Preparatory Project Essay Example for Free

Preparatory Project Essay Traffic congestion in cities is a problem throughout the world. Evaluate the effectiveness of one official initiative undertaken to tackle this issue Traffic congestion is a condition on the road when traffic jams are bad and no movement is possible. The main causes of the traffic congestion are: traffic incidents, road works, weather events and constant traffic flow. It negatively impacts on the environment by causing a growth in the level of air pollution. Time wasted in traffic is the reason for delays which negatively affect stability and discipline in education, work and economy. For example, late delivers of goods to market consequently affects sales and produces losses in revenues. Eventually, because of the budget deficit business goes bankrupt. According to Texas Transportation Institute’s Urban Mobility Report only in the USA daily travelers lose 1 day plus 10 hours per year as a result of congestion on roads and in 2 decades average amount of congestion has increased by 380 %( Forbes 2011). Although this problem is worsening every year there are some examples when official policies struggled against this dilemma. Different municipal governments use various methods to deal with traffic congestion. For example, in the Netherlands and Mexico City local authorities applied cycling promotion. Another method to reduce congestion is road charging in special restricted areas which was implemented in Singapore, Stockholm and London. The London Congestion Charge (LCC) is one of the well-known models of road pricing, so further content of this essay will focus on it. This essay will evaluate effectiveness of the LCC program which was undertaken by municipal government of London to tackle traffic congestion using identified criteria: the improvement of public transport services, results in reducing traffic level, gained revenues and the way they were used. Firstly I will describe working principles of the LCC. Following paragraph discusses predicted and actual results of drop in traffic congestion. Then I will show how the LCC affected public transportation system. Finally, the use of gained revenues to improve public transport will be evaluated. The LCC was officially introduced on 17th February 2003 by Transport for London (TfL) under direction of Mayor Ken Livingstone (Li et al. 2012, 366). Before the official launch of this scheme studies like Road Charging Options for London in 2000 (ROCOL) were provided to get an important information on traffic levels, and it said that by implementing 5  £ charge zone and using revenues to improve transport system congestion could be reduced.(Livingstone 2004, 491-93). These are general concepts of the scheme: pay fee is 10  £; it operates from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm in working days and mostly covers area known as â€Å"Central London†. Buses, motorcycles, licensed taxis, alternative fuel, invalid-designed and emergency vehicles are not oblig ated to pay charge (Litman 2011). The zone is monitored with cameras, and symbols with signs are displayed on it to notify commuters. There are miscellaneous methods to pay it such as: internet, telephone, text messaging and through TfL. Overall, mainly due to technologies system worked properly and almost no complaints were made by commuters. However, it has drawbacks because the fee doesn’t depend on travelled distance and during congested periods the amount of fee remains same. First of all, the main priority of the congestion charge was to reduce traffic level. ROCOL predicted that after implementation there will be average decrease by 10-15 % in travelled miles. Reduction in miles thought to raise average speed from 9.9 to 11.2 mph, and drop in private car trips expected to be by 20 %.(ROCOL 2000 quoted in Leape 2006, 164 ). Overall, results were positive and met expectations. The decline of travelled distance in charged zone was about 15 % (Prudhomme Bocarejo 2005, 1). There was a growth by 37% in average traffic speed (Litman 2011). The reduction of potentially chargeable vehicles in charged area was 27% (Leape 2006, 165). From the information below it is clear that there is a significant drop in traffic level. On the other hand, mostly all information on traffic levels comes from TFL reports, but it is the governmental organization so we cannot consider TFL as absolutely neutral institution. In addition the LCC affected congestion just inside the charged zone but not in whole London. Secondly, the priority of the congestion charge was â€Å"to make radical improvements in bus services† (Livingstone 2004, 495) and increase the number of bus users. The raise in the number of bus passengers was 18% in 2003 and 12% in 2004 and it remained same next years (Santos 2008, 192). The TFL affiliate excess waiting time with weakness of service, and it fell by 30% and 18% in first 2 years (Santos 2008, 192). The LCC caused a growth by 7% in bus speed (Prudhomme Bocarejo 2005, 6). Moreover, extension of bus lane system and new purchased buses from revenues also improved service. It can be concluded that the development of service and reallocation of road space to busses effectively switched people to use public transport more. Thirdly, municipal government of London planned to use gained revenues to improve public transport system. The TFL predicted to gain revenues between 130-150 million  £ (Leape 2006, 169).In fact, results showed that expectations were too exaggerated: net revenues brought less than 50% of predicted sum. The key factor for failure to get more profit was that congestion charge provoked unexpected reduction in number of potentially charged vehicles. However, as it was planned, maintained money from the charge was spent on enhancement of bus networks within road safety, and to popularize walking and cycling (Leape 2006, 170). Furthermore, revenues were invested to buy new 250 busses to develop bus network system (Prudhomme Bocarejo 2005, 7). It is obvious that incomes were used to develop transport system as it was projected. Additionally it was politically important to use money in that way to maintain support for the LCC from citizens. To sum up, in spite of political debates on implementation of the LCC, the action taken by local authorities of London generally accepted as a political and technical success. There is a significant reduction of traffic congestion in charged zone. On the other side, a decrease of traffic in this area couldn’t impact completely on congestion in all London. Revenues gained from charge were spent on enhancement of public transport which caused a popularization of the scheme. The idea of road pricing in London was politically implemented and positively accepted by public, even it is not a popular method to tackle congestion. However, there is a still big question in its efficiency to dramatically change situation on all city roads, so policymakers must think how to enhance system to reduce congestion drastically in the city. Reference list: Forbes.2011. â€Å"Escape the Cost and Lost Time of Traffic Congestion†. Accessed October 30, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/tombarlow/2011/10/22/escape-the-cost-and-lost-time-of-traffic-congestion/ Leape, Jonathan. 2006. â€Å"The London Congestion Charge†. Journal of Economic Perspectives 20 (4):157-76. Litman, Todd. 2011. â€Å"London Congestion Charging†. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. http://www.vtpi.org/london.pdf Li, Haojie, Daniel J. Graham, and Arnab Majumdar. 2012. The effects of congestion charging on road traffic casualties: A causal analysis using difference-in-difference estimation. Accident Analysis Prevention 49: 366-377. Livingstone, Ken.2004. â€Å"The Challenge of Driving Through Change: Introducing Congestion Charging in Central London.† Planning Theory Practice 5(4):490-98. Accessed October 25, 2012. doi: 10.1080/1464935042000293224 Prud’homme, Rà ©my, and Juan Pablo Bocarejo. 2004. The London Congestion Charge: A Te ntative Economic Appraisal. Transport Policy 20:1-9. Santos, Georgina. 2008. â€Å" London Congestion Charging†. Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs (9):177-207.

