ON THE RELATION BETWEEN USERS' BENEFITS AND THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TRANSPORTATION ACTIVITIES

ABSTRACT. The addition of output variation benefits to the users' surplus generated by transportation improvements has been subject to debate, and no agreement has been reached. In this paper, the problem is restated at the level of the origins of transportation demand, which can be derived from the information provided by the economic activity. It is shown that a competitive productive environment makes the transportation consumers' surplus exactly equal to the net economic benefits provoked in the products' markets; however, when monopolistic production prevails, the users' surplus may not reflect the benefits to the economy with accuracy. Mixed conditions are also explored and the role of final products' demand elasticity is highlighted. Different styles of welfare analysis are recommended for different market conditions.     

Assessment of open spaces in inland medium-sized cities of eastern Andalusia (Spain) through complementary approaches: spatial-configurational analysis and decision support

The benefits of urban open spaces for improving the quality of life and sustainability in cities are widely recognized. The functions they perform within the framework established by urban planning, as well as their metrics, are now more complex than in the past. It is convenient to develop methodologies for the evaluation of these spaces adapted to the present time to check their level of efficiency, which is useful in urban planning for the establishment of new urban open spaces. The aim of this study is to classify such spaces through a methodology that integrates spatial analysis, configuration analysis, and decision support so as to understand their complexity from a more advanced analytical perspective. In order to do this, a prior exploration of specific literature is carried out, which allows the characterization of the functions of urban open spaces by means of the corresponding analysis variables in a weighted manner. The integrated combination of these advanced tools is a step forward in achieving consistent and detailed results for urban open spaces. They perform their functions best in dense, central, equipped, accessible, connected, and easily walkable urban environments. In addition, future recommendations are provided.     

Use of ground penetrating radar to map subsurface archaeological features in an urban area

The ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique was used to investigate the subsurface in an urban area located in Mesagne (Italy) to obtain a map of the archaeological features in the ground. The GPR survey was undertaken at selected locations placed near (about 50 m) to a necropolis dating from the Messapian to the Roman imperial age, using a GSSI Sir System 2 incorporating 200 and 500 MHz centre frequency antennae. The selected areas (A and B) were surveyed along parallel 1 m spaced profiles using a 200 MHz antenna in area A and along parallel 0.5 m spaced profiles using a 500 MHz antenna in area B. For the selected areas the processed data were visualised in 3D space not only by means of the standard time slice technique, but also by means of a recently proposed approach, namely by iso-amplitude surfaces of the complex trace amplitude. The immediacy in revealing the spatial positioning of highly reflecting bodies, such as the anomaly interpreted as an old hypogeum room in area A, makes 3D visualisation techniques very attractive in archaeological applications of GPR. Their sensitivity to the signal/noise ratio is, on the other hand, highlighted by the quite poor performance in area B, where the only reliable result provided by all the techniques was the ancient living surface reflection, whereas none of them could effectively enhance the visibility of weak hyperbola reflections noted on 2D sections and probably related to the walls located on the ancient living surface. The performance of the various techniques in these two different situations allowed insights into their main advantages and drawbacks to be gained.     

Temporal nature and recycling of Upper Paleolithic artifacts: the burned tools from the Molí del Salt site (Vimbodí i Poblet,northeastern Spain)

Recent research in Paleolithic archeology has stressed the importance of temporal issues in assemblage interpretation. Archeological assemblages are temporal constructs, formed by the addition of an unknown number of depositional events. This temporal dimension is also evident at the artifactual level, since single artifacts may undergo different events of modification and/or uses over time. The recycling of previously discarded blanks for tool production is one of the best examples of the temporal nature of artifacts. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of recycling in a Late Upper Paleolithic site, examining a type of artifact – burned tools – that has up to now been little used to approach this issue. Our results suggest that recycling was probably a significant component of Upper Paleolithic provisioning behavior, with important implications in site formation processes and the typological variability of assemblages. The expedient or curated character of recycling is also discussed.     

Lights and shadows over the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape: ‘managing change’ in Ballarat and Cuenca through a radical approach focused on values and authenticity

The 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) is the most recent incorporation to the global process of heritage production that was triggered by the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Five years since the publication of the Recommendation, it is clear that, despite UNESCO’s efforts, opportunities for the implementation of the HUL on a global level have been scarce. An increasing awareness regarding public participation has provided an additional opportunity for the HUL, due to an enhanced understanding of an ideal urban heritage management that, avant la lettre, disregards traditional up-down decision-making processes. Our paper provides a critical evaluation of the positive and negative aspects which have arisen from the implementation of HUL Recommendation with regards to charters and theory. We have also taken into consideration the risks that are concomitant to its ambitious holistic approach, as well as the ambiguities with regards to the definition of landscape on which the HUL is based. This paper also identifies the opportunities that a renewed focus on heritage values and authenticity management, as reflected in the cases of Cuenca (Ecuador) and Ballarat (Australia), may offer for the successful implementation of the HUL approach.