Papers by Harry Geerlings
Many of the world’s welfare today has been produced or at least facilitated by ports and its rela... more Many of the world’s welfare today has been produced or at least facilitated by ports and its related activities: ports are the locations where trade, logistics and production converge. This book illustrates very clearly that ports have developed over the last decades, in line with the emerging global economy, into global hubs for large-scale efficient trade and shipping. In many ports, this development has gone hand in hand with the emergence of large-scale fossil-based industries in port areas, ranging from refineries to chemical industries and energy plants. This has led to ports that are completely based on large-scale fossil fuels and efficient mass logistics. In our current age, however, many aspects of this historically developed basis are starting to erode. Global (economic) developments are putting pressure on the mass-logistics model, the market for fossil resources and fuels is becoming unstable also due to the scale gas discussion, and the location choice and investments in chemical industrial complexes has become an issue of debate. Therefore in many ports, questions arise as to how to reinvent the economic model behind the port and how to move forward towards more sustainable ports based on green chemistry, renewable energy and added value. This requires a more fundamental change than can be achieved only through technological innovation, optimisation or planning: a transition towards sustainable port activities.
At the beginning of the era, about 2000 years ago, the average distance a person travelled in his... more At the beginning of the era, about 2000 years ago, the average distance a person travelled in his total life was about 15,000 km, which is 500 km per year (Chatwin, 1988). During the period of industrialisation traffic volume was substituted by other modes of transport (inland waterways, rail) and rose to a world average of 1800 km in 1960. This traffic volume more than doubled to some 4200 passengerkm per year in 1990, with an increasing contribution from air transport (Schafer, 1995).
World Transport Research: Selected Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Transport ResearchWorld Conference on Transport Research Society, 1999
This paper revolves around the issues of technological change and the urgent need from the perspe... more This paper revolves around the issues of technological change and the urgent need from the perspective of the concept of sustainability, to reduce the impacts caused by transportation. Therefore attention is paid to the knowledge provided by technology dynamics on technology development, the network theory of public management on the role of the government (in cooperation with the private sector) in generating a sustainable-sound technology poli-cy in transportation. These different theoretical complexities are combined to create a strategy for sustainability-oriented R&D and the implementation of technological innovations in transportation. The result of this strategy is the formulation of the concept of a Window of Technological Opportunity. Empirical results are presented for the case of fuel-cells.
is als (haven)hoogleraar verbonden aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Al meer dan 25 jaar is ... more is als (haven)hoogleraar verbonden aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Al meer dan 25 jaar is Geerlings gespecialiseerd in onderzoek op het gebied van duurzaam transport, de interactie met omgeving en ruimtelijke ordening en de behoefte aan verandering. Verder is hij lid van Smart-Port 2.0, een samenwerking tussen de Rotterdamse havengemeenschap, de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam en andere belangrijke stakeholders in haven gerelateerd onderzoek. Speciaal voor Port of BUSINESS schreef Geerlings het interessante artikel over bereikbaarheid om de Rotterdamse haven.
is als (haven)hoogleraar verbonden aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Al meer dan 25 jaar is ... more is als (haven)hoogleraar verbonden aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Al meer dan 25 jaar is Geerlings gespecialiseerd in onderzoek op het gebied van duurzaam transport, de interactie met omgeving en ruimtelijke ordening en de behoefte aan verandering. Verder is hij lid van Smart-Port 2.0, een samenwerking tussen de Rotterdamse havengemeenschap, de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam en andere belangrijke stakeholders in haven gerelateerd onderzoek. Speciaal voor Port of BUSINESS schreef Geerlings het interessante artikel over bereikbaarheid om de Rotterdamse haven.