The Pros and Cons of Globalization Essay -- Pro Con Essays

Globalization, a great number of people regard it as a chiefly economic phenomenon, necessitating the additional integration, or interaction, of nationally based economic entities through the development of international trade, investment and monetary flows. Also included in this view is the rapid advances in sharing social and cultural values as well as new technologies as the world grows together. Globalization can be defined as a procedure in which geographic distance is a diminishing factor in the formation and sustentation of international economic, political and cultural relations. Proponents of this process believe that free trade and integration of world markets will facilitate growth in economies both old and new. Proponents also believe that globalization will stimulate the spread of democracy and in turn improve the condition of human rights so intrinsic to the values of democracy. Critics of globalization see globalization quite differently, portraying it as worldwide push toward a globalized economic system under the control of global corporate trade and banking institutions that are not responsible to the democratic system or governments. Many questions surround globalization. What are the costs and benefits of free trade? Does globalization exacerbate global inequality? What impact does globalization have on the environment? Are industries in developed nations being weakened by industries in developing or third world countries that have a lower standard and therefore cost of labor? What are the costs and benefits of free trade? Proponents of globalization put forward that the benefits of free trade out weigh the costs. International investment and trade have been the machines that drive growth and development... ...developing nations it is the nation's lower standards of labor that make globalization possible and indeed profitable. Allowing a company to pay a laborer a fraction of what his counterpart would be paid in a developed nation. Globalization has a tremendous amount of support as well as a tremendous amount of opposition. While multinational companies tend to push for globalization and therefore higher profit margins, opponents work hard to make sure that developing nations are not taken advantage of in the process. Globalization cannot continue without supporters and it should not continue with out detractors. As always a balance must be found to protect not only the nations that are developing but those that are already developed as well. Proponents and opponents must work together to ensure the well being of generations to come that will surely inherit the earth.

Slavery in the Bahamas

What is slavery? Africans became slaves in several different ways. Describe three ways in which Africans became slaves. (10 marks) Slavery is the act or institution of which an individual is held. So therefore, that individual is a slave. A slave is someone who is held against his or her will and forced to work without pay. Slavery was present in West Africa before the Europeans went there; the only difference was that the black people were slaves to other black people. In 1493 the Portuguese claimed three islands in the Gulf of Guinea and developed African plantation slavery. The Africans were first tested for labor in tropical heat, and when they were found suitable, the first set of slaves went to Portugal and from there to the New World. After that the Portuguese dealing with African slaves changed. The first recorded transportation of African slaves to the West Indies was in 1501 but it was still too early for plantation slavery and therefore cannot be considered the beginning of the slave trade. The slave trade was carried out for approximately 300 years. It began in 1508 and ended in 1808. This marked the official beginning of the transatlantic slave trade. One way that an African might become a slave is during slave raids. A typical raid would happen in the night when all the villagers were sleeping. The village huts would be set on fire purposely by the Europeans and the villagers would run out screaming. While trying to escape they were caught and tied to a slave coffle. Those who were young and healthy were taken and those who were sickly and old were left behind. Another way that Africans would become slaves is if they had to pay off debts. If a man murdered someone, he could become a slave as a way of paying for what he did. Even if I child stole something, they could become a slave until the debt was paid off. A third way that an African could become a slave is if there was a famine. If they had plenty children, and not much food to feed them, they could put their children in another household to be fed. Their children would then have to work for their food, having no choice because they have to eat. There is many other ways that you the Africans became slaves but I only mentioned a few. Those who were captured in tribal raids were taken to the coast in a coffle and their journey from then began.

Forrest Gump Film Analysis - 988 Words

The film which was up against Quentin Tarantino’s â€Å"Pulp Fiction† and Frank Darabont’s â€Å"The Shawshank Redemption† on the year of its release. The 1994 Robert Zemeckis’ film, â€Å"Forrest Gump†, won six Academy Awards against some of film histories greatest films. Forrest Gump is an American favorite about a kid from Alabama telling a story to people on a bench in Georgia. The story he is telling though is about his life and what he has gone through. The director, Robert Zemecki, is known for making great films and some are even classics. He has directed films such as the â€Å"Back to the Future† movies, â€Å"Who Framed Roger Rabbit†, â€Å"Cast Away†, â€Å"The Polar Express†, and many more. Forrest Gump is a film which is told in the narrative voice of the†¦show more content†¦When both Forrest and Bubba are sent to serve in Vietnam they meet Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise), who is their platoon leader. The platoon later is ambushed and this is when Forrest reuns away to realize hes all alone. He returns to find all of his men injured or dead and he attempts to rescue all of them but his friend Bubba doesnt make it out alive. Lieutenant Dan refused to be saved by Forrest and insisted he be left behind since he lost movement in his legs. Forrest Gump’s previous act of valor earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor and he had the chance meet President Lyndon B. Johnson. While Forrest was recovering from his injuries with the rest of his platoon he discovers an interest for ping pong. This interest reveals his talent for the sport and this gave him the opportunity to play against China where he makes the all American ream and meets President Nixon. While Forrest was staying at the same hotel as Nixon, Forrest calls the front office complaining about flashlights keeping him up but he witnessed the break in which started the Watergate scandal. Forrest Gump was given an honorable discharge for completing his service, therefore, Forrest goes straight home to his mom and also looks for Bubba’s family to keep his promise of buying a boat to fish for shrimp. Forrest and LieutenantShow MoreRelatedFilm Analysis Of Forrest Gump1362 Words   |  6 PagesJungian, and Rankian methods of analysis. In this essay, I will analyze the 1994 American film Forrest Gump by using three methods of analysis. In overview, the movie Forrest Gump tells a tale of a young Georgia country boy by the name of Forrest Gump. Forrest can be characterized as a special kid who had to wear leg braces because of his inability to walk straight. In addition, in the movie Forrest is seen having a low IQ when compared to other kids his age. Forrest soon finds himself being rejectedRead MoreForrest Gump Film Analysis887 Words   |  4 PagesForrest Gump is one of the greatest movies of all time. 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