University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

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Transport

For more information on units of study visit CUSP.

Transport

Master of Transport

Students must complete 72 credit points, including:
(a) 54 credit points of core units of study;
(b) 18 credit points of elective units of study.

Graduate Diploma in Transport

Students must complete 48 credit points, including:
(a) a minimum of 36 credit points of core units of study;
(b) a maximum of 12 credit points of elective units of study.

Graduate Certificate in Transport

(a) a minimum of 18 credit points of core units of study; and
(b) a maximum of 6 credit points of elective units of study.

Core units

ARCH9100 Urban Design Foundations Studio

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Prof Duanfang Lu Session: Semester 1a,Semester 2a Classes: intensive delivery (lectures and studio-based tutorials) over 7 weeks Assessment: urban design analysis (group) (60%), urban design intervention (group) (40%). Peer review of group work will be required. Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: Students may apply for a waiver for this unit based on their academic and/or professional experience.
This unit is to introduce students to key concepts and basic principles in urban design through lectures and studio-based tutorials. By taking full advantage of the neighbourhoods around campus as our laboratory for urban design analysis and intervention, this unit will walk students through deep experiential, historical, and spatial study and engagement with Sydney as a place and urbanity. Through the critical interrogation of selected study areas, this unit will help students understand the urban environment where human beings operate physically, culturally and socially. The studio will engage students with critical thinking, collaborative work and constructive discussion, all of which will serve as the foundation on which the assessments will be based. Emerging out of a process of enquiry about the city, students will develop critical observation, visual documentation, map reading, systematic urban analysis, basic urban intervention, and visual, verbal and written communication skills. These skills will help students to participate with effectiveness in the urban design studios and integrated urbanism studio.
CIVL5702 Traffic Engineering

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Mohsen Ramezani Ghalenoei Session: Semester 1 Classes: lectures, tutorials Assumed knowledge: (CIVL2700 OR CIVL9700) AND (MATH1001 OR MATH1021) AND (MATH1003 OR MATH1023) AND MATH1005 AND ENGG1801. Basic statistics through regression analysis, differential and integral calculus, computer programming. Assessment: through semester assessment (60%), final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study aims to provide an introduction to the theory and practice of transport models as used for traffic operations. Topics include: travel demand forecasting; choice modelling; agent-based modeling; queuing and traffic flow; intelligent transport systems; the microscopic and macroscopic fundamental diagrams; highway operation; congestion control; static, quasi-dynamic and dynamic network equilibrium; the four-step (generation, distribution, mode choice and assignment) transport model; macroscopic models vs microscopic simulation; transport data sources and survey methodology; introduction to the main transport modelling software packages; coordinated control.
CIVL5703 Transport Policy, Planning and Deployment

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: David Levinson Session: Semester 1 Classes: lectures, seminars Prohibitions: CIVL3703 OR CIVL9703 Assumed knowledge: CIVL2700 Assessment: through semester assessment (75%), final exam (25%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This subject aims to provide an environment for students to learn essential facts and develop models and frameworks to understand the development of transport policy, the making of transport plans, and the deployment of transport technologies. The unit uses a mixture of traditional lectures, and interactive learning through case studies and role playing. Both the lectures and the cases allow the students to develop an inductive understanding of transportation. The unit will be successful if at the end, the student has developed a worldview on transportation (not necessarily the same as the instructor's), and has an appreciation for merits and demerits of various perspectives on transport issues. The course seeks an integrative approach for transport, and though the stories in lecture will be told mode by mode, there are a number of opportunities to see the relationships between modes, in their structure in function, and in the learning as one mode adopts successful (and unsuccessful) attributes of others.
CIVL5704 Transport Analytics

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Emily Moylan Session: Semester 2 Classes: Lectures, Tutorials Assumed knowledge: CIVL3704 OR CIVL9704 Assessment: Through semester assessment (100%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Advanced data analytics and predictive transport modelling. This unit builds on quantitative analysis skills from CIVL3704 (Transport Informatics). Students will engage in in-depth data-mining using various data-sets available in the public domain as well as spatial and demographic overlaying to create transport maps and models of existing and predictive transport usage. Novel sources of data such as GIS trip-monitoring and real-time instrumentation will be introduced and utilised. Students will learn how to integration multiple data sources to create new and value-added knowledge.
ITLS5100 Transport and Infrastructure Foundations

