About
the MILUTE Project
Vital
urban areas are crucial to the well-being of contemporary societies.
Cities are the hubs of economic activity and of every form of exchange.
They are the places where a growing proportion of the population
lives, works and entertains itself. Despite progress in electronic
communications, cities must be able to rely on the smooth flow of
people and goods in space in order to perform their vital functions.
Urban transportation networks, therefore, are key factors in the
growth and productivity of urban, regional, and national economies.
When these networks fail or work inefficiently, economic consequences
can be grave. Indeed, traffic congestion in urban areas causes billions
of dollars in lost productivity, reduces local quality of life due
to smog, and may, in the long run, dampen investment in the region.
But congestion
is not due solely to the configuration of roads themselves. The
spatial layout of activities—where people live, where they
work, shop, bring their children to school, or watch a movie—shapes
the flow of goods and people on transportation networks. Good linkages
between spatial layout of activities (land use) and transportation
networks are therefore critical in sustaining the growth and vitality
of urban areas.
Research
on transportation, land use and energy interactions has become even
more critical because Canada recently ratified the Kyoto Accord
which calls for a significant reduction in Green House Gas (GHG)
emissions by 2012. Transport accounts for roughly 35% of Canada’s
CO2 emissions and is likely the fastest growing sector in terms
of energy consumption. Québec has been a steadfast supporter
of the Kyoto Accord, thus making reduction of GHG emissions an important
policy objective. In addition, increasing the efficiency of its
road network and of its development patterns will enable the province
to improve its economic competitiveness and quality of life.
The ultimate
purpose of our research, which is being conducted in partnership
at various Québec universities (as well as universities elsewhere
in Canada), is to facilitate the planning and development of prosperous
and sustainable urban areas (communities) by exploring the linkages
between land use and transportation. We address this task by adopting
an urban systems approach where we study interconnected urban sub-systems
such as housing, employment, transportation infrastructure, etc.
A comprehensive study of urban areas requires a simultaneous analysis
of residential and work location dynamics along with the evolution
of transportation networks on a metropolitan level.
The research
brings these sub-systems into a coherent analytical framework, which
will help us understand how one urban sub-system influences another,
while simultaneously being influenced by other sub-systems. Understanding
the interdependencies between land use and transportation in Montréal
will enable us to alleviate traffic congestion, urban sprawl, and
transportation-related GHG emissions. At the heart of the research
are comprehensive computer models that reproduce the complex and
dynamic relationships that sustain the development of urban areas.
The
primary objective of the research is to develop an integrated transportation-land
use equity model for the Greater Montréal Area (GMA).
MILUTE will capture the behaviour of individual decision-makers,
who face a multitude of choices regarding modes, routes, trip destinations
and the like. MILUTE will explore the linkages between land use,
urban form, and travel behaviour by using Geographic Information
Systems (GIS).
The research
will be conducted in three distinct phases:
The first phase consist of the design and development of digital
databases required for spatial analysis and empirical modelling.
The databases include detailed historical records of land use, observed
as the spatial distribution of population and employment. In addition,
a digital street network is being developed for GMA, with details
on number of lanes, road capacity, speed limits, and volume delay
functions.
The second
phase consist of a spatio-temporal analysis of the dynamics of the
constituting urban sub-systems. A statistical profile of urban sub-systems
is being developed and the spatial dynamics will be presented as
maps and animations. The descriptive analysis of four key factors—the
spatial distribution of population, the suburbanisation of work
locations, the workings of urban housing and land markets, and the
historical development of road and transit networks—will provide
the intuitive basis for empirical models.
The
third phase consists of the development of the integrated model,
MILUTE. Once operational, MILUTE will contribute to public discourse
by providing valuable insight into questions regarding urban transportation,
land use and their impact on the environment. The integrated model
can, for example, simulate the system-wide impacts of construction
of a new bridge (e.g., linking Island of Montréal with the
South Shore) on accessibility, travel times, reduction in GHG emissions,
and housing demand. Similarly, MILUTE could also evaluate impacts
of competing alternatives and offer valuable insights to decision-makers.
MILUTE
will become the backbone of multidisciplinary transportation research
at McGill University by bringing together students and faculty from
Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, Geography, and Economics. The
research is a unique endeavour for Quebec and puts the province,
through McGill University, at the forefront of research in integrated
land use transportation and equity modelling.
The
development and subsequent operation and maintenance of the empirical
models is being integrated into the curricula of courses taught
at McGill University. By participating in the development and operation
of integrated models, graduate and undergraduate students will be
exposed to the cutting edge in Urban Systems modelling. This work
also benefit from the support of the Ministère des Transports
du Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de
Montréal, and AMT. These entities have already donated extensive
digital databases of land use and travel demand data that are needed
for the research.
Improved
computer technology is enabling us to confront the growing problem
of road congestion with greater sophistication and realism, at a
time when the problem is growing more severe in terms of economic
and environmental impacts. Research on the interaction between transportation,
land use and the environment is of strategic importance for that
reason, because it can help to increase both economic competitiveness
and urban quality of life.
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