ABSTRACT
Transport systems are closely related to socioeconomic changes. The mobility of people and freight and levels of accessibility are at the core of this relationship. Economic opportunities are likely to arise where transportation infrastructures are able to answer mobility needs and ensure access to markets and resources. From the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century to globalization and economic integration processes of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, regions of the world have been affected differently by economic development. International, regional and local transportation systems alike have become fundamental components of economic activities. A growing share of the wealth is thus linked to trade and distribution. However, even if transportation has positive impacts on socioeconomic systems, there are also negative consequences such as congestion, accidents and mobility gaps. Transportation is also a commercial activity derived from operational attributes such as costs, capacity, efficiency, reliability and speed. Transportation systems are evolving within a complex set of relationships between transport supply – reflecting the operational capacity of the network – and transport demand – the mobility requirements of an economy.