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 13 x 3 hour seminars Prohibitions: TPTM6241 Assessment: report 1 (20%), report 2 (20%), presentation (20%), final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Note: This is the foundation unit for the Master of Transport and should be completed in the first period of study.
Transport and infrastructure plays an important role both in terms of personal mobility as well as accessibility of businesses and their transportation needs. This unit provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of transportation and infrastructure within the economy. The key concepts and theories needed for management of transport and infrastructure are introduced along with the analysis and problem-solving skills needed for confident decision making. In providing the foundational knowledge for students in transport and infrastructure, the unit also introduces students to the professional communication skills needed. Examples and case studies are drawn from all modes of transport and infrastructure.
ITLS5200 Quantitative Logistics and Transport

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 3hr computer workshop per week Corequisites: ITLS5000 or TPTM5001 or ITLS5100 or TPTM6241 Prohibitions: TPTM6495 Assessment: computer exam (30%); team report (30%); final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Supply chain management, as well as logistics, transport and infrastructure management, relies on the ability to make effective decisions based on the information provided by careful analysis of data. Students undertaking this unit will develop a strong understanding of the basic techniques underpinning quantitative analysis and will develop highly marketable skills in spreadsheet modelling and the communication and presentation of data to support management decision making. This unit emphasises the practical aspects of quantitative analysis with computer-based workshops. Students are guided through the basic theories used in decision making but emphasis is placed on how the theories are applied in practice, drawing on real-world experience in quantitative analysis. The unit covers demand forecasting, spreadsheet modelling, optimisation of production and transportation using linear programming, simulation and basic statistics and linear regression techniques.
ITLS6102 Transport Modelling and Forecasting

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 6 x 3 hr lectures, 6 x 3 hr computer labs Corequisites: ITLS5200 or TPTM6495 Prohibitions: TPTM6350 Assessment: quiz 1 (20%), quiz 2 (20%), travel demand modelling (30%), case study (30%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
This unit provides a basic understanding of the main principles underlying strategic transport models for forecasting, and the knowledge to critically assess forecasts of transport strategies made by transport planners. Students acquire knowledge of strategic forecasting models used by government and consultants as well as the methods to capture travel behaviour such as mode choice and route choice. Simple mathematical models are discussed in detail, along with numerical examples and applications in the Sydney Metropolitan Area, which are used to illustrate the principles of the methods. This unit equips students to build simple transport models in the computer lab using specialised transport planning software used by governments and consultants.
PLAN9064 Land Use and Infrastructure Planning

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Dallas Rogers Session: Semester 2 Classes: Lecture 2 hrs/wk. Additional tuition time may be assigned for introduction to graphic plan making. Assumed knowledge: ARCH9100 Assessment: Two illustrated reports, each equivalent to 2,000 to 2,500 words, consisting of: 1 x individual report of short questions on key metropolitan concepts such as density and land use relationships (50%); 1 x group work on a local government Masterplan project where land use change is being leveraged from a major infrastructure project (50%). Peer assessment may apply to group work presentations. Practical field work: Second part of the semester involves group work in the field and in class. Practical field work: Second part of the semester involves group work in the field and in class. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit is concerned with planning, land use and infrastructure within the built environments. It emphasises conceptual knowledge with examples and case studies to demonstrate the application of concepts in practice. Students are encouraged to think independently, creatively and critically in developing understanding and practical knowledge about environmental planning at the metropolitan and local level. This unit is in two modules, each of which is assessed.
1. Land use, infrastructure planning and urban development: different forms of infrastructure and the role of infrastructure in creating good environments and urban development; transport and the space economy; accessibility, the emergence of transport technologies and their influence on urban form; the impacts of car travel on densities, dispersion, congestion, etc.; orthodox transport planning; transport systems management; mobility and accessibility; networks, centres, and development corridors; transit-oriented development and implications on urban form and structure. The Sydney Metropolitan Strategy and concepts and ideas associated with the current work of the Greater Sydney Commission are used as a main focus for this module.
2. Land use planning, development control and plan making: within the context of more effective land use planning, this module examines the process of assessing a local area (such as structure, form and understanding character), developing local vision and neighbourhood strategies and structure plan, translating the strategy and structure plan into basic land use and planning controls (such as building height, floor space ratio, heritage, and other local area provisions) and producing a basic plan for development control purposes. A case study is used for group work so as to understand how the plan making process evolves and is constructed for both the private and public realms. In 2015 and 2016, this involved working with an inner city local government on priority urban renewal issues. Questioning the assumptions and values that underpin planning controls and guidelines is a key skill emphasised in the unit via the group work.
PLANXXXX Capstone will be introduced in 2021

