Traffic And Congestion In The Roman Empire

The first book to ever examine ancient Roman traffic, this well-illustrated volume looks in detail at the construction of Roman road, and studies the myriad of road users of the Roman Empire: civilians, wagons and animals, the cursus publicus, commercial use and the army.Through this examination, Cornelis van Tilburg reveals much of town planning in ancient cities: the narrow paths of older cities, and the wider, chessboard-patterned streets designed to sustain heavy traffic.He discusses toll points and city gates as measures taken to hamper traffic, and concludes with a discussion as to why the local governments' attempts to regulate the traffic flow missed their targets of improving the infrastructure. This book will interest any student, scholar or enthusiast in Roman history and culture.

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This study of Ancient Rome offers a fascinating glimpse of what Roman society was like—from fashion, to food, to politics and recreation—gathered from literary works, art, and archaeological remains. While the political history and prominent figures of Ancient Rome are well known, accounts of daily life in that time and place often remain untold. This fascinating encyclopedia explores this period from a social and cultural perspective, digging into the day-to-day activities of how Romans dressed, what they ate, how they worked, and what they did for fun. Drawing from recent archaeological evidence, author James W. Ermatinger explores the everyday lives of Roman citizens of all levels and classes. This book is organized into ten sections: art, economics, family, fashion, food, housing, politics, recreation, religion, and science. Each section contains more than two dozen entries that illuminate such topics as slavery as a social movement; the menus of peasants, slaves, and the elite; and the science and engineering solutions that became harbingers for today's technology. The work contains a selection of primary documents as well as a bibliography of print and Internet resources.

This is the third of a series of research volume of papers from the Business and Information Technologies global research network. The group includes 20 partners from 16 countries, who conduct studies on the impact of new information and communication technologies on business practice, industry structure, and economic change. The book presents a unique longitudinal and cross-sectional view of technology adoption and business practice across a diverse set of countries and economies. It appears that there are some commonalities with respect to patterns of technology adoption, but also significant differences across countries. Furthermore, innovative practices can arise in every country, and have the potential to be applied in other countries. The identical survey carried out in different countries enables benchmarking and accurate comparisons across those markets. It is also extremely broad in its coverage of business practice in terms of functions and performance.

A highly readable but challenging perspective on the established conventions of transport policy planning and economic appraisal ... a fascinating tour d'horizon of topical transport issues.? David Quarmby CBE chairman of the Independent Transport Commission?David Metz again challenges conventional thinking in transport through a fundamental reinterpretation of the limits of travel time and human mobility arguing that there should be maximum limits set for mobility if we are to avoid unacceptable environmental damage.? David Banister professor of transport studies Oxford University 'The firs.

An argument that operational urban planning can be improved by the application of the tools of urban economics to the design of regulations and infrastructure. Urban planning is a craft learned through practice. Planners make rapid decisions that have an immediate impact on the ground—the width of streets, the minimum size of land parcels, the heights of buildings. The language they use to describe their objectives is qualitative—“sustainable,” “livable,” “resilient”—often with no link to measurable outcomes. Urban economics, on the other hand, is a quantitative science, based on theories, models, and empirical evidence largely developed in academic settings. In this book, the eminent urban planner Alain Bertaud argues that applying the theories of urban economics to the practice of urban planning would greatly improve both the productivity of cities and the welfare of urban citizens. Bertaud explains that markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities' development. He cites the experience of cities without markets for land or labor in pre-reform China and Russia; this “urban planners' dream” created inefficiencies and waste. Drawing on five decades of urban planning experience in forty cities around the world, Bertaud links cities' productivity to the size of their labor markets; argues that the design of infrastructure and markets can complement each other; examines the spatial distribution of land prices and densities; stresses the importance of mobility and affordability; and critiques the land use regulations in a number of cities that aim at redesigning existing cities instead of just trying to alleviate clear negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by describing the new role that joint teams of urban planners and economists could play to improve the way cities are managed.

Edited by two pioneers in the field of sensory archaeology, this Handbook comprises a key point of reference for the ever-expanding field of sensory archaeology: one that surpasses previous books in this field, both in scope and critical intent. This Handbook provides an extensive set of specially commissioned chapters, each of which summarizes and critically reflects on progress made in this dynamic field during the early years of the twenty-first century. The authors identify and discuss the key current concepts and debates of sensory archaeology, providing overviews and commentaries on its methods and its place in interdisciplinary sensual culture studies. Through a set of thematic studies, they explore diverse sensorial practices, contexts and materials, and offer a selection of archaeological case-studies from different parts of the world. In the light of this, the research methods now being brought into the service of sensory archaeology are re-examined. Of interest to scholars, students and others with an interest in archaeology around the world, this book will be invaluable to archaeologists and is also of relevance to scholars working in disciplines contributing to sensory studies: aesthetics, anthropology, architecture, art history, communication studies, history (including history of science), geography, literary and cultural studies, material culture studies, museology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology.