Assessing the Costs for Hybrid versus Regular Transit Buses, October 2012

This technical brief summarizes information about the costs and benefits that have been attributed to use of hybrid transit buses as found in the literature. Results from a demonstration project that compared fuel economy and emissions for 12 hybrid buses and 7 control buses for the transit agency for Ames, Iowa and Iowa State University, CyRide, were also included.

Evaluation of In-Use Fuel Economy and On-Board Emissions for Hybrid and Regular CyRide Transit Buses, October 2012

The objective of this project was to evaluate the in-use fuel economy and emission differences between hybrid-electric and conventional transit buses for the Ames, Iowa transit authority, CyRide. These CyRide buses were deployed in the fall of 2010. Fuel economy was compared for the hybrid and control buses. Several older bus types were also available and were included in the analysis. Hybrid buses had the highest fuel economy for all time periods for all bus types. Hybrid buses had a fuel economy that was 11.8 percent higher than control buses overall, 12.2 percent higher than buses with model years 2007 and newer, 23.4 percent higher than model years 2004 through 2006, 10.2 percent higher than model years 1998 through 2003, 38.1 percent higher than model years 1994 through 1997, 36.8 percent higher than model years 1991 through 1993, and 36.8 percent higher for model years pre-1991. On-road emissions were also compared for three of the hybrid buses and two control buses using a portable emissions monitor. On-average, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hybrid carbon emissions were much higher for the control buses than for the hybrid buses. However, on average nitrogen oxide emissions were higher for the hybrid buses.

July 2009 Rail Company Abandonment Plans Map, 2009

This is a map of railroad lines in Iowa under study to be abandoned.

Rail service map : [Iowa], 1983

This map shows operational and abandoned service rail lines in Iowa.

A Small World Perspective on Urban Systems

The theory of small-world networks as initiated by Watts and Strogatz (1998) has drawn new insights in spatial analysis as well as systems theory. The theoryâeuro?s concepts and methods are particularly relevant to geography, where spatial interaction is mainstream and where interactions can be described and studied using large numbers of exchanges or similarity matrices. Networks are organized through direct links or by indirect paths, inducing topological proximities that simultaneously involve spatial, social, cultural or organizational dimensions. Network synergies build over similarities and are fed by complementarities between or inside cities, with the two effects potentially amplifying each other according to the âeurooepreferential attachmentâeuro hypothesis that has been explored in a number of different scientific fields (Barabási, Albert 1999; Barabási A-L 2002; Newman M, Watts D, Barabàsi A-L). In fact, according to Barabási and Albert (1999), the high level of hierarchy observed in âeurooescale-free networksâeuro results from âeurooepreferential attachmentâeuro, which characterizes the development of networks: new connections appear preferentially close to nodes that already have the largest number of connections because in this way, the improvement in the network accessibility of the new connection will likely be greater. However, at the same time, network regions gathering dense and numerous weak links (Granovetter, 1985) or network entities acting as bridges between several components (Burt 2005) offer a higher capacity for urban communities to benefit from opportunities and create future synergies. Several methodologies have been suggested to identify such denser and more coherent regions (also called communities or clusters) in terms of links (Watts, Strogatz 1998; Watts 1999; Barabási, Albert 1999; Barabási 2002; Auber 2003; Newman 2006). These communities not only possess a high level of dependency among their member entities but also show a low level of âeurooevulnerabilityâeuro, allowing for numerous redundancies (Burt 2000; Burt 2005). The SPANGEO project 2005âeuro"2008 (SPAtial Networks in GEOgraphy), gathering a team of geographers and computer scientists, has included empirical studies to survey concepts and measures developed in other related fields, such as physics, sociology and communication science. The relevancy and potential interpretation of weighted or non-weighted measures on edges and nodes were examined and analyzed at different scales (intra-urban, inter-urban or both). New classification and clustering schemes based on the relative local density of subgraphs were developed. The present article describes how these notions and methods contribute on a conceptual level, in terms of measures, delineations, explanatory analyses and visualization of geographical phenomena.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative and Passenger Rail Service in Iowa, 2014

This report provides the status of the Passenger Rail Service Revolving Fund and the development and operation of the midwest regional rail system and the state's passenger rail service.

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Des Moines, Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Des Moines, Iowa, for the year ended June 30, 2013

Densité urbaine et psychose - est-ce que vivre en ville rend schizophrène [Urban density and psychosis - does living in a city cause schizophrenia?].

While it has often been stated that prevalence of schizophrenia is the same around the world, many publications have shown this illness is twice more frequent in urban areas. Although many hypotheses have been proposed, the mechanisms explaining this phenomenon are still unknown. Besides potential biological explanations, a certain number of hypotheses emerging from social sciences have recently enriched the debate. This article reviews the literature related to this issue and describes the development of a research projects conducted in collaboration between the Institut of Geography at the University of Neuchâtel, the Department of Psychiatry at the Lausanne University and the Swiss branch of ISPS, a society promoting the psychological treatment of schizophrenia and other psychoses.