CCES-JSCE Joint Seminar on Urban Development and Intelligent Transport Systems for the Future of Asian Cities
(w/ CCES and The Infrastructure Planning Committee, July 30, 2006)
On July 30, 2006, the above joint seminar, co-hosted by Civil Engineering Academy of China (Urban Road and Transportation Engineering Committee) and Japan Society of Civil Engineers (Committee of Infrastructure Planning Research), co-organized by Harbin Institute of Technology, Toyota Transportation Research Institute (TTRI), Nagoya University and Urban Transportation Centre (UTC) of the Ministry of Construction, and sponsored by Toyota Mapmaster Incorporated, was held in Harbin Institute of Technology.
In the Asian big cities where the population increases rapidly and the motorization goes, the urban traffic & transportation problems, such as city sprawl, environment and energy problem, traffic accident, a poverty layer, poor mobility of handicapped people, are aggravating increasingly. On the other hand, as the development of information and communication technology, the intelligentization of the traffic & transportation system (ITS) is advanced. The new view of these problem solving is also appearing. To exchange information and ideas continuously, between the researchers in the field of the traffic & transportation and the urban study from Japan who have experienced these problems and the researchers from China who faced to these problems promptly, is considered to be very effective for the sustainable development of the cities in Asia in the 21st century.
Aiming at building a place for such exchange, Japan / China Joint Seminar on Urban Development and Intelligent Transport Systems for the Future of Asian Cities, organized by Nagoya University (Morikawa and the Yamamoto laboratory), co-sponsored by ITS Japan, Toyota Transportation Research Institute (TTRI) and Tsinghua University (Transportation Research Institute), was successfully held in July 2005. The Japanese and Chinese researchers working actively in this field met together and confirmed the necessity for exchanging information about the result of research and the project relative with the traffic & transportation and the urban study. The subsequent seminar was decided to be held periodically in 2006 and after.
In 2006, Harbin Institute of Technology and Toyota Transportation Research Institute (TTRI) worked together as secretariats to prepare the joint seminar. In order to heighten the influence of such activity, the secretariats called the joint sponsorship of Civil Engineering Academy of China (Urban Road and Transportation Engineering Committee) and Japan Society of Civil Engineers (Committee of Infrastructure Planning Research) and made it realize as stated in the above.
This seminar began from the welcome reception in the night of July 29, and finished by the Banquet in the night of July 30. The number of participants was about 100 (see Photo). The speeches and presentations which were made by dividing into seven sessions on July 30 were 41 in total. Moreover, number of papers including which could be presented as the limiting time is 65. All papers were published, together with 6 presentation materials, in both the paper version and the CD-ROM version.
At the opening ceremony, Prof. Sun Heyi, the vice-president of Harbin Institute of Technology, addresses welcome speech. Continually, Prof. Takayuki MORIKAWA from Nagoya University, Prof. Liu Guisheng, the director of Urban Road and Transportation Engineering Committee of Civil Engineering Academy of China and the president of Beijing General Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, and Prof. An Shi, the dean of School of Transportation Science and Engineering of Harbin Institute of Technology addressed speech respectively.
As the representatives of Japan, Prof. Noboru HARATA from University of Tokyo and Prof. Takayuki MORIKAWA gave the keynote speech entitled by "transport and social exclusion: quantitative index and application results" and "a dynamic guidance system (DRGS) using probe vehicle data" respectively. Moreover, at the closing ceremony, Prof. Shoji Mizokami from Kumamoto University, the former Secretary-General of Committee of Infrastructure Planning Research of JSCE gave a speech promising the realization of the 3rd joint seminar in Japan and appealed for the participation from China in 2007.
Besides above-mentioned Prof. Harada and Prof. Morikawa, Prof. Mizokami, Dr. Jiangqian YING, Associate Professor of Gifu University, Dr. Junyi ZHANG, Associate Professor of Hiroshima University and Dr. Ryosuke Ando, Research General Manager & Chief Research Engineer of Toyota Transportation Research Institute (TTRI), made the presentations respectively on the research results and projects in Japan.
Last but not least, gratitude is expressed for various organizations and individuals who supported and took part in the joint seminar. Especially, I deeply appreciate Prof. PEI Yulong, Director of Traffic & Transportation Research Lab of Harbin Institute of Technology, and the staff in Harbin Institute of Technology who did their best for the joint seminar preparation, operation, making of proceedings and so on. Furthermore, the greet gratitude is deeply expressed to Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Toyota Mapmaster Incorporated and Harbin Institute of Technology for their financial supports.
This seminar was supported by the Scientific Exchange Fund of JSCE.
Reported by:
Ryosuke ANDO
Toyota Transportation Research Institute
A group photo of the participants