Elective units

CIVL5701 Transport Networks

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: David Levinson Session: Semester 2 Classes: lectures Assumed knowledge: CIVL2700 OR CIVL9700 Assessment: through semester assessment (60%), final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study aims to provide an introduction to the intersections of theory and applications in Transport Networks, Geography, and Land Use. It describes how to characterize networks, (topology, hierarchy, morphology), and how that affects the use of those networks. The course is a mix between a lecture and a student-led seminar, with students responsible for researching and presenting on a number of the topics, as well as developing a course text in a wikibook format. Students will learn the basics of networks and how transportation systems function on them.
ITLS6103 Sustainable Transport Strategies

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 12 x 3 hr lectures/tutorials Assessment: individual report 1 (20%), individual report 2 (25%), group presentation (20%), final exam (35%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
This unit provides an introduction to the context for policy making, how decisions are made, relationships with short- and long-term strategic planning, and how policy has become intertwined with broader sustainability concerns. The unit develops students' ability to assess contemporary issues in sustainable transport policy such as liveable environments, climate change, the role of the built environment in sustainable cities, social inclusion, parking policy, human health and safety, active travel, the challenges of low density transport, the regulation of public transport, fare policies for public transport and other contemporary issues. Each issue considers the problem and assesses the success of existing policy and/or the need for new policy and what this might look like. The unit is particularly suited to students with broad interest in transport, urban planning, and environmental/sustainability issues.
ITLS6301 City Logistics

Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive January Classes: 20 x 1.5 hr lectures, 4 x 1.5 hr seminars, 4 x 1.5 hr workshops Assessment: quiz (10%), individual presentation (10%), individual essay (40%), final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
This unit conveys the fundamentals of city logistics, which is the pickup, storage, transport and delivery of freight in urban areas. All aspects of city logistics from planning, management and operation to security, efficiency and mitigation of environmental impact are covered for cities of all types. The relationships between land use, transport and city logistics are described. Traffic engineering concepts like 'link' and 'place' are explored and the implications for location and design of loading zones and docks as well as underground service networks are considered. Forms of urban freight consolidation centre are looked at along with the role of alternative transport modes, like public transport, cycles, electric vehicles and drones. Ecommerce and fulfilment models are also studied. The implications for city logistics of new technologies, apps and the 'sharing economy' are considered. International case studies are covered. Seminars by city logistics professionals complement the lectures. Students have an opportunity to develop city logistics solutions for themselves through a group design project.
ITLS6500 Decision Making on Mega Projects

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 8 x 3.5 hr lectures, 4 x 3.5 hr workshops. Refer to timetable for full details. Corequisites: ITLS5000 or TPTM5001 or ITLS5100 or TPTM6241 or INFS5001 Assessment: 2x individual assignments (40%), group assignment (30%), final exam (30%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Infrastructure is crucial to economic performance; without it, business cannot operate efficiently or competitively. Delivery of large infrastructure projects, however, is complex and despite many more megaprojects being undertaken than any time in history, the majority of these projects are completed significantly over-budget and longer than planned. In this unit, students will be introduced to megaproject decision making. The sources of social and technical complexity are discussed, issues of risk management and governance explored, and human biases in decision making are also highlighted. Strategies to overcome weaknesses in mega project decision making are also outlined.
ITLS6107 Applied GIS and Spatial Data Analytics

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 7 x 2 hr lectures, 7 x 4 hr computer labs Prohibitions: TPTM6180 Assessment: individual projects (40%); group project (20%); group presentation (10%); final exam (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) evening
Note: This unit assumes no prior knowledge of GIS; the unit is hands-on involving the use of software, which students will be trained in using.
The world is increasingly filled with systems, devices and sensors collecting large amounts of data on a continual basis. Most of these data are associated with locations that represent everything from the movement of individuals travelling between activities to the flow of goods or transactions along a supply chain and from the location of companies to those of their current and future customers. Taking this spatial context into account transforms analyses, problem-solving and provides a powerful method of visualising the world. This is the essence of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and this unit. This unit starts by introducing students to the 'building blocks' of GIS systems, including data structures, relational databases, spatial queries and analysis. The focus then moves on to sources of spatial data including Global Positioning System (GPS), operational systems such as smartcard ticketing and transaction data along with web-based sources highlighting both the potential and challenges associated with integrating each data source within a GIS environment. The unit is hands-on involving learning how to use the latest GIS software to analyse several problems of interest using real 'big data' sources and to communicate the results in a powerful and effective way. These include identifying potential demand for new services or infrastructure, creating a delivery and scheduling plan for a delivery firm or examining the behaviour of travellers or consumers over time and locations. This unit is aimed at students interested in the spatial impact of decision-making and on the potential for using large spatial datasets for in-depth multi-faceted analytics.
PLAN9063 Strategic Planning and Design

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Adrienne Keane Session: Semester 1 Classes: Lectures 2 hrs/wk; site visits and workshops may be organised outside of timetabled hours Prohibitions: PLAN9027 Assessment: There are two assessments, each worth 50%. The assessments may include group work. Group work will be peer assessed. Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The aim of PLAN9063 Strategic Planning and Design is to provide students with grounding in the core knowledge and skills needed to practice as a contemporary planner. A key emphasis in the unit is understanding the skills needed to undertake strategic planning at a range of levels (both process and content). Strategic planning in one form or other is a generic process that underpins much of the work that planners and urban designers are involved in at varying spatial levels. This course will provide students with the basic skills required to function as a planner and it will also act as an introduction to a number of other units in the program by highlighting the connection between the work of a planner and the need to understand a range of different knowledge and skill areas. Basic skills may include basic demographic analysis, graphic presentation, governance audits, consultation strategies and survey tools, economic analysis, and GIS. In addition, this Unit of Study will enable students to develop generic skills such as group discussion, productive group work and organisation, negotiation skills and information literacy skills. This is an introductory core unit for the Urban Planning degree, a specialisation unit for the Master of Urbanism and an elective for the Urban Design degree.
PLAN9075 Urban Data and Science of Cities

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Somwrita Sarkar Session: Semester 1 Classes: lecture 1 hr/week; tutorial 2 hrs/week Assumed knowledge: Basic mathematics and statistics; all required programming and mathematics needed for the unit will be taught from the basics. Assessment: assessment 1 (individual) (25%), major project (group) (20%), major project (individual) (50%), tutorial exercises and class participation (individual) (5%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The discipline of Science of Cities examines relationships between the physical form of cities and the social, cultural, economic, technological and spatial processes that give rise to this form. As technology evolves and changes, so do the ways in which we make and think about our cities. In this era of unprecedented and fast-accelerating changes, digital technologies are reshaping the ways in which we measure, sense, conceive of, design and plan for our cities. As a result, we collect and store large amounts of data on every aspect of the urban environment, but it is as yet unclear how this data can be used to inform evidence based planning and urban management. In particular, it is unclear how these quantitative methods and data driven frameworks may be best leveraged for planning and designing just, equitable, sustainable, liveable, and affordable cities. This unit of study will introduce the principles of science of cities and the tools, methods, algorithms and techniques on big urban data that enable transformative ways of thinking about, designing and planning for a fast urbanizing world. Fundamentals of programming with big urban data will be introduced through the Python programming language (Jupyter Notebooks) and open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. Emphasis will be placed on developing understanding of urban structure and fast and slow dynamics shaping this structure, and on the use of data to develop performance indicators for cities, in particular targeting the spatial and temporal measurement accessibility, affordability, segregation, displacement, social exclusion, and disadvantage. This transdisciplinary unit of study will be relevant for designers, planners, engineers, geographers, economists, physicists and data scientists interested in modelling urban systems.
Textbooks
Specific references for books, data and journal articles provided through the unit.
PLAN9073 GIS Based Planning Policy and Analysis

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Adrienne Keane Session: Intensive June,Intensive November Classes: 4-day intensive (9am-5pm) Assessment: Two smaller analytical assessments (2 x 25%) and a larger report (50%) Mode of delivery: Block mode
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit is concerned with using GIS to analyse planning problems and undertake policy analyses. The unit will include a comprehensive introduction to mapping and the use of GIS: data structures, topology, projections, spatial and non-spatial queries. Australian census products will be described and students will be expected to analyse census statistics using GIS maps. The role of GIS in coordinating various forms of information for policy analyses, preparing master plans, in presenting information for development control, impact analyses and wider management purposes will also be covered. The use of GIS to support visualisation will be covered, using examples about designing development projects and planning instruments. Finally, the various forms of distributing maps to the public and policy-makers will be discussed. The unit integrates the hands-on learning of GIS software with a `research-based` approach. Teaching will involve short lectures, studios and workshops. Assessment will be on a series of smaller assignments and a larger report prepared by each student that integrates GIS-based (and other) graphics into a coherent policy analysis. In addition, each student will make oral presentations on their work in studio sessions.