Academic literature on the topic 'Road movie'

The article analyzes specific features of the Road Movie genre in a historical perspective on the example of the Western countries film production and Iran national cinematography. To that end the authors focus on genre and semantic variety of classical movies, a «proto-road-movie» and the Road Movies of nowadays. A comparative approach to the study of the genre formula provides for revealing the nuances in the stylistic techniques of directors and defining the national features of the semantic core of the Road Movie genre in both the Western movies (created in Europe and the USA) and in the films of the East (Iranian New Wave). While maintaining a number of aesthetic features that are similar in Western and Eastern Road Movies, one can nevertheless observe a significant difference in the way of representing the concept of the Path (the Road) by directors from the West and from Muslim countries. The article gives a detailed analysis of the Road concept in the context of Islamic cinema. Studying the symbolic of the Path and the Travel in Muslim tradition the authors refer to the norms of Sharia, Sufism and to the mode of the life traditions of the Middle Ages and our days. Special attention is paid to the movies of a well-known Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Working before and after the Islamic Revolution (1978–1979) he was the one of the founders of the New Iranian cinema.

The analysis in this paper focuses on the Chinese domestic road movie, a film genre that has a late but promising start in China. The material for Chinese road movies often comes from people’s lives, but some trends in recent years have proved that Chinese road movie creators are trying to use road movies to show people’s inner desires, which are different from those in the past. The purpose of studying the development and changing strategies of road films is to promote the development of Chinese-made road films in the future and to find breakthroughs for developing Chinese road films in a social environment where pressure is gradually increasing. After introducing the development of Chinese road movies at various stages, based on the status quo of Chinese road movies in the past, the author points out the problems in the development process of Chinese road movies in terms of the solidification of the mode, the mishmash of genres and the spiritual kernel that has been gradually exposed. In the face of this situation, the author makes three suggestions in the light of the spiritual core of Chinese people and the current situation of modern society.

This Master of Arts project in Creative Writing was submitted to the School of Creative Media at Royal Melbourne University of Technology. It contains a full length feature screenplay for an un-produced road movie entitled Free Radicals. It is primarily a dark love story between the drug-addicted rent boy Roman and the budding actor, the protagonist Jonathan. It is however written in a conventional structure familiar to Hollywood professionals, and a good deal of humour is used to attract interest in the story. The storyline itself is more familiar to the audience of road movies and independent features in the US or European Art House ventures. The exegesis explores the history and the conventions of the road movie genre, in addition to the established and not often debated conventions of screenwriting theory. The thesis attempts to show how these theories were applied to the screenplay and how they influenced the process of writing it within an academic and commercial context. The MA project shows how different expectations may create a conflict in the personal writing process and inspire a product that makes compromises. The reason for reading this project may not only be the product itself but also the insight it offers into a screenwriting profession where it is often important to meet expectations.

Apparu au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale avec la publication en 1957 d’On the Road de Jack Kerouac et la sortie, 12 ans plus tard, d’Easy Rider de Dennis Hopper, le road novel et le road movie constituent à nos yeux les deux versants de ce que nous avons choisi de nommer le récit de la route. Devant l’absence de réelle étude conjointe entre les deux formes et la persistance d’amalgames, nous souhaitons mettre en évidence ce qui permettrait de distinguer le road novel et le road movie d’autres récits d’errance. Un tel travail nécessite la mise au jour d’un outil d’analyse intermédial permettant d’embrasser de concert des oeuvres relevant d’expressions médiatiques différentes. Nous proposons donc de recourir au concept de chronotope développé par Bakhtine en littérature, et dont il a été démontré il y a peu qu’il est aussi susceptible de s’appliquer à un objet cinématographique. Nous posons que road novel et road movie reposent sur la combinaison d’un ensemble de chronotopes fondamentaux : celui de la route, dans le contexte de la motorisation et des non-lieux de la postmodernité, et celui du seuil, compris comme l’expression du tournant d’une vie. La présence d’une dimension parodique nous amène en outre à mobiliser un autre concept bakhtinien : celui de carnavalesque, qui s’articulerait justement autour des chronotopes de la route et du seuil définis précédemment. Afin de procéder à cette analyse chronotopique, nous nous appuyons sur un corpus d’oeuvres empruntées au répertoire américain, québécois et allemand, en raison notamment des multiples passerelles susceptibles d’être érigées entre ces différentes cultures
Appearing in the wake of World War II, with the publication in 1957 of On the Road by Jack Kerouac,followed 12 years later with the screening of Denis Hopper’s Easy Rider, the road novel and road movie constitute, we argue, two sides of what we call the road narrative. Faced with a lack of comprehensive studies embracing both sides concurrently, and with recurrent amalgams, we reflect on the components differentiating the road novel and road movie from other types of wandering stories. Such a project calls for the construction of an intermedial apparatus, enabling us to jointly encompass artworks belonging to different media formats. Consequently, we build on the concept of the chronotope, as developed by Bakhtin as a tool for literarycriticism, and recently extended by scholars to cinematographic objects. We show how road novels and roadmovies emerge from the combination of two fundamental chronotopes: that of the road, exemplified by a postmodern universe dominated by motor vehicles and non-places, and that of the threshold, understood as the expression of a critical turn in one’s life. The noted presence of a parodic dimension in road narrativescalls for the introduction of an additional bakhtinian concept: the carnivalesque, which, as we show, can be articulated in relation to the previously defined road and threshold chronotopes. For this chronotopical analysis, we selected artworks from the American, Quebecois and German repertoires, a choice justified by the numerous potential connections to be established between those three different cultures

