TU Delft hosts 2014 World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research

The four-day event brought together 145 researchers from around the world to exchange knowledge and ideas to develop a better understanding of the dynamic interaction between transport and land use. Outdoor activities, including bicycle city tours of Delft, Houten, Den Haag and Rotterdam, and a technical tour of the Delft railway, were also included in the program to highlight the Netherlands’ expertise in the field.

“The triennial symposium provides an international forum for the broad field of transport and land use research,” says Kelly Clifton, Chair of the World Society for Transport and Land Use Research and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University. In order to address the challenges and opportunities of this research, it appears that an interdisciplinary approach is required, combing academic and professional expertise in the areas of economics, planning, design, engineering, and other relevant disciplines.“The impacts of the dynamics of land use and transport are far reaching, touching our lives in a myriad of ways,” Clifton claims. “Thus, they are not the domain of any one field and our understanding is strengthened by an inclusionary approach.” During the symposium, emphasis was placed on the contributions of the built environment in the development of more sustainable transport.

“At our university we have a long history of research on both transport and the built environment,” says WSTLUR organizer Kees Maat. “The past two decades revealed a worldwide interest in the integration of both fields, assuming that smart urban planning helps to increase accessibility and to reduce negative effects such as congestion and environmental damage.” As Associate Professor of Built Environment and Transport at TU Delft, Maat is convinced that hosting the WSTLUR was a significant opportunity to strengthen TU Delft’s role in this research field.

From topics such as bicycles and transport emissions to rail networks and long-distance travel, the symposium provided participants with the opportunity to share their work and contribute their ideas to a broad international audience. “We hope to provide an interactive meeting and foster discussion, rather than merely a one-way dissemination of information,” Clifton says. “In the end, we hope that participants recognize the value in connecting to this larger academic community.”