Exploring the intersection of natural and social sciences, the book delves into spatial interaction models through the lens of 'social physics.' It traces their origins, history, and relevance, emphasizing the necessity of a behavioral foundation for effective spatial systems analysis. The text highlights significant contributions from gravity and entropy theories, laying the groundwork for interaction models. Part A focuses on micro-based disaggregate choice models as essential tools for understanding spatial systems, advocating for a unified analytical framework across disciplines.
A major strategy to reduce transport congestion and other social costs of transport is to ensure that travellers make the best decisions, based on real time information. A wide range of technological systems have been developed to provide this information, but little is known about how travellers actually respond to it. This book offers an overview of various transport telematics options and provides an appropriate methodological framework, followed by a presentation of results from actual applications of these telematics systems from a range of European countries in various transport sectors. The empirical results are supplemented by analytical models and geographic information systems representations with a view on generalizing these findings and identifying the key parameters which determine user response.
Regional economics - an established discipline for several decades - has gone through a rapid pace of change in the past decade and several new perspectives have emerged. At the same time the methodology has shown surprising development. This volume brings together contributions looking at new pathways in regional economics, written by many well-known international scholars. The most advanced theories, measurement methods and policy issues in regional growth are given in-depth treatment. The focus here is to collect cutting-edge theories explaining regional growth and local development. The authors highlight the recent advances in theories, the normative potentialities of these theories and the cross-fertilization of ideas among regional economists and mainstream economists. Theories of regional growth and development need to be able to interpret, more than ever, the way in which regions achieve a role in the international division of labour and, more importantly, the way in which regions can maintain this role over time. Topics covered regional growth and development policies and measurement methods; development theories of innovation, knowledge and space, and regional production factors; and growth theories and space. This book will be a source of reference and information for both scholars and students in the area of regional economics.