This essay explores the colonial nature of the American road movie, specifically through the lens of how road movies treat the South according to Stuart Hall’s concepts of identity and Edward Said’s on Othering and the colonial gaze. To accomplish this, the essay analyzes the classic 1969 road movie, “Easy Rider”, and the more contemporary parody from 2008, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” The thrust of this paper becomes: if a progressive parody of road movies cannot escape the trappings of colonialism “Easy Rider” displays, perhaps the road movie itself is flawed.

Cette thèse, après avoir examiné l'imaginaire de la route dans la culture et la civilisation américaines, définit un corpus de quarante films grâce à une analyse des modes de production et de réception. L'histoire du road movie comprend trois périodes : entre 1969 et 1975, il émerge en tant que genre lié au Nouvel Hollywood ; entre 1975 et 1983, il subit une éclipse partielle aux États-Unis, tandis que W. Wenders l'introduit en Europe ; il connaît une résurgence à partir de 1984 et s'impose comme un genre international hybride situé au croisement du cinéma d'auteur et du cinéma commercial. L'analyse du corpus (qui combine l'approche sémantique/syntaxique de R. Altman et la démarche sémiologique de C. Metz) conduit à proposer que le road movie offre une vision à la fois documentaire et contemplative du réel. L'image a souvent un caractère centripète et hypnotique qui, combiné à une utilisation codifiée de la musique, entraîne le spectateur dans une fuite en avant. En opposant espaces de mobilité et de sédentarité, le road movie donne une image nouvelle du pays parcouru. Enfin, en jouant sur trois possibilités narratives (quête, cavale, dérive), il a une logique picaresque
This dissertation, after examining the resonance of the road in American culture and civilization, defines a forty-film corpus by analyzing the genre's modes of reception and production. The history of the road movie includes three periods: between 1969 and 1975, it emerged as a genre linked with the New Hollywood, then, between 1975 and 1984, it partly disappeared in the U. S. , while W. Wenders transferred it to Europe. Since 1984, it has settled as an international hybrid, located at the crossroads of art and mainstream cinema. The analysis of the corpus (combining R. Altman's semantic/syntactic and C. Metz's semiological approaches) establishes that the genre presents a contemplative, almost documentary vision of reality. Road movie images are often centripetal and hypnotic, which, combined with a codified use of music, draws viewers endlessly forward. The genre, by contrasting spaces of mobility with spaces of settlement, portrays the countries crossed by its heroes. By combining three narrative possibilities (quest, flight, and drifting), it has a picaresque logic

