Thursday 17 November 2011

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Participants needed: Everyday cycling (travel) survey in Newcastle


Participants needed: Everyday cycling (travel) survey in Newcastle:

Please go here to participate: 

Thank you.
Godwin Yeboah
PhD student at Northumbria University at Newcastle,UK.
Interest:Space-Time Geography;Agent Based Simulation; Cycling as Active Transport;GPS & GISc

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Summer School and Young Researchers Forum on Moving objects and knowledge discovery.

It was excellent!

I enjoyed my (and other) presentation(s) and profound feedback and discussions from professors/experts. Also, it was great meeting all of you!

Enjoy these pictures if you could not take part:
http://cartogis.ugent.be/Summerschool/pics.php


Prior to this event, I had also attended Summer School on Social Simulation at the University of Surrey which was useful in understanding the challenges and high level thinking when one wants to use or not use agent based modelling technique.

Monday 4 April 2011

Amazing quote from the Earl of Albermarle...why you should, at least, think of Cycling....GISRUK2011

"The only obstacle that I know of to the use of the cycle becoming universal in this country, is that year by year the roads seem in many parts of England to be getting worse and worse....A revolt against the present system of road repair and surveying is being organised, and is likely to have a considerable success"

Source:
Woodforde, J. (1970) The Story of the Bicycle. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.

The Earl of Albermarle was once the president of the National Union of Cyclists and wrote this quote in the 1887 edition of the Badminton Library Cycling.

Other event I attended this month was the GISRUK 2011 where I presented a poster entitled "Application of GIS and DPT in Systematic Surveying, Inventory and Title Registration of Properties – A pilot study of Kaneshie town area in Ghana." The abstract can be found in the proceedings of the 19th GIS Research UK Annual Conference which was held at University of Portsmouth (with Ordnance Survey) on 27th to 29th April 2011.

Saturday 19 March 2011

Climate Week 2011 at Northumbria University

I am planning to participate in the Climate Week celebration at Northumbria University and want to invite you to join!

Read more:
http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/sobe/news/climate_week2011

Thanks.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Poster for Northumbria University Research Conference, 2011

Towards understanding and developing strategies for cycling in traditional UK Cities (Provisional title of PhD project)

Supervisors: Seraphim ALVANIDES; Emine Mine THOMPSON

Two of the most serious threats identified to be anticipated by the year 2050 are Climate Change and Obesity. UK government has decided, via the Climate Change Act, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050; out of which 21% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions coming from transport, of which 58% come from the private car. Obviously, road transport has a major contribution to make. Recently, according to the Foresight (2007) report, it is forecasted that over half of adults in Britain could be obese by 2050 unless some measures are adhered to. One aspect of the measures in the report is related to transport and urban design; namely, to include increasing of cycling (i.e., Active Transport) and improving the design of communities.

This poster presents strands in literature, as mind maps, of ongoing research towards understanding the constraints and developing strategies for cycling in traditional UK Cities. In addition, there is a short discussion of appropriate concepts, tools, theories as well as a methodology for Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection.

See you! :)

Monday 14 February 2011

8-spoke city: a radial cycling route system for Newcastle (GeoVation Challenge 2011)

8-spoke city: a radial cycling route system for Newcastle

Note: Please vote and rate this idea at https://www.geovation.org.uk/challenge/topic.php?id=787
 


1. Idea Summary (in a nutshell)
To identify and promote an instantly recognisable 8-spoke cycling route system into and out of Newcastle City centre. Each major commuting corridor in Newcastle will be supplemented with an easily recognisable signature cycling route - the spoke - building on London’s Cycle Superhighways experience. The proposed 8-spoke network will become the reference framework to rally all interest groups: Newcastle City Council, researchers, campaign and community groups.

