NECTAR Newsletter March 2015
Dear NECTAR friends
This newsletter brings news on NECTAR activities and NECTAR members. But first I would like to give you an update of the preparations for the 2015 NECTAR international conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, June 14-16, 2015. It will be a true transatlantic conference: we have accepted over 100 abstracts, of which over one third are from North American researchers. The conference will have a mix of plenary and parallel sessions, and a specialized subconference on Accessibility-Based Evaluation, with invited practitioners from the USA and Europe. The different cluster will organize thematic sessions, there will be general sessions on other topics within the NECTAR field.
We are also pleased that 12 PhDs have been nominated for the first NECTAR PhD award! This is already a recognition of the high quality of the research conducted by PhD students supervised by
NECTAR members. A committee with NECTAR cluster chairs has been established to assess the nominations, and Professor Peter Nijkamp as chair.
Karst Geurs, NECTAR chair, March 2015
Thematic cluster sessions at the 2015 international conference
Clusters’s animators suggested thematic sessions along the conference, related with each of the cluster’s main topic. The following thematic sessions will take place at the annual NECTAR conference:
Cluster 1: Smart transport network investments and smart outcomes?
Cluster 2: The Environmental, Planning and Policy Implications of Advanced Technologies.
Clyster 3: Smart freight transport: the way forward.
Cluster 4: The Dynamics of Migration, Housing, and Labour Markets in Land Use.
Cluster 6: Accessibility, Vulnerability and Resilience.
Cluster 7: Smart Securing of Transportation Activities.
Cluster 8: Big data and mobility: a digital framework of human communications for smarter cities.
A new Transport Research Centre at Tel Aviv University, Israel
In April 2014, the Transportation Research Unit (TRU) at Tel Aviv University, Israel was officially opened. The unit, established and directed by Dr. Moshe Givoni, aims to better understand the social, economic and environmental implications of transport in time and space in order to advance sustainable transport policy. The unit's main objectives are first to develop international research reputation in the field of Mobility and Transport and second, the promote an informed public debate on transport planning and policy issues within Israel. The unit opened in a public event in which Prof. David Banister of the Transport Studies Unit (TSU) at Oxford University gave the keynote speech on " Transport Futures: Thinking the Unthinkable".
To contact the TRU email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Doctorate Honoris Causa : Peter Nijkamp
A few weeks ago, Peter Nijkamp received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Poznan, Poland. This is already his 5th honorary degree. He got this high scientific distinction for his path-breaking seminal contributions to regional science and for his world-wide scholarly impact on new generations of regional scientists. NECTAR would like to congratulate Peter with this achievement.
For further information see the following link
Cluster 5: Kuhmo-NECTAR School
The Kuhmo-NECTAR School of ITEA (International Transport Economics Association) is organized annually, together with the annual ITEA conference. The School offers a high-quality program covering recent advances in transportation and urban economics and is targeted to PhD students, practitioners, and practicing researchers from related fields. It has been highly successful in attracting young researchers from around the world.
So far, the Kuhmo-NECTAR School has taken place in Helsinki in 2006, Urbino (Italy) 2007, Amsterdam 2008, Copenhagen 2009, Valencia 2010, Stockholm 2011, Berlin 2012, Chicago 2013, and Toulouse 2014. The next School will take place in Oslo 15-17 June 2015. Further information on the 2015 edition of the School can be found here.
Cluster 6: Book Accessibility And Spatial Interaction
The book on Acessibility and Spatial Interaction paves the way for new topics requiring novel approaches using accessibility tools. This book emphasis the complex and dynamic interaction between accessibility and the space-economy and was edited by Ana Condeço-Melhorado , Aura Reggiani , Javier Gutiérrez , within the NECTAR Series of Edward Elgar Publishing.
Members of NECTAR have the right to purchase this book, and other published books in the NECTAR Series, for personal use with a 50% discount off the published price, provided that payment is made with order.
Cluster 7: Joint Session of WCTR Interest Group G5 and NECTAR Cluster 7
The World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) announces that the 14th World Conference will be held from the 10-16 July 2016 in Shanghai (China) at Tongji University. A special joint session of WCTR Interest Group G5 and NECTAR cluster 7 on Transport and Security is being organized by Yoram Shiftan, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and Luca Zamparini, University of Salento, Italy, the SIG co-chairs. Further information can be found here.
Upcoming NECTAR Events
13 — 14 April 2015 NECTAR Cluster 2 on Climate Change Targets and Urban Transport Policy, Malta
16 — 17 April 2015 NECTAR Cluster 3 Meeting on “Sustainable freight transport – are cities willing and ready for the recent advances in transport technologies?”, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal
7 — 8 May 2015 NECTAR Cluster 1 workshop “Enhancing the network efficiency: air transport and sustainability”, Cranfield, United Kingdom
14 — 16 June 2015 NECTAR international Conference, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States of America
25—28 August 2015 NECTAR Cluster 6 Special Session in ERSA 2015 on New data and Methods in Accessibility Analysis, Lisbon; Portugal