Scope & Objectives

The Transport Planning and Environment (TPE) group is dedicated to interdisciplinary research focusing on transport systems and their complex interactions with the environment. The main research interests cover strategic and operational planning, optimization and development of innovative solutions to promote sustainable transport and to reduce environmental degradation, in particular, transport related air pollution.

Our key research objectives include:

Developing advanced models, planning tools, and decision-support methods, for operationalizing planning concepts, with a particular focus on the integration between spatial planning and transport (transit-oriented demand, TOD; 15-minute city; land use -transport integration, LUTI; polycentric urban regions, etc.)

Exploring the role of emerging solutions - in particular micromobility, shared mobility, automated vehicles, and mobility as a service (MaaS) - in the urban mobility of the future, and proposing new ways to accelerate the transition to sustainable urban mobility, based on innovative transport solutions (flexible, heterogeneous and integrated).

Developing new methodologies and knowledge in the field of transport-environment interaction focusing on urban environment with particular emphasis on transport emission modelling, pollution dispersion and population exposure.

Investigating the role of airports in spatial planning and regional development, analysing airport capacity management with a focus on slot allocation problems, and assessing environmental impacts of aviation under climate change.

Research Team

• Integrated Members with PhD -  Oxana Tchepel (coordinator), Álvaro Costa, António Pais Antunes, Daniela Dias, Gonçalo Santos, João Teixeira, João Bigotte, Susana Freiria
• PhD Students -  Alberto Blaite, Anne Patrício, João Cruz, João Pedro Martins, Kiana Sanajou, Maria João Beirão, Nathale Andrade
• Collaborating Researchers - Micael Sousa, Noela de Pina, Sérgio Batista

Financial Support

• Foundation for Science and Technology/ Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Laboratory Facilities

• Planning Laboratory - GIS Unit

Current Research Projects

• 3.88 - WSmart Route+ : Towards a Smart Waste Collection Route Planning System
• 3.89 - STREETS4ALL - Dynamic and equitable Reallocation of Urban Street Space

Previous Research Projects

• 3.1 - Techical Assistance on the Development of New Projects in Transport
• 3.2 - Research Agreement FEUP/TAP – Air Portugal
• 3.3 - Research Agreement FEUP/TAP and FEUP/SPdH
• 3.4 - Research Agreement FEUP/STCP
• 3.5 - Management and Performance Evolution on Urban Public Transport Enterprises (FCT)
• 3.6 - Air Transport
• 3.7 - Public Transport Management and Operations
• 3.8 - City Logistics
• 3.9 - Handling Operations Management
• 3.10 - InTrSim - Model to Simulate Transport Interfaces
• 3.11 - Cost of Noise
• 3.12 - Air Transportation for Effective and Efficient Service to Small More Remote Communities: Policy Options Under Regulatory Reform
• 3.44 - SUSPENSE - Sustainable built environment under natural hazards and extreme events
• 3.46 - TRAPHIC - Traffic Related Air Pollution Impacts on Historic City Centres: An Integrated Approach
• 3.48 - ISY-AIR – An Integrated System for Urban Scale Air Quality Assessment and Forecast (MIT-EXPL/IRA/0023/2017)
• 3.49 - WSMART ROUTE – Waste Collection based on a Real Time Route Planning System (MITEXPL/SUS/0132/2017)
• 3.50 - ASAP – Airport Slot Allocation Processes: Advances in Current Guidelines and Practices (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029725)
• 3.51 - Driving2Driverless: Urban and Regional Transport Management under a Scenario of Shared Electric Fully Automated Mobility (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-31923)

Current PhD Projects

• 3.75 - Mobilidade Turística no Ambiente Urbano
• 3.84 - Analysis of Traffic Related Atmospheric Aerosol Particles in an Urban Environment
• 3.86 - The Role of Airports in Spatial Planning and Regional Development
• 3.90 - Ex-ante assessment of a shared autonomous vehicle mobility system for interurban trips through agent-based modeling 
• 3.91 - Environmental impacts of aviation under climate change

Previous PhD Projects

• 3.47 - Airline Fleet Composition: Analysis and Planning
• 3.52 - As Infra-estruturas Rodoviárias e o Desenvolvimento Regional
• 3.53 - Road Network Planning under Efficiency, Robustness and Equity Criteria
• 3.54 - Towards a Location Modeling Approach to Urban Hierarchy Planning
• 3.55 - Evaluation of Urban Goods Distribution Initiatives towards Mobility and Sustainability: Indicators, Stakeholders and Assessment Tools
• 3.56 - Evaluating Aircraft Turnaround Process in the Framework of Airport Design and Airline Behaviour
• 3.57 - Optimal Location of Access Points in Controlled Entry Transportation Networks
• 3.58 - Planeamento de Equipamentos Educativos em Cabo Verde
• 3.59 - Optimum Design of Aviation Networks - The Cases of Airport Congestion and Low Demand
• 3.60 - Public Facility Planning Models with Single and Multiple Services: Models, Solution Methods and Applications
• 3.61 - Optimization Models for the Expansion of Airport Networks
• 3.62 - Exposure Modelling to Traffic-Related Air Toxic Pollutants
• 3.63 - Optimization and Simulation of One-way Carsharing Operations
• 3.64 - Estimation and Prediction of Road Traffic Status with Information from Multiple Sources
• 3.65 - Traffic Signal Control in Congested Urban Networks: Simulation-based Optimization Approach
• 3.66 - Optimization Approach to Land-Use/Transportation Policy-Making
• 3.67 - Planning and Scheduling Models Towards a More Efficient Heavy Maintenance of the Railway Track
• 3.68 - Multi-scale Integrated Cellular Modeling for the Study of Urban Change Phenomena
• 3.69 - Managerial Decisions and Performance in European Urban Public Transport – A Comparative Analysis”, PhD Thesis, University of Porto, 2016
• 3.70 - Análise Estratégica da Expansão de Infra-estruturas Urbanísticas
• 3.71 - Study of natural atmospheric aerosols in Portugal: integrated analysis using air quality modelling and satellite data
• 3.72 - Desert Dust Contribution to the Atmospheric Aerosol in Cape Verde and in Portugal
• 3.73 - Airline Fleet Composition: Analysis and Planning
• 3.74 - Integrated Transit-Parking Policy Making
• 3.77 - Transit-Oriented Development
• 3.78 - Planejamento de Transportes Públicos Coletivos Urbanos com Recurso a Técnicas de Otimização: Aplicações à Cidade e à Região Metropolitana do Natal/RN
• 3.79 - Integrated Scheduling Recovery: A Multi-Agent Approach
• 3.80 - Strategic Planning of a Network of Intermodal Platforms
• 3.81 - Active Learning Metamodels for Scenario Discovery in Land-Use/ Transportation Simulators
• 3.82 - Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Developing Countries
• 3.83 - Flood Emergency Logistics Management
• 3.85 - Airport Capacity Management - Towards a Slot Allocation Modelling Approach Compliant with IATA Rules
• 3.87 - Serious Planning Games