Metropolitan Economies and the Role of Freight Activity in the Economy and the Environment, and Our Role in Improving Things

Abstract:  

Metropolitan areas—complex manifestations of complex societies and economies—play an extraordinarily important role as markets where human networks operate, and people and businesses buy and sell supplies and services. The success of metropolitan areas explains why they are among the largest generators of both economic wealth and negative externalities, at the same time producing in excess of 60% of the global GDP and about 70% of the fossil fuel-related CO2. Supply chains and their freight activity are major contributors to these effects. It is important for transportation engineers and planners to understand the tight interconnections between freight activity, the economy, and the environment, as doing so enables the design and implementation of effective initiatives to address externalities without producing major unintended effects. As part of this lecture, he will discuss the research conducted for his book entitled “Urban and Metropolitan Freight Management and Planning” in collaboration with Professors Ivan Sanchez-Diaz (Chalmers University) and Mattew Roorda (University of Toronto).

Bio:

Dr. José Holguín-Veras, is the William H. Hart Professor and Director of the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems, and the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2013 White House’s Transportation Champion of Change Award, the 1996 Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award, and the 2001 National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award. His research interests are in the areas of freight transportation modeling and economics, and humanitarian logistics. According to Google Scholar he is the most widely published cited researchers in freight transportation. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in 1996; a M.Sc. from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1984; and a B.Sc. from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in 1982.