Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment

Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

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This manual provides direction for the preparation of noise and vibration sections of environmental documents for mass transportation projects. The manual has been developed in the interest of promoting quality and uniformity in assessments. It is expected to be used by people associated with or affected by the urban transit industry, including Federal Transit Administration (FTA) staff, grant applicants, consultants and the general public. Each of these groups has an interest in noise/vibration assessment, but not all have the need for all the details of the process. Consequently, this manual has been prepared to serve readers with varying levels of technical background and interests. It sets forth the basic concepts, methods and procedures for documenting the extent and severity of noise impacts from transit projects.


Community Impact Assessment

Community Impact Assessment

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

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This guide was written as a quick primer for transportation professionals and analysts who assess the impacts of proposed transportation actions on communities. It outlines the community impact assessment process, highlights critical areas that must be examined, identifies basic tools and information sources, and stimulates the thought-process related to individual projects. In the past, the consequences of transportation investments on communities have often been ignored or introduced near the end of a planning process, reducing them to reactive considerations at best. The goals of this primer are to increase awareness of the effects of transportation actions on the human environment and emphasize that community impacts deserve serious attention in project planning and development-attention comparable to that given the natural environment. Finally, this guide is intended to provide some tips for facilitating public involvement in the decision making process.


The Impact of Trade Agreements

The Impact of Trade Agreements

Author: Swarnali Ahmed Hannan

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2016-09-23

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 147554071X

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has reinvigorated research on the ex-ante impact of trade agreements. The results from these ex-ante models are subject to considerable uncertainties, and needs to be complimented by ex-post studies. The paper fills this gap in recent literature by employing synthetic control methods (SCM) – currently extremely popular in micro and macro studies – to understand the impact of trade agreements in the period 1983–1995 for 104 country pairs. The key advantage of using SCM to address selection bias – one of the persisting issues in trade literature – is that it allows the effect of unobserved confounder to vary with time, as opposed to traditional econometric methods that can deal with time-invariant unobserved country characteristics. Using SCM approach, the paper finds that trade agreements can generate substantial gains, on average an increase of exports by 80 percentage points over ten years. The export gains are higher when emerging markets have trade agreements with advanced markets. The paper shows that all the countries in NAFTA have substantially gained due to NAFTA. Finally, there is some evidence that trade agreements can potentially lead to slight import diversion, but not export diversion.


THE STATE OF THE WORLD’s FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES

THE STATE OF THE WORLD’s FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-05-25

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9251084025

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The publication was prepared based on information provided by 86 countries, outcomes from regional and subregional consultations and commissioned thematic studies. It includes: •an overview of definitions and concepts related to Forest Genetic Resources (FGR) and a review of their value; •a description of the main drivers of changes; •the presentation of key emerging technologies; •an analysis of the current status of FGR conservation, use and related developments; •recommendations addressing the challenges and needs. By the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.


Implementation and Outcomes of Fare-free Transit Systems

Implementation and Outcomes of Fare-free Transit Systems

Author: Joel Volinski

Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 105

ISBN-13: 030922361X

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The purpose of this synthesis was to document the past and current experiences of public transit agencies that have planned, implemented, and operated fare-free transit systems. The report concentrates on public transit agencies that are either direct recipients or sub-recipients of federal transit grants and provide fare-free service to everyone in their service area on every mode they provide. The report will be of interest to transit managers and staffs, small urban and rural areas, university, and resort communities, as well as stakeholders and policy makers at all levels who would be interested in knowing the social benefits and macro impacts of providing affordable mobility through fare-free public transit. A review of the relevant literature was conducted for this effort. Reports provide statistics on changes in levels of ridership associated with fare-free service. White papers or agency reports identified by the topic panel or discovered through interviews with fare-free transit managers were also reviewed. Through topic panel input, Internet searches, listserv communications, and APTA and TRB sources, the first comprehensive listing of public transit agencies that provide fare-free service in the United States was identified. A selected survey of these identified public transit agencies yielded an 82% response rate (32/39). The report offers a look at policy and administrative issues through survey responses. Five case studies, achieved through interviews, represent the three types of communities that were found to be most likely to adopt a fare-free policy: rural and small urban, university dominated, and resort communities.


Interaction Between Roadways and Wildlife Ecology

Interaction Between Roadways and Wildlife Ecology

Author: Gary L. Evink

Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 86

ISBN-13: 0309069238

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TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 305: Interaction Between Roadways and Wildlife Ecology summarizes existing information related to roadway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance practices being used successfully and unsuccessfully, nationally and internationally, to accommodate wildlife ecology given the challenging background of rapid growth and diminishing natural resources.


Assessment of Labour Provisions in Trade and Investment Arrangements

Assessment of Labour Provisions in Trade and Investment Arrangements

Author: International Labor Office

Publisher: International Labor Office

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13:

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Nearly half of trade agreements concluded in the past five years included either a labor chapter or labor provision that makes reference to international labor standards and ILO instruments. The evidence so far suggests that labor provisions have been an important tool for raising awareness and improving laws and legislations with respect to workers' rights, increasing stakeholder involvement in negotiation and implementation phases, and developing domestic institutions to better monitor and enforce labor standards. But challenges remain, particularly with respect to sustainability of impacts, coherence, and cooperative efforts. This new report, part of the Studies on Growth with Equity series, gives a full examination of the scope and effectiveness of these labor provisions.