2. How would this work? [200 words max]
Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the regional capital of North East England, attracting 100,000 commuting trips a day. Many of these trips originate from within a 5-mile cycleable radius, based on a survey carried out by the Newcastle Cycling Campaign (2010). However, cycling uptake is relatively low, despite a large student population, various cycling routes, manageable landscape relief and reasonable cycling conditions. There are two major constraints working against cycling in Newcastle: attitudes towards cyclists and perceived adverse cycling conditions. These can be addressed by identifying and promoting a comprehensive, safe and easily recognisable cycling route system.
This project will design a recognisable 8-spoke cycling network, identify physical challenges on these routes and propose ways to address those. The proposed cycling network will connect the East, West and North of Newcastle to the City Centre, with two easily recognisable signature routes per direction. Two additional routes will be crossing the Tyne to connect Newcastle and Gateshead, across the river. The Geovation challenge funds will be used in recruiting volunteers and experts to identify, promote and engineer the 8-spoke network. The idea will require us to: recruit volunteers and experts; collect, process and analyse data; publish outcomes including feedback loops for continuous improvement.

3. Please explain how your idea could have the potential to improve transport in Britain? [100 words max]
Active travel is one of the key elements to create liveable and sustainable cities. Cycling as a mode of transport has the potential not only to enhance the physical well being of individuals, but also to alleviate climate change, offer cheaper transportation, lower congestion in peak hours and improve air quality. By providing signature routes and proposing improvements by community involvement and cycle-supportive experts, cycling numbers will increase, ‘normalising’ cycling and starting a cycling revolution with a significant shift towards sustainable active travel. This flagship approach with its learnings, including visualisation tools and gained experience, can then be replicated elsewhere.

4. What practical steps are required to realise your idea? [200 words max]
• Analyse geographically a cycling survey carried out by the Newcastle City Campaign (2010)
• Use OS OpenData to identify in detail an instantly recognisable 8-spoke cycling route system
• Run focus groups with cyclists to consult and reach consensus on proposed route network
• Collect and analyse detailed field data on the individual routes of the 8-spoke system
• Develop an active map of the cycling route network with additional data and analysis on the Newcastle Cycling Campaign website and free access to the cycling community
• Work with local stakeholders (Newcastle City Council and North East Active Transport) to publicise and promote an instantly recognisable 8-spoke cycling route system
The map and related findings will be a powerful tool to recommend physical improvements on the ground to enable the 8-spoke system to be:
i. continuous (existing network, as highlighted by local surveyis very fragmented)
ii. safe (measures need to be taken to address potential areas of conflict between road users)
iii. convenient (a large proportion of new cyclists will be commuters, so it is important that these routes are as direct as possible)
iv. visible (e.g. use of strategic signage)
OpenData will be used throughout the project: background map for analysis, publication and dissemination.

5. Stage of progress (Idea/Work in progress/Complete) :
Work in progress. A “cognitive map” of the network has been proposed by management committee members of the Newcastle Cycling Campaign (Bill Dodds and Katja Leyendecker), but this needs further geographical analysis, data collection and evaluation.
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative idea, between Seraphim Alvanides (Academic) and Godwin Yeboah (PhD student) from Northumbria University, with Katja Leyendecker (Chair) and Claire Prospert (Secretary) from Newcastle Cycling Campaign newcycling.org.uk [SMK Foundation Campaigner Award 2010, Transport category]

6. Are you a student or researcher in a higher and further education establishment?
Yes. Seraphim Alvanides (Academic) and Godwin Yeboah (PhD student), both at Northumbria University’s School of the Built and Natural Environment: http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/sobe/divisions/prop/meet/alvanides

Monday 7 February 2011

Agent based model for understanding cycling in traditional UK Cities: A GIS based approach

Introduction / Rationale
This study seeks to study constraints and develop strategies for cycling in traditional UK Cities by harnessing concepts, tools and theories from Geographic Information Science (GISc), Geographic Information System (GIS), Global Position System (GPS) and Agent Based Model (ABM) simulation by (way of testing) incorporating both PECS (Physical conditions, Emotional states, Cognitive capabilities and Social status) and BDI (Beliefs-Desires-Intentions) framework. Activities in transport as well as the design of the built environment can be fundamentally associated with sustainability of communities, especially in urban areas. Moreover, urban design influences accessibility to space where occurrence of various activities emerges; one example is Active Transport. Mainly, Active Transport covers cycling and walking but may include other activities such as use of public transport. Recently, according to (Foresight, 2007) report, it is forecasted that over half of adults in Britain could be obese by 2050 unless some measures are adhered to. One aspect of the (adoptable and implementable) measures in the report that is of interest here is with respect to transport and urban design; namely, to include increasing of cycling and improving of design of communities.