Skip to content

 School of Geography and the Environment

University of Oxford

 The Transport Studies Unit

Outreach

Part of the School of Geography and the Environment

Research Project

Social Impacts and Social Equity Issues in Transport

Overview

'Social issues form an important element of the transport policy challenge, but have been much less well explored and articulated than areas such as the economy and the environment. The social sciences have collectively carried out a wide range of research into social impacts and social equity, from a variety of different perspectives. Take up of this work in transport policy and research has been limited and patchy, however. Hence the priority under this theme is to expose and synthesise this diversity of work, and consider its applicability to contemporary policy and practice, by holding a series of linked Research into Practice events. Each one will have a different focus and be led by a different institution, with the overall project being led by Dr Karen Lucas at the TSU.

Aims and objectives

The overall aim of the series is to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and capacity building to better equip researchers, policymakers and practitioners to address the social challenges in transport now and in the future within the UK context. It will draw on state-of-the-art research and best practices across a wide range of disciplines both here and abroad, to identify gaps in knowledge and the appropriate methodologies and evidence base for addressing these.

Programme of Events

  1. Framing Event - University of Oxford, 14-15 September 2010
  2. Employment and Training Workshop - Warwick University, 2 December 2010
  3. Transport and Health Workshop - 17-18 March 2011
  4. Housing and Sustainable Communities Workshop - London School of Economics, 21 June 2011
  5. Rural Connectivity Workshop - Aberdeen University, 3-4 October 2011
  6. Final Dissemination Event - central London, 2 November 2011

To book a place or find out more information about these events please contact karen.lucas@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Policy Briefing Notes

Following each session, a Policy Briefing note will be prepared by the workshop leader, to distil the main findings with immediate relevance for transport policy, and recommendations will be made for further research, which could be funded through UKTRC or elsewhere. These will also be made available on the websites.

Workshop Reports

Each workshop will be informed by a set of four specially commissioned papers by key experts in the field, each covering a different disciplinary or methodological approach / focus. It is up to each workshop leader to commission and produce these outputs. They will be made freely available on the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, and UK Transport Research Centre (UKTRC) websites.

Presentations

Framing Event
Workshop 1: Employment and Training
Workshop 2: Transport and Health
Workshop 3: Housing and Sustainable Communities
Workshop 4: Connectivity of Rural Communities
Final Dissemination Event
Special Issue

It is also anticipated that there will be a special edition of the Journal of Transport Geography devoted to papers from the series, for which the workshop leaders are expected to recommend suitable papers from their workshops.

Other papers

Individuals will produce their own papers and presentations relating to the series in other academic journals.

Further Information

For more information on this research project please contact Dr Karen Lucas.