Bicycle Touring Infrastructure: An Architectural Proposal for Sustainable Bicycle Tourism

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Planificació estratègica d’una xarxa de vies verdes a la comarca de la Selva

Les vies verdes són vies de comunicació autònomes reservades als desplaçaments no motoritzats. Per a la proposta de creació d’una xarxa per a la comarca de La Selva s’han utilitzat dues eines: els sistemes d’informació geogràfica i els seus indicadors complementaris, les quals han permès generar diversos possibles traçats, per triar una proposta final amb la seva valoració

Cicloturismo : caso de estudio : perfil y motivación del cliente alemán en tours de ciclismo de carretera

El objetivo principal del proyecto es establecer los elementos motivadores que llevan a un ciclista de carretera amateur a elegir un destino. El objetivo secundario, subordinado al primero, es tratar de determinar si "Costa Brava-Pirineo de Girona" ejerce una cierta atracción sobre el público alemán

Planificació estratègica d’una xarxa de vies verdes a la comarca de la Selva

Les vies verdes són vies de comunicació autònomes reservades als desplaçaments no motoritzats. Per a la proposta de creació d’una xarxa per a la comarca de La Selva s’han utilitzat dues eines: els sistemes d’informació geogràfica i els seus indicadors complementaris, les quals han permès generar diversos possibles traçats, per triar una proposta final amb la seva valoració

Ten thousand miles on a bicycle /

Disbound Original Held in Oak Street Library Facility.

Anàlisis i proposta d’accés amb itineraris ciclables entre Girona i els municipis del seu entorn immediat

L’objectiu és proporcionar a la població de l’àrea d’estudi (Girona i municipis propers), eines i vies necessàries per tal que puguin ser eficients energèticament i efectius en la seva mobilitat quotidiana. Es crea un mapa d’aptitud per determinar la connexió idònia entre la ciutat de Girona i els municipis inclosos en l’àrea d’estudi mitjançant una xarxa de vies ciclistes, s’analitza el mapa d’aptitud amb la xarxa actual i futura de vies ciclistes, es proposen nous carrils bici per tal d’unir zones exemptes de vies ciclables i s’analitza l’opció de combinar el transport públic (tren i autobús) amb la bicicleta. Per definir la xarxa s’utilitza el programa SIG, considerant uns determinats paràmetres, en un radi de 15 km des de l’Ajuntament de Girona i es compara amb la xarxa de vies ciclables actuals i les propostes de futur. També s’inclou un pressupost

Desenvolvimento de um veículo para a prática de cicloturismo

Com uma Sociedade cada vez mais complexa e evolutiva, vários são os desafios a que somos postos à prova. Com isto, a população apesar das suas dependências e comodismos, tende a procurar novos meios de lazer que se envolvam com a natureza e com a prática desportiva. Deste modo, o Cicloturismo vai ao encontro destas práticas, tornando-se um mercado em evolução, cuja a aderência do número de pessoas tem vindo a crescer, sendo um tipo de turismo que acarreta resultados positivos, tais como um estilo de vida saudável, bem como a utilização de um meio de transporte de baixo custo e com uma pegada ecológica. Na mesma linha de pensamento, o presente documento aborda todo o processo de execução de um Quadriciclo. O objetivo geral do mesmo, incide em satisfazer as necessidades dos praticantes de cicloturismo e incentivar as pessoas para o uso da bicicleta como meio de transporte. Para tal, os participantes envolvidos foram utilizadores assíduos do uso da bicicleta, não só procurando-a para o lazer, mas sim para a prática do Cicloturismo. Assim, os utilizadores do veiculo projetado têm o privilégio de ter como painel de fundo das suas viagens, o coração da natureza, disfrutando do conforto e da segurança que este proporciona, e ainda como resultado das mesmas, um estilo de vida mais saudável. De forma sequencial e organizada, utilizando como base a Metodologia de Ulrich e Eppinger, são notáveis os passos que foram dados para obter o produto final. Para além dos fortes conceitos de conforto, estabilidade, engenharia e ergonomia, é primordial salientar toda a importância do Design, uma vez que influenciou a disposição do veículo de quatro rodas, do início ao fim.

Building a bicycle suitability map for Coimbra

The adoption of faster modes of transportation (mainly the private car) has changed profoundly the spatial organisation of cities. The increase in distance covered due to increased speed of travel and to urban sprawl leads to an increase in energy consumption, being the transportation sector a huge consumer responsible for 61.5% of total world oil consumption and a global final energy consumption of 31.6% in EU-27 (2007). Due to unsustainable transportation conditions, many cities suffer from congestion and various other traffic problems. Such situations get worse with solutions mostly seen in the development of new infrastructure for motorized modes of transportation, and construction of car parking structures. The bicycle, considered the most efficient among all modes of transportation including walking, is a travel mode that can be adopted in most cities contributing for urban sustainability given the associated environmental, economic and social advantages. In many nations a large number of policy initiatives have focused on discouraging the use of private cars, encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transportation, like public transportation and other forms such as bicycling. Given the importance of developing initiatives that favour the use of bicycle as an urban transportation mode, an analysis of city suitability, including distances and slopes of street network, is crucial in order to help decision-makers to plan the city for bicycle. In this research Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology was used for this purpose and some results are presented concerning the city of Coimbra.

Mobile cockpit system for enhanced electric bicycle use

This paper presents the project of a mobile cockpit system (MCS) for smartphones, which provides assistance to electric bicycle (EB) cyclists in smart cities' environment. The presented system introduces a mobile application (MCS App) with the goal to provide useful personalized information to the cyclist related to the EB's use, including EB range prediction considering the intended path, management of the cycling effort performed by the cyclist, handling of the battery charging process, and the provisioning of information regarding available public transport. This work also introduces the EB cyclist profile concept, which is based on historical data analysis previously stored in a database and collected from mobile devices' sensors. From the tests performed, the results show the importance of route guidance, taking into account the energy savings. The results also show significant changes on range prediction based on user and route taken. It is important to say that the proposed system can be used for all bicycles in general.

Technological trampolines for new venture creation in Catalonia: the case of the University of Girona

Recent trends in technology transfer show an intensification of spin-off creation as a modality of university research commercialisation, complementary to the conventional ones, contract research and licensing. In this paper we analyse the evolution, objectives, resources and activities of a specialised unit –Technological Trampoline (TT) - in charge of new venture creation at the University of Girona (Catalonia-Spain). Based on two theoretical frameworks, Resource-based-view and Institutional Theory, we adopt a multi-dimensional approach to study the strategy of spinning-off new ventures at the University of Girona in terms of resources and activities, how this process is organised and if the outputs fit with this UdG’s objectives and the local environment. Our main contribution is an in-depth analysis of the spin-off creation unit with special emphasis on its variety of resources and activities. The results have a series of implications and recommendations at both university and TT level.

Milk, from medicine to food Mediterranean Europe: Catalonia, 19th-20th centuries

The spread of milk consumption was a significant change in the diet of Europeans, however it is one that has not been greatly studied with regard to the populations of Mediterranean Europe. In this article we shall analyse the ain circumstances that conditioned that process in Catalonia between the middle of the 19th century and 1936. In our study we shall argue that the consumption of milk in this area was only relevant in the 19th century in situations of illness or old age, and that it subsequently increased and acquired a new significance as a result of various factors. In particular, we shall emphasise: (a) the scientific advances in microbiology and nutrition, (b) the activities carried out by doctors and various public institutions to promote the consumption of fresh milk, and (c) the technological innovations in the milk producing sector. In Appendix 1 we show two maps representing the main territorial references that we shall mention.

The Total fiscal cost of indirect taxation: an approximation using Catalonia's recent input-output table

In this note we quantify to what extent indirect taxation influences and distorts prices. To do so we use the networked accounting structure of the most recent input-output table of Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain, to model price formation. The role of indirect taxation is considered both from a classical value perspective and a more neoclassical flavoured one. We show that they would yield equivalent results under some basic premises. The neoclassical perspective, however, offers a bit more flexibility to distinguish among different tax figures and hence provide a clearer disaggregate picture of how an indirect tax ends up affecting, and by how much, the cost structure.