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Altres ajuts: Ajuntament de Barcelona. Institut de Cultura. Grant number 19S01360-006; Departament d'Empresa i Treball, Government of Catalonia under the Industrial Doctoral grant [ref. BDNS 443065] Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M Micromobility services hold substantial potential in terms of promoting shared and electric-powered mobility modes, however, little is known about their accessibility and what shapes their spatial coverage. These two issues are important to understand how socially equitable these modes can really be and how public policies should manage their implementation in urban areas. Hence, this study examines the determinants of the spatial coverage of four moped-style scooter sharing services (MSS) in Barcelona. The article examines the socio-territorial characteristics of the coverage areas of each MSS, as defined in 2019, together with the minimum area that operators had to provide service in 2020 according to the local regulation. For each MSS, a binomial generalized linear mixed model is employed to predict the odds of each cadastral parcel being covered by the service and analyzed the main spatial determinants associated with it. The results suggest that territorial coverage is defined by centrality, household disposable income, and topography, with low-accessibility areas consistently omitted from services. The conclusions underline the need for the public sector to participate in the design of spatial coverage areas of MSS to guarantee spatial equity and transportation justice and avoid private sector designs that systematically exclude less attractive areas.

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M Altres ajuts: Institut de Cultura, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Grant number 19S01360-006 Moped-style scooter sharing services (MSS) offer short-period renting for daily urban mobility and are gaining popularity in cities worldwide. MSS provide substantial promise in reducing car-dependency and helping sustainability goals, but also significant risks in terms of spatial access equity and social justice. In recent years, European cities have been testing different regulation strategies for MSS but not always succeeding regarding social equity and spatial accessibility criteria. In this context, this study employs a semi-structured interviewing approach to discuss the main existing MSS regulation models. The aim is to understand how experts, policymakers, and private operators assess the strengths and weaknesses of each model to guarantee spatial and social equity regarding accessibility to the service, while preserving the long-term economic interests of private operators. Our results show a diversity of opinions, with solid consensus on proposing an alternative to the Barcelona regulatory model (capped vehicle licenses, uncapped number of operators), ranging from a numerus clausus model (Paris or Amsterdam) to a laissez-faire model (Madrid or Berlin), based on an open dialogue between administrations and the private sector. However, most respondents noted that the natural path of the regulation (as has happened in the past with other transport innovations) is towards a close public-private partnership model, with greater management and control capacity by the public sector. This option generates the greatest consensus of favouring a more spatial and socially equitable service while preserving its economic viability, although it would involve significant commitment and investment of the public sector. These findings provide valuable feedback for policymakers and transport regulators on how to approach micromobility and MSS regulation.

Alienable possessive constructions in Biakic stand out with respect to the South Halmahera-West New Guinea language family to which they belong. This article investigates the origins of the innovative alienable possessive forms in Biakic, which constitutes an example of grammaticalization from predicative to attributive possession. It describes the marking of alienable possession for each of the four Biakic languages, examining the form of the markers, their position with respect to the possessum, and the relative order of possessor and possessed, before examining previous analyses of those markers. Object relative clauses in Biakic are compared with possessive markers, concluding that the possessive markers arose from the grammaticalization of an object relative clause. Finally the remaining problem of possessive markers in Meoswar is examined.

This article examines early attestations of verlan and related backward slangs in French in the nineteenth century. Its main contribution is the edition and analysis of the only known text, a letter, written with features of verlan before the twentieth century. This largely predates other attested forms of verlan. The principles underlying this early form of verlan are shown to be different from contemporary verlan, as is much other early evidence, though all forms have the syllable as their basic unit. The letter is evidence that backward slangs can originate in the education system as much as in the underworld of thieves.