no longer as an unusable waste, but as a reusable material. The main objective of the work presented in this paper is to enhance C&D waste management systems through the development of preventive measures during the construction process. These measures concern all the agents intervening in the construction process as only the personal implication of all of them can ensure an efficient management of the C&D waste generated. Finally, a model based on preventive measures achieves organizational cohesion between the different stages of the construction process, as well as promoting the conservation of raw materials through the use and waste minimization. All of these in order to achieve a C&D waste management system, whose primary goal is zero waste generation

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.