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-09-27T18:49:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 gheysalemesgoncalvesgama.pdf: 4548618 bytes, checksum: 237e8caee2745f73a0be0a21f32bed87 (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-09-27T20:48:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 gheysalemesgoncalvesgama.pdf: 4548618 bytes, checksum: 237e8caee2745f73a0be0a21f32bed87 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-27T20:48:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 gheysalemesgoncalvesgama.pdf: 4548618 bytes, checksum: 237e8caee2745f73a0be0a21f32bed87 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-31
A presente tese pretende investigar a mudança na representação da identidade cultural analisando o papel alegórico desempenhado pela estrada nos road movie brasileiros lançados entre 1960 e 2015. A hipótese revela que este grupo de obras fílmicas apresenta, num determinado momento histórico, representações de identidade coletiva (a identidade nacional), modificando-se posteriormente, para representar uma identidade fragmentada. Como resultado desse esforço observa-se a existência daquilo que presentemente estamos chamando de duas fases do road movie brasileiro: a “Viagem Física” (congrega filmes lançados entre a década de 1960 até 1998) e a “Jornada Interior” (com filmes de 1998 até 2015). O que mais diferencia essas duas fases são as alegorias assumidas pela estrada nestes road movies, que se modificam, ao mesmo tempo em que se verifica mudança na própria identidade cultural, esta última confirmada em autores como Anderson (2008); Bauman (2008, 2001, 1998) e Hall (2005). Se na primeira fase a estrada é apresentada como uma alegoria da nação e do povo brasileiro, na segunda fase, começa a representar a transformação individual, odisseia subjetiva, um espaço existencial, de transformação, que se configura como um ritual de passagem. A tese é amparada, para além dos fundamentos teóricos, na análise fílmica de seis películas: Iracema, uma transa amazônica (BODANZKY; SENNA, 1974); Bye bye Brasil (DIEGUES, 1979); Jorge, um brasileiro (THIAGO, 1988); Central do Brasil (SALLES, 1998); Cinemas, aspirinas e urubus (GOMES, 2005) e Dromedário no asfalto (VARGAS, 2014). Assim, se busca demonstrar, observando a representação de algumas características sociais e culturais presentes no cinema nacional, a real confluência entre as mudanças alegóricas nos road movies brasileiros com as transformações na construção da nossa própria identidade cultural.
This thesis aims to investigate the change in the representations of the cultural identity by analyzing the allegorical role played by the road in the Brazilian road movies released between 1960 and 2015. The hypothesis is that this group of films brings about, in a given historical moment, representations of collective identity (national identity), but changing later to represent a fragmented identity. As a result of this effort one might find the existence of what is now being called the two phases of the Brazilian road movie: the "Physical Journey" (congregating films released between 1960 to 1998) and the "Journey Within" (films from 1998 to 2015). What most distinguishes these two phases are the allegories personified by the road in these road movies, which change at the same time that changes in the cultural identity occur, the latter being confirmed by authors such as Anderson (2008); Bauman (2008, 2001, 1998) and Hall (2005). If the first phase, the road is presented as an allegory of the nation and of the Brazilian people, whereas in the second phase it begins to represent the individual transformation, the subjective odyssey, an existential space of transformation, which is configured as a rite of passage. The thesis is supported, in addition to the theoretical foundations, by the cinematic analysis of six films: Iracema, uma transa amazônica (BODANZKY; SENNA, 1974); Bye bye Brasil (DIEGUES, 1979); Jorge, um brasileiro (THIAGO, 1988); Central do Brasil (SALLES, 1998); Cinemas, aspirinas e urubus (GOMES, 2005) e Dromedário no asfalto (VARGAS, 2014). Thus, this work seeks to show, by watching the representation of some social and cultural characteristics present in the national cinema, the real confluence between the allegorical changes in Brazilian road movies with those in the construction of our own cultural identity.

This paper closely examines fairy tale films with road movie components, in particular those films featuring female protagonists. The study’s objective is twofold: first, to further develop existing research on the road movie by exploring one of the lesser known constituents of this broad genre and, second, to address gaps in scholarly literature on road movies when it comes to themes in female-led trips and the characterization of travelling females. Through a detailed analysis of the journeys of female characters in recent voyage-oriented fairy tale films—Peter Pan (P.J. Hogan, 2003), Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010) and Tangled (Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, 2010)—the investigation shows that these new heroines significantly differ from those of old. Their travels are portrayed as being less difficult, and the traits that they exhibit while on the road, namely fearlessness, rationality and an undying optimism, are rather favourable when compared to those exhibited by former road heroines. Although these protagonists still face characters who wish to impede their movement away from a domestic setting, it is demonstrated that the protagonists are ultimately successful in not only acquiring power in the surroundings that they find themselves in, but also in carrying over their goals and dreams to their own worlds upon their return, privileges that most former road heroines did not have. Ultimately, the study shows that females can be as efficient travellers as males, and in some cases are portrayed as even more competent than their male counterparts.

Este projeto analisa quatro filmes da América Latina que têm como ponto comum o fato de estarem centrados em personagens que realizam viagens em seus países de origem (dois filmes) e na América do Sul (outros dois). O objetivo é demarcar nestas obras construídas sob a necessidade do deslocamento, dados constitutivos de identidade e pertencimento a uma dada geografia física e humana. Os que percorrem a América Latina são Diários de Motocicleta, dirigido pelo brasileiro Walter Salles e El viaje la aventura de ser joven, do cineasta argentino Fernando Ezequiel Pino Solanas. Os que centram suas narrativas em território nacional são Central do Brasil, também de Walter Salles, e Facundo, la sombra del tigre, do diretor argentino Nicolás Sarquís. O estudo aborda a relação dessas obras com o contexto cultural e político da América Latina dos anos 60, com destaque pontual a Brasil e Argentina, e discute como se apropriam do gênero road movie. Defende, ainda, que os quatro expõem e traduzem uma das tensões centrais da pós-modernidade, que é a sua convivência com o universo cultural da chamada modernidade sólida. Tal procedimento deriva principalmente da condição de percorrer a estrada e nela afirmar uma identidade configurada por valores quase sempre idealizados e nostálgicos, formando um conjunto de filmes que expressa a persistência das ficções-nacionais e pan-continentais no cinema contemporâneo de Brasil e Argentina.
This project will analyze four Latin American movies that have in common the fact of being centered in characters that travel around their country of origin (two movies) and South America (two other movies). The objective is to demarcate in these movies, which were built under the need of displacement, relevant information regarding the identity and belonging of a given physical and human geography.The two movies that take place in Latin America are Diários de Motocicleta, directed by the Brazilian Walter Salles and El viaje la aventura de ser joven, from the Argentinean filmmaker Fernando Ezequiel Pino Solanas. The other two movies that focus their narratives on national territory are Central do Brasil also from Walter Salles and Facundo, la sombra del tigre from Argentinean director Nicolás Sarquís. The study addresses the relationship of these works with the political and cultural context in Latin America on the 60s, with focus on Brazil and Argentina, and discusses how these movies also appropriate the road movie style. It also defends the idea that these movies expose and reflect one of the central tensions of post-modernity, which is its coexistence with the cultural universe called solid modernity. This procedure comes mainly from the condition of riding the road and on it reaffirming an identity shaped by values that are, almost always, idealized and nostalgic, forming a set of films that express the persistency of national fixation and pan-continental for Brazil and Argentinas contemporary cinema.

This paper addresses a modern trend within the road movie genre, where reflexive imagery is utilized as a mechanism of storytelling. Within the “reflexive road movie,” the reflexive space and the road movie space are cinematically contrastive to each other. The road movie provides a cinematic space for the protagonist to explore cultural, societal, and personal boundaries, perpetually moving towards an unreachable horizon. Reflexivity, on the other hand, consistently reminds the viewers of the technical and conceptual means of production, forcing the viewer (and the film itself) to reference its own borders and form. Thus, reflexivity obstructs the traditional motion within the road movie space. In order to conceptualize this claim, this thesis appears in two parts: the theoretical and the artistic. Theoretically, this study draws from Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts of (de)territorialization and Deleuze’s movement-image and time-image. Artistically, this study references an original film, titled Wanderweg (2013), which was created as a means of visually illustrating the theoretical conclusions of this study. Together, the theoretical and artistic components of this thesis examine how reflexivity spatially positions itself within a road movie.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:20:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Pereira Goncalves.pdf: 4016141 bytes, checksum: c5c44d3d41c3eaa8054787b8b1f61daf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-01
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
This research has analyzed the social and cultural significance that the road movie narrative genre acquired in the Post-Embrafilme national production (between 1990 and 2000). The core of the research is composed of 11 (eleven) fiction motion pictures produced within this period, among them Central do Brasil, O Caminho das Nuvens, Cinema, aspirina e urubus. The paper has emphasized the understanding on the concept of contemporary culture, its articulations with the symbolic and social imaginary mythology, cultural identity and allegories, assimilated and expressed by the narrative, considering the perspective of the understanding of the historic dimension of the social environment in which this cinema is produced. As to its structuring, the thesis utilizes a theoretical approach of social sciences and, according to concepts, analysis and interpretations that it aims to achieve, it also relies on the areas pertaining to social communication, cinema, literature and music, thus attempting an interdisciplinary approach of study. The central core of the theoretical work is presented in two main streams: Latin American and English Cultural Studies and the Complexity Theory. The results of the research have confirmed the stylistic configuration of the national road movie genre despite its numerical inferiority which was also verified in exploratory research in film production worldwide. The narrative genre which was studied possesses historic mediation with the so called hypermodernity in which the road figure is one of the key elements of symbolic significance: and these are articulate in values, speeches and images with social mobility, individuality, fragmentation and reordering of time and space. A characteristic ontological approach, as well as a remarkable social criticism, was identified in the films studied. The analysis also asserts the relevance of the theme of cultural identity in the era of economic and culture globalization
Esta pesquisa analisou a significação social e cultural que o gênero narrativo road movie (filme de estrada) adquire na produção nacional Pós-Embrafilme (décadas de 1990-2000). O corpus da pesquisa compõe-se de 11 (onze) longas-metragens de ficção realizados nesse período, entre eles Central do Brasil, O caminho das nuvens, Cinema, aspirinas e urubus. O trabalho enfatizou a compreensão da noção de cultura contemporânea, suas articulações com o imaginário social e simbólico - mitologia, identidade cultural e alegorias, assimilado e expresso pela narrativa, com a perspectiva do entendimento da dimensão histórica do espaço social no qual esse cinema é produzido. A tese utiliza-se, em sua estruturação, de uma abordagem teórica das ciências sociais e, conforme conceitos, análises e interpretações que se propõe a realizar, apoia-se também nas áreas de conhecimento da comunicação social, cinema, literatura e música, buscando, assim, uma metodologia interdisciplinar de estudo. O eixo teórico central do trabalho articula-se por meio de duas correntes: os Estudos Culturais Ingleses e Latino- Americanos e a Teoria da Complexidade. Os resultados da pesquisa confