Métro léger | EPFL Graph Search

vignette|Métro léger de Tunis (Tunisie) vignette|Edmonton LRT (Canada)vignette|Métro léger de la Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (Californie), 2005 Un métro léger ou système léger sur rail (équivalent du terme light rail ou light rail transit), est une forme de transport urbain possédant un matériel et une capacité à mi-chemin entre le tramway et le métro. Très répandu en Amérique du Nord et en Allemagne, le métro léger possède une infrastructure mêlant site-propre intégral et circulation en voirie. Il est généralement assimilable à un tramway de surface à la périphérie et à un métro souterrain dans le centre-ville. Ce mode de transport est adapté aux agglomérations dont la taille ne justifie pas un métro lourd sur toutes les lignes, mais qui souhaitent s'affranchir partiellement du trafic de surface. Le matériel roulant utilisé est généralement plus léger que celui d'un vrai métro. Il peut posséder un plancher haut comme un train ou un métro classique, ou bien un planch

The new prevalence of public-private partnerships in the production of Light Rail Transit Systems in Canada

Dominic Villeneuve

To understand why all new light rail transit (LRT) projects under development in Canada are carried out in public-private partnership (P3) rather than through the traditional mode (public administration) that prevailed in the past, this research explores three light rail projects currently underway in Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto. We study the arguments surrounding each decision leading to the choice of the P3 governance model. We show that in all cases, it is possible to observe the mechanisms of policy transfer, whether voluntary or coercive. Moreover, the argument used by local actors to justify the choice of P3, although similar in several respects, still forms a unique combination of justifications for each case, which leads us to believe that P3s are a versatile policy instrument. These findings demonstrate the importance of taking into account policy transfer at the municipal level and not only transfers that take place between national states.

2014

Made by China: the transformation of an African city

Alexandra Belinesh Thorer

Over the past two decades China has become increasingly involved in Africa. From rising trade and investment capital to a rapid climb in industrial and construction activity, a new foundation has been laid for Africaâs development. While Africaâs economy is growing and its cities urbanizing rapidly, many African leaders follow the Chinese Model in order to modernize and develop its cities. This thesis studies the continentâs diplomatic capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where China plays a significant role in construction and development, notably in the much-needed transportation sector. China is involved in numerous road and rail projects and now Addis Ababa is equipped with the first modern Light Rail Transit (LRT) network in Sub-Saharan Africa. An urban superstructure such as this not only changes the cityâs primary mode of transportation, but also affects Addis Ababaâs urban fabrication. Perhaps most importantly, however, the LRT serves as an icon of Africaâs rapid modernization and development. Addis Ababa is transforming rapidly. The government introduces modern master plans for its large-scale urban renewal approach and tackles the challenges of transportation through top-down planning and the implementation of new transportation systems. This construction leads to a fundamental transformation of Addis Ababaâs public spaces, which impacts the accessibility of its users as well as physical changes within the built environment. On a secondary level, this thesis explores Chinaâs financial and technological assistance to Ethiopia and questions in what manner Addis Ababa may develop into a city âmade by China.â Only little existing literature concerns Chinaâs impact on architecture, urban, and social spaces in Africaâs transformation. Inspired by the Grounded Theory Methodology, this research accumulates empirical data gathered in Addis Ababa by using photographic studies throughout the LRT construction phase. This visual exploration method occurs along the North-South and East-West corridors of the Addis Ababa LRT and is strengthened by a detailed study of five selected public spaces, which showcase a historic, cultural and political importance to the city. These studies reveal the LRT impact onto Addis Ababaâs urban as well as social transformation. The first evidence â spatiality - shows that the two LRT lines create a physical barrier and consequently fragments the city. This spatial transformation leads to the transformation of urban movement, thus mobility. By introducing a modern transport technology, existing movement patterns change in both spatial as well as temporal means. In addition, the LRT furthers the hierarchization of transportation and favors the countryâs rapid development and modernization. But this growth also leads to a disproportionate development. Referred to as an emerging global city, Addis Ababaâs path to modernization is successively neglecting its long and omnipresent history, its locality. The phenomenon of radical transformation, rapid urbanization, development, economic growth and industrialization, has more prominently been observed in China after the post-Mao market reform. Since Chinaâs presence in Africa is increasing substantially, this thesis proposes a theoretical concept described as the âChinaizationâ of urban Africa, which indicates fundamental dynamics and tendencies of Chinaâs recent development and questions the extent to which this impacts Africaâs current urbanization.

EPFL2015

Made by China: the transformation of an African city

Alexandra Belinesh Thorer

EPFL2015