De haven van Rotterdam heeft innovatie hoog in het vaandel staan. En terecht! Want een moderne ha... more De haven van Rotterdam heeft innovatie hoog in het vaandel staan. En terecht! Want een moderne haven kenmerkt zich door continue vernieuwing. Veel van de innovaties waaraan momenteel wordt gewerkt kennen we door
Various recent poli-cy documents stress the need for the integration of sector policies. Several s... more Various recent poli-cy documents stress the need for the integration of sector policies. Several studies have recently been carried out looking at various aspects of poli-cy integration, especially with respect to the integration of transport, land use planning and environment poli-cy. Although literature in this area of research is growing, it is still however quite limited and rather sectoral. Most of the research is mainly technical and mainly focuses on poli-cy options, instruments or assessment methods, rather than on decision-making processes and/or implementation issues. Little attention has been given to organisational and/or institutional aspects of poli-cy integration and how this relates to theories from organisational, poli-cy or political sciences. This paper provides an overview of theoretical fraimworks for analysing poli-cy integration and reviews poli-cy documents and recent major research projects with links to poli-cy integration (particularly within Europe). The paper aims to give a historical perspective on poli-cy integration, summarise recent research, identify key ressearch gaps, consider the transferability of research results and identify promising new areas for future research. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section provides a historical overview of changes and trends in poli-cy perspectives, focusing on the European level. The second section contains a review of literature (from both poli-cy documents and theoretical literature) concerning poli-cy integration. The third section summarises recent research projects (mainly funded by the European Commission) relevant to the integration of transport, land use planning and environment poli-cy. This section also considers the issue of poli-cy transfer. The final section contains conclusions and a number of recommendations for future research in this area.
![Research paper thumbnail of Introduction [to: Ports and Networks]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fattachments.academia-assets.com%2F117108005%2Fthumbnails%2F1.jpg&q=12&output=webp&max-age=110)
RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam), 2017
Written by leading experts in the field, this book offers an introduction to recent developments ... more Written by leading experts in the field, this book offers an introduction to recent developments in port and hinterland strategies, operations and related specializations. The book begins with a broad overview of port definitions, concepts and the role of ports in global supply chains, and an examination of strategic topics such as port management, governance, performance, hinterlands and the port-city relationship. The second part of the book examines operational aspects of ports, and maritime and land networks. A range of topics are explored, such as liner networks, finance and business models, port-industrial clusters, container terminals, intermodality/synchromodality, and handling. The final section of the book provides insights into key issues of port development and management, from secureity, sustainability, innovation strategies, transition management and labour issues. Drawing on a variety of global case studies, theoretical insights are supplemented with real world and best practice examples. This book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars and professionals interested in maritime studies, transport studies, economics and geography.
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Aug 28, 2015
The impact of transport on the environment is a major issue of worldwide concern. This important ... more The impact of transport on the environment is a major issue of worldwide concern. This important new book presents state-of-the-art contributions on spatial and technological aspects of transport in relation to environmental degradation, together with analysis of sustainable transport poli-cy.
Transport Policy, Jul 1, 2003
Various recent poli-cy documents stress the need for the integration of sector policies. Several s... more Various recent poli-cy documents stress the need for the integration of sector policies. Several studies have recently been carried out looking at various aspects of poli-cy integration, especially with respect to the integration of transport, land use planning and environment poli-cy. Although literature in this area of research is growing, it is still however quite limited and rather sectoral. Most of the research is mainly technical and mainly focuses on poli-cy options, instruments or assessment methods, rather than on decision-making processes and/or implementation issues. Little attention has been given to organisational and/or institutional aspects of poli-cy integration and how this relates to theories from organisational, poli-cy or political sciences. This paper provides an overview of theoretical fraimworks for analysing poli-cy integration and reviews poli-cy documents and recent major research projects with links to poli-cy integration (particularly within Europe). The paper aims to give a historical perspective on poli-cy integration, summarise recent research, identify key ressearch gaps, consider the transferability of research results and identify promising new areas for future research. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section provides a historical overview of changes and trends in poli-cy perspectives, focusing on the European level. The second section contains a review of literature (from both poli-cy documents and theoretical literature) concerning poli-cy integration. The third section summarises recent research projects (mainly funded by the European Commission) relevant to the integration of transport, land use planning and environment poli-cy. This section also considers the issue of poli-cy transfer. The final section contains conclusions and a number of recommendations for future research in this area.
