Route Search Method for Railway Replacement Buses Adopting Ant Colony Optimization

In recent years, Japan, and especially rural areas have faced the growing problems of debt-ridden local railway lines along with the population decline and aging population. Therefore, it is best to consider the discontinuation of local railway lines and introduce replacement buses to secure the transportation methods of the local people especially in rural areas. Based on the above background, targeting local railway lines that may be discontinued in the near future, appropriate bus stops when provided with potential bus stops were selected, the present study proposed a method that introduces routes for railway replacement buses adopting ant colony optimization (ACO). The improved ACO was designed and developed based on the requirements set concerning the route length, number of turns, road width, accessibility of railway lines and zones without bus stops as well as the constraint conditions concerning the route length, number of turns and zones without bus stops. Original road network data were generated and processed adopting a geographic information systems (GIS), and these are used to search for the optimal route for railway replacement buses adopting the improved ACO concerning the 8 zones on the target railway line (JR Kakogawa line). By comparing the improved ACO with Dijkstra’s algorithm, its relevance was verified and areas needing further improvements were revealed.

A Sightseeing Spot Recommendation System for Urban Smart Tourism Based on Users’ Priority Conditions

The present study aimed to design,develop,operate and evaluate a sightseeing spot recommendation system as a smart tourism tool that gathers and accumulates sightseeing spot information and considers personal preferences as well as priority conditions to support tourism activities,especially in urban tourist areas.The system was developed by integrating web-geographic information systems(Web-GIS),the recommendation system and the evaluation system.Additionally,the system was operated for 4 weeks in the central part of Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture,Japan,and the total number of users was 62.Based on the results of the web questionnaire survey,the system was highly useful for sightseeing activities,and further utilization of each function can be expected by continuing the operation.From the results of access analysis of users’log data,it is evident that the system has been used by different types of information terminals just as it was designed for,and that the system has been used according to the purpose of the present study,which is to support the sightseeing activities of users.However,the number of visits to pages related to the evaluation function of sightseeing spots and submitting function of new sightseeing spot information was low.This may improve if the system operation is conducted on a long-term basis.

An Environmental Risk Evaluation Method Employing Atmospheric Dispersion Models and GIS

This study aims to develop a method for evaluating the environmental risk of harmful chemical substances released from specific sources, using two atmospheric dispersion models and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In the first stage of evaluation, ADMER was used to conduct a wide-area evaluation which covered the entire area of the evaluation target region. In the second stage, METI-LIS was used to conduct a detailed limited-area evaluation which targeted the vicinity of sources. In this study, incinerators were selected as sources and dioxins were selected as harmful chemical substances. The area selected for evaluation was the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan, and the evaluation method proposed in this study was used to evaluate environmental risk. Through the use of atmospheric dispersion models and GIS, the behavior of dioxins emitted into the atmosphere from incinerators was estimated. By superimposing atmospheric levels and population data, the amounts of dioxins that humans exposed to were found. Additionally, by superimposing deposition amounts and land use data, the amounts of dioxins accumulated in each land environment were found. Conducting these steps enabled the impact of dioxins on humans and the environment to be grasped quantitatively and visually, and the risk that dioxins emitted from incinerators pose to the environment to be evaluated.

A Support System of Sightseeing Tour Planning Using Public Transportation in Japanese Rural Areas

Though most of tourists tend to visit multiple sightseeing spots during their sightseeing tours,it is difficult for them to efficiently acquire information necessary for their sightseeing tour planning.Additionally,in rural area,many people hope to use public transportation which has not developed as much as in urban areas.The present study aims to design and develop a support system of sightseeing tour planning in Japanese rural areas,adopting the information related to real timetables of public transportation on both the sea and the ground,and genetic algorism(GA).The system was developed integrating moving route recommendation system,web-geographic information systems(Web-GIS),and augmented reality(AR)application.Furthermore,Kagawa Prefecture in the western part was selected as the operation target area.The operation of the system was conducted for two months,targeting those inside and outside the operation target area,and web questionnaire surveys were conducted.From the evaluation results based on the web questionnaire surveys,the usefulness of all the original functions as well as of the entire system was analyzed.Additionally,though some users could not easily use the system,it is expected that they will get used to utilizing it by their continuous use.

