| Urban Transport 2008 |
Fourteenth International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century
Overview
Opening Address The delegates were welcomed by the representative of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Communications of Malta, Mr Simon Gatt, who discussed the policy of the island for public transport. The government of Malta has successfully spearheaded a number of urban regeneration projects in the two main harbours since the late 1990s, initially in the Valetta Cruise Liner Terminal; the Cottonera Waterfront Development and the Manoel Island and Tigre Point Redevelopments. In order to bring these projects to fruition, the Government has adopted a policy as part of its national operational framework known as ‘Transient Oriented Development’ which has been produced after considering international operational practice and applying the results within the local Maltese context. The Transient Oriented Development approach is seen as a flexible tool, applied locally to create synergy between all the major capital projects in Malta with land transport, whilst reshaping urban and suburban neighbourhoods, communities and ultimately making the local economy sustainable. Professor Carlos Brebbia, Director of WIT, then thanked the keynote speaker from the Ministry for his opening remarks and for the Government of Malta’s support of the Meeting. Professor Brebbia explained the importance of conferences such as Urban Transport to the work carried out by his Institute, whose main function is the transfer of knowledge at an international level. This is achieved through a series of training activities, as well as by post-graduate training at MPhil and PhD degree. Most research at WIT takes place with the support of national and international organisations and as part of research consortia.  WIT, Professor Brebbia said, also has two important areas of activities closely associated with its main function, the transfer of knowledge. One is the publication of books and journals in paper and electronic form. WIT has recently developed an Electronic Library which offers the international community the possibility of immediate access to valuable research material, such as conference papers, which are now available on the Web. Another important activity is industrial support that the Institute carries out through long term industrial research projects and by the services of a special unit which distributes computer codes and consulting support for different firms world wide. Professor Brebbia ended his remarks by inviting the delegates to visit the Institute when they are in London or in the New Forest/Southampton region. WIT is always happy to receive friends and visitors to its newly renovated campus so that members of the community can arrive at a better understanding of WIT’s objectives. Keynote Address
Conference Sessions The papers were grouped into the following sessions:
Special Session - Safety of users in road evacuationA special session was organised by Professor F. Russo and G. Mussolino from the University of Reggio Calabria on the topic of Safety of users in road evacuation. The session consisted of five invited presentations as follows, all but one from the University of Calabria:
International Scientific Advisory Committee
Conference BanquetThe Conference banquet took place on board a ship sailing into the Grand Harbour which offers one of the most beautiful sights of Malta at night. Dinner and drinks on board added to the friendly atmosphere. On arrival at the Grand Harbour, the delegates were given a guided tour of the old city with an explanation of the history behind each of the heritage buildings which are a unique feature of Malta. Many of them date from the time when the Knights of St. John were in charge of what was a fortress to control the Mediterranean. After the visit, the delegates were taken back to the hotel, thus concluding a beautiful excursion. Technical ExcursionAt the end of the Conference, the participants were offered a Technical Visit by the Projects Development and Coordination Unit of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Communication of Malta. The visit described the application of the Transient Oriented Development (TOD) policy for Malta, a new initiative to deal with the urban mobility problems on the island. Publication of PapersThe proceedings of Urban Transport XIV: Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century, 784pp (ISBN: 1-84564-123-8) are available in hard back from WIT Press priced at £258/US$516/€387. Orders can be placed by telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223, fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, e-mail:
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or via the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com |
1 - 3 September 2008 
The 14th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century has recently taken place on the historical island of Malta, organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology of the UK (WIT), and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Communications of Malta. 
The Meeting of the International Scientific Advisory Committee took place over dinner in an excellent restaurant offering local specialities as well as international cuisine. The discussions centred on the objectives of the Conference when reconvened in 2010. The discussions resulted in a new and up to date list of topics emphasising aspects such as intermodality, ecological and environmental aspects, applications of advanced technologies and intelligent systems.Urban Transport 2008
| Proceedings |
| WIT eLibrary |
Organiser
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Wessex Institute of Technology, UK |
Sponsor
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WIT Transactions on the Built Environment |
Conference Chairman
C A Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
International Scientific Advisory Committee
S AmirkhanianClemson University, USA
S Basbas
Aristotle Uni. of Thessaloniki, Greece
D Cvitanic
University of Split, Croatia
V Galdi
University of Salerno, Italy
M Jha
Morgan State University, USA
J Joubert
University of Pretoria, South Africa
G Mattrisch
Daimler Chrysler AG, Germany
T Miyagi
Gifu University, Japan
O A Nielsen
Tech. University of Denmark, Denmark
A Pratelli
University of Pisa, Italy
J H R van Duin
Delft Univ of Technology, The Netherlands
L Wadhwa
James Cook University, Australia
I Yatskiv
Transport and Telecoms Inst, Latvia
2008 Conferences
Wessex Institute of Technology
Wessex Institute of Technology
Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton SO40 7AA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)238 029 3223 Fax: +44 (0)238 029 2853 Email: wit@wessex.ac.uk