Background: The built environment is increasingly recognized as a determinant for health and health behaviors. Existing evidence regarding the relationship between environment and health (behaviors) is varying in significance and magnitude, and more high-quality longitudinal studies are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a major urban redesign project on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), active transport (AT), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), social activities (SA) and meaningfulness, at 29–39 months after opening of the reconstructed area. Methods: PA and AT were measured using accelerometers and GPS loggers. HRQOL and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. In total, 241 participants provided valid data at baseline and follow-up. We distinguished three groups, based on proximity to the intervention area: maximal exposure group, minimal exposure group and no exposure group. Results: Both the maximal and minimal exposure groups showed significantly different trends regarding transportbased PA levels compared to the no exposure group. In the exposure groups SB decreased, while it increased in the no exposure group. Also, transport-based light intensity PA remained stable in the exposure groups, while it significantly decreased in the no exposure group. No intervention effects were found for total daily PA levels. Scores on SA and meaningfulness increased in the maximal exposure group and decreased in the minimal and no exposure group, but changes were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the potential of the built environment in changing SB and highlights the relevance of longer-term follow-up measurements to explore the full potential of urban redesign projects.
How can transport and land-use transitions in urban regions be understood and supported? This question is increasingly relevant for researchers and policy makers alike given the growing urgency of sustainability issues confronting cities and the limited improvements can be observed despite continued policy attention, for example Transit-oriented development policies. To tackle this question, this thesis draws on theories and concepts from transition studies. This has led to a richer conceptualisation of transitions and the extent to which policy makers can actively influence them. Transport and land-use transitions can be seen as resulting from the interaction between established and novel structures and practices and exogenous developments. In historic case studies carried out in Munich and Zürich, we see that in transitions that have taken place troubles, or difficulties that people experience in their daily lives, play an important role in focusing political debates. In the process of reaching consensus regarding problems and solutions, interest groups, coalition building and both implicit and explicit societal rules open to conflict and supportive of its resolution play a pivotal role. To aid in supporting transition attempts, a reflexive planning approach has been developed and tested in the region of Amsterdam. The breadth of the focus in this approach in terms of developments considered and actors involved resulted in potential solutions that differed from traditional policy in terms of innovativeness and the extent of support for them.
MULTIFILE
To reach the European Green Deal by 2050, the target for the road transport sector is set at 30% less CO2 emissions by 2030. Given the fact that heavy-duty commercial vehicles throughout Europe are driven nowadays almost exclusively on fossil fuels it is obvious that transition towards reduced emission targets needs to happen seamlessly by hybridization of the existing fleet, with a continuously increasing share of Zero Emission vehicle units. At present, trailing units such as semitrailers do not possess any form of powertrain, being a missed opportunity. By introduction of electrically driven axles into these units the fuel consumption as well as amount of emissions may be reduced substantially while part of the propulsion forces is being supplied on emission-free basis. Furthermore, the electrification of trailing units enables partial recuperation of kinetic energy while braking. Nevertheless, a number of challenges still exist preventing swift integration of these vehicles to daily operation. One of the dominating ones is the intelligent control of the e-axle so it delivers right amount of propulsion/braking power at the right time without receiving detailed information from the towing vehicle (such as e.g. driver control, engine speed, engine torque, or brake pressure, …etc.). This is required mainly to ensure interoperability of e-Trailers in the fleets, which is a must in the logistics nowadays. Therefore the main mission of CHANGE is to generate a chain of knowledge in developing and implementing data driven AI-based applications enabling SMEs of the Dutch trailer industry to contribute to seamless energetic transition towards zero emission road freight transport. In specific, CHANGE will employ e-Trailers (trailers with electrically driven axle(s) enabling energy recuperation) connected to conventional hauling units as well as trailers for high volume and extreme payload as focal platforms (demonstrators) for deployment of these applications.
"Box-achtige” sandwichproducten komen veelvuldig voor in de mobiliteits- en logistiektoepassingen o.a. vanwege hun lichte gewicht en stijfheid. Denk hierbij aan elektrische “thuisbezorg-autootjes”, lichte bestelwagens en trailers (paardentransport) en transportkisten. Deze producten bestaan in hun huidige vorm uit stijve en lichte wanden (vaak composiet sandwichpanelen) die samengesteld worden met randverstijving en brackets: veelal aluminium inkoopdelen. De verbindingstechnologie bestaat uit verlijming, boutverbindingen of klinknageltechnologie. De product is vaak een Multi-Material Solution en hierdoor moeilijk te recyclen. De toekomstige Europese wetgeving 2030 (Green Deal) dwingt de bedrijven die deze boxen anders te ontwerpen en produceren, en na te denken over “End of Life” consequenties. Hierbij is vooral de inzet van te hergebruiken of recyclen van materialen.. Voor de bedrijven betekent dit onder andere: kan ik de panelen hergebruiken ‘as is’ of moeten deze panelen omgezet worden naar een soort van grondstofvorm (bijvoorbeeld ‘flakes’), welke wederom voor een hoogwaardige toepassing kunnen worden ingezet. En welke technologieën (inclusief procesautomatisering) zijn daarvoor van toepassing. Het huidige project, een samenwerking tussen bedrijven, hogeschool en brancheorganisatie, richt zich op bovenstaande vragen. Het spitst zich vooral toe op de circulariteit van deze ‘box-achtige’ sandwichproducten en doet onderzoek naar het hergebruik of recycling van de gebruikte thermoplastische sandwichpanelen en de demontage/assemblage-technieken daarvoor. Het project start bij de classificering van het recyclaat uit sandwichpanelen en het kwalificeren van de verschillende grondstof vormen. Vervolgens wordt gekeken hoe deze materialen, al in een vroeg stadium in het ontwerpproces kunnen worden meegenomen. De verschillende materiaal verschijningsvormen zullen vervolgens via dit (her-)ontwerp in een demonstrator worden ondergebracht. Dit op basis van diverse productieprocessen, procescondities, andere randvoorwaarden. Tenslotte zal de economische haalbaarheid worden bestudeerd met aandacht voor businessmodellen rondom integratie van recycling in de bestaande productie en/of aangevuld met automatisering. Naar inschatting gaat het in West-Europese om een verbruik van circa 12,5 km2/jaar.
In the road transportation sector, CO2 emission target is set to reduce by at least 45% by 2030 as per the European Green Deal. Heavy Duty Vehicles contribute almost quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in Europe and drive majorly on fossil fuels. New emission restrictions creates a need for transition towards reduced emission targets. Also, increasing number of emission free zones within Europe, give rise to the need of hybridization within the truck and trailer community. Currently, in majority of the cases the trailer units do not possess any kind of drivetrain to support the truck. Trailers carry high loads, such that while accelerating, high power is needed. On the other hand, while braking the kinetic energy is lost, which otherwise could be recaptured. Thus, having a trailer with electric powertrain can support the truck during traction and can charge the battery during braking, helping in reducing the emissions and fuel consumption. Using the King-pin, the amount of support required by trailer can be determined, making it an independent trailer, thus requiring no modification on the truck. Given the heavy-duty environment in which the King-pin operates, the measurement design around it should be robust, compact and measure forces within certain accuracy level. Moreover, modification done to the King-pin is not apricated. These are also the challenges faced by V-Tron, a leading company in the field of services in mobility domain. The goal of this project is to design a smart King-pin, which is robust, compact and provides force component measurement within certain accuracy, to the independent e-trailer, without taking input from truck, and investigate the energy management system of the independent e-trailer to explore the charging options. As a result, this can help reduce the emissions and fuel consumption.