Economic Evaluation Method of Photovoltaic Power Generation Installed in Ordinary Homes

This study aims to develop an economic evaluation method for installing photovoltaic power generation in ordinary homes using GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The conclusions can be summarized in the following three points: 1) This method determines the profit and loss and payback period in order to evaluate the installation of photovoltaic power generation, taking into account the price of equipment, solar battery module conversion efficiency, subsidy, electricity purchase price, service life and rate for selling electricity. 2) The proposed evaluation method was applied to Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, providing plural scenarios. Using a solar battery module conversion efficiency of more than 15%, it is possible to make the payback period shorter than the 20-year service life and anticipate a profit in almost the whole area. 3) The areas suitable for photovoltaic power generation are Kawasaki City and Ninomiya-machi. It is necessary to adopt measures to increase the subsidy and install photovoltaic power generating systems in specific places in areas where subsidies are not provided in enough amounts.

Contributing Factors for Delays during the Morning Commute Hours and the Impact of the Spread of COVID-19 for Metropolitan Train Lines in Japan

The present study aims to conduct 2 types of statistical analysis to reveal the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on train delays by comparing the potential contributing factors before, during and after the outbreak of the virus in the metropolitan train lines in Japan. First of all, the result of the present study clearly revealed the changes in contributing factors for train delays caused by the spread of COVID-19. Specifically, the contributing factors for train delays changed due to the decrease of passengers by the effect of the outbreak of the virus. Additionally, though large terminal stations were considered to be a major contributing factor in causing and increasing train delays in the past, this was not the case after the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, under such conditions, it is more effective to make improvements in small to medium stations and tracks rather than terminal stations. Furthermore, as the decrease in passengers also decreased train delays in commuter lines going to the suburbs due to the spread of COVID-19, the contributing factor for such lines is the excessive number of passengers. Therefore, as for countermeasures for train delays after the effects of COVID-19, it is necessary to disperse passengers in order to avoid passengers concentrating in the same time zones and train lines.

A Sightseeing Planning Support System with Gamification

In recent years, as there has been a major change in the necessity and importance of sightseeing information, a platform to provide real-time sightseeing information according to the ever-changing circumstances is necessary. Additionally, it is effective to adopt gamification to increase users’ motivation to continuously utilize the system in order to provide them with more information. In the present study, in order to support users’ enjoyment in creating efficient and pleasant sightseeing plans, the system that incorporates gamification to increase motivation was developed combining with web-geographic information systems (Web-GIS) and sightseeing planning and sharing system. The system was operated over a period of 2 weeks in Chofu City, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey for 51 users, though the operability of the 3 main functions incorporated with motivation by gamification was rated lower than those of the 2 basic functions, their usefulness was highly rated. Based on the results of the access log analysis, it was effective to design the system so that the same functions can be used regardless of the type of information terminal. Additionally, it was evident that the continuous utilization of the system could increase the number of sightseeing plans created by the users.

Location Evaluation of Childcare Facilities Focusing on Transportation in Japanese Urban Areas

In recent Japan, as there has been an increase of dual-income households and the demand for childcare facilities has especially increased especially in urban areas, childcare facilities and workers are lacking and it leads to the serious issue of children on waiting lists. Based on the background mentioned above, using statistical method, geographical information system (GIS) and public open data, scenario analysis to select transportation, the present study aimed to propose a method to quantitatively evaluate the current location of childcare facilities in Japanese urban areas. In the present study, the model of the p-median problem used to obtain the optimal location of facilities was modified, and a method to evaluate the current situation concerning the shortage or overage of childcare facilities by district was proposed. As evaluations are conducted using quantitative data such as the specialization coefficient of person trip for transportation and the distance between childcare facilities and districts, the evaluation results are also quantitative, making it an effective indicator for evaluating the locations of childcare facilities. Additionally, the specialization coefficient of person trip for transportation and the distance between childcare facilities and districts were calculated based on public open data. Therefore, the evaluation method in the present study has a high temporal reproducibility as well as spatial reproducibility.

Method of Searching for Earthquake Disaster Evacuation Routes Using Multi-Objective GA and GIS

This study treats the determination of routes for evacuation on foot in earthquake disasters as a multi-objective optimization problem, and aims to propose a method for quantitatively searching for evacuation routes using a multi-objective genetic algorithm (multi-objective GA) and GIS. The conclusions can be summarized in the following three points. 1) A GA was used to design and create an evacuation route search algorithm which solves the problem of the optimization of earthquake disaster evacuation routes by treating it as an optimization problem with multiple objectives, such as evacuation distance and evacuation time. 2) In this method, goodness of fit is set by using a Pareto ranking method to determine the ranking of individuals based on their relative superiorities and inferiorities. 3) In this method, searching for evacuation routes based on the information on present conditions allows evacuation routes to be derived based on present building and road locations.?Further, this method is based on publicly available information;therefore, obtaining geographic information similar to that of this study enables this method to be effective regardless of what region it is applied to, or whether the data regards the past or the future. Therefore, this method has high degree of spatial and temporal reproducibility.

Contributing Factors for Train Delays during Morning Rush Hour in Japanese Metropolitan Areas

The present study aims to reveal the contributing factors for train delays in Tokyo metropolitan area by conducting statistical analyses, focusing on passenger trains, and using a variety of information by including data concerning train cars, stations, passengers, tracks and working timetables as explanatory variables. The present study conducted 2 types of statistical analyses including the standard multiple regression analysis and the logistic regression analysis by setting “average delay time” which indicates the quantitative conditions of delays, and “occurrence of delays” which indicates the qualitative condition, as objective variables. According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, the possibility of direct operations increasing the delay occurrence rate was quantitatively indicated. Therefore, direct operations are regarded as a contributing factor for train delays concerning metropolitan areas in recent years. Additionally, it was confirmed that the concentration of demand on terminal stations is also a contributing factor for train delays. On the other hand, it is certain that direct operations contribute to improving the convenience of passengers as well as the operational efficiency of train cars. Therefore, it would be ideal to resolve delays by easing the concentration of demands which may be accomplished by recommending off-peak commuting as well as adjustments to the working timetables.

Method for Evaluating the Influence of Obstruction of Sea Breeze by Clusters of High-Rise Buildings on the Urban Heat Island Effect

This study aims to propose a method for quantitatively evaluating the influence which the obstruction of sea breezes by clusters of high-rise buildings has on the urban heat island effect using a weather simulation model and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Specifically, a method of evaluating the influence of the obstruction of sea breeze by high-rise buildings on the urban heat island effect was proposed. In the method, two scenarios that imagine urban forms which differ with regard to whether or not they contain high-rise buildings are created and weather simulation is conducted, and the results of the simulations are comparatively analyzed focusing on temperature and wind speed. Evaluation was conducted in two stages, and Shiodome of Minato City in the Tokyo Metropolis was selected as the region for evaluation. In two stages of evaluation, a rise in temperature of approximately 0.3 K and a reduction in wind speed of approximately 1 m/s were observed in a region approximately five to ten kilometers square downwind of high-rise buildings in the period 6 PM to 9 PM, and a higher temperature caused by the obstruction of sea breeze by high-rise buildings was identified. The fact that such a higher temperature was confirmed in the time period from 6 PM onwards, in which the temperature decreases, reveals that obstruction of sea breeze by high-rise buildings dulls the decrease in temperature which occurs from evening onwards, and influences nighttime urban heat island formation.

An Evaluation of Measures Regarding Road Traffic against the Urban Heat Island in the Tokyo Ward Area, Japan

This study aims to evaluate measures against the Urban Heat Island (UHI) regarding artificial exhaust heat of road traffic using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Tokyo Ward Area where the degree of UHI is particularly strong. We developed a GIS database that reflected road traffic conditions, and calculated the volume of artificial exhaust heat of road traffic to evaluate measures against the UHI. The findings of this study can be summarized in the following three points. 1) Artificial exhaust heat volume for moving targets was remarkably higher than that of stationary targets and, in particular, artificial exhaust heat volume was high on roads with remarkable numbers of vehicles and running speeds such as expressways and ring roads. 2) In UHI- related policy for moving targets, the suppression of waste heat through choice of fuel burned, improvement of traffic flow by securing space for cyclists and pedestrians, development of bypasses, and upgrading signal control managed to reduce artificial exhaust heat volume, even though there were differences in degree of reduction. 3) In UHI-related policy for stationary targets, special road surfaces and the increase in efficiency of energy consumption equipment achieved a reduction ratio of around 30% in artificial exhaust heat volume, more than moving targets as well as making it possible to expect a reduction in artificial exhaust heat volume on a wide scale.

GIS-Based Urbanization Prediction Model Considering Neighborhood Relationship of the Unit of the “Block” in the Outskirts of Metropolitan Area

On the outskirts of the metropolitan areas in Japan, the rapid development of urban areas and the improvement in transportation networks have brought various land use problems in their wake, including urban diffusion and the phenomenon of urban sprawl. There is a strong need for accurate predictions of land-use change and future urbanization, as well as investigation of the appropriateness of present land use controls and the land use controls that will be required in the future. This study took as its object the outskirts of the Keihanshin (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe) Metropolitan Area, the second largest conurbation in Japan after the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and used the digital maps and spatial analysis offered by GIS. It aimed to: 1) describe the characteristics of land use controls, land use and urbanization;2) develop an urbanization prediction model that considers the neighboring relationship of neighboring areas on a 100 m mesh unit;3) apply this model to the study area and verify its validity regarding the conditions of present land use;4) compare urbanization prediction results by this model with the present land use controls;and 5) make predictions for future urbanization and propose remedial measures for future land use controls.