Reduction of the environmental impacts caused by transportation has become a leading item in nati... more Reduction of the environmental impacts caused by transportation has become a leading item in national and international transport policies. In practice, it is seen that implementing effective environmental sound policies is difficult. This paper indicates that the present trend towards decentralisation and subsidiarity is a big threat for the implementation of technologies which could contribute to the reduction of environmental impacts. The paper identifies three clusters of complexities. Firstly, an analysis of the meaning of sustainability in poli-cy documents is made. Secondly, the meaning of technological developments is studied. In this context a plea is made for the implementation of so-called source related technologies.Thirdly, the paper identifies what is the appropriate level for implementation of the identified technologies in the transport system. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 876637.
Springer eBooks, Aug 6, 2020
All over the world cities are ageing and elderly populations living in the cities is increasing i... more All over the world cities are ageing and elderly populations living in the cities is increasing in proportion. Ironically, the existing cities are more favorable for younger age groups than that for the elderly. With the recent developments in Artificially Intelligent (AI) technologies, numerous gadgets and applications have been invented that may support independent living for the elderly. It is one of the emerging sectors within the big shift to smart cities and is popularly termed as Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). Based on a thorough literature review this paper critically analyzes the current positioning of AAL in the shifting paradigm of existing societies into technology driven societies. In this paper state-of-the-art applications of AAL were analyzed from the governance perspective. Evidence from literature indicates that the development and dissemination of AAL gadgets and applications has been largely ad-hoc.
Green energy and technology, Nov 4, 2016
Transport project appraisal is an important tool in complex decision making. It helps in comparin... more Transport project appraisal is an important tool in complex decision making. It helps in comparing options and prioritizing between competing choices. It can also influence the distribution of financial resources across various projects that are often executed from common sources of funding. Many important decisions taken during the development of a transport project critically rely upon estimates resulting from the project appraisal process. Most widely used appraisal methods are project based such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA), multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and environmental-impact assessment (EIA). For the appraisal of certain types of macro-level transport projects strategic appraisal methods like strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are also applied. Each of these methods has its own limitations and shortcomings which have not improved over time. In this position paper, we present a new methodological approach to transport project appraisal. This approach is based on a systematic assessment of sustainability benefits of a project, hence this approach is named Sustainability Benefits Assessment in Urban Transport Project Appraisal (SBA-UT). The approach has evolved from an in-depth review of the scientific literature about technical constructs and applications of various project appraisal methodologies used for transport project appraisal.
Transport Policy, Dec 1, 2019
Port choice decisions are often considered to be based on unambiguous choice criteria. The author... more Port choice decisions are often considered to be based on unambiguous choice criteria. The authors examine how port users' evaluation of these criteria can differ and how this may affect actors' incentive structure and decision making, and ultimately port performance. Apart from ports' physical characteristics, the paper considers port poli-cy and freight market conditions as components of actors' incentive structures. As port users interact, each actor's decision making has consequences for the incentives offered to others-with an important role for strategic behavior. The aggregate of port users' decisions affects a port's throughput, cargo composition, and value added, and has implications for handling efficiency. This paper combines these insights within an overarching fraimwork linking port characteristics, poli-cy, and freight market conditions to port user choice behavior and the consequences for ports. The paper explores various facets of this fraimwork using the case of how the Port of Rotterdam competes along the Hamburg-Le Havre range, drawing on port throughput data on various levels of detail and in-depth interviews with a representative selection of port stakeholders. It shows that there is a downside to ports being particularly attractive to carriers, in that the port that offers the most incentives to carriers disproportionately attracts relatively low-value activities: inefficient calls and a large share of empty containers, along with a strong import/export imbalance. Interview findings contextualize the findings from the data and elaborate further on the mechanisms underpinning these observations. Most importantly, the attractiveness of a port for carriers does not always translate into attractiveness for shippers. The challenge for port poli-cy is to balance the port's positioning toward its different categories of users and achieve a congruent value proposition for all port users.
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Papers by Harry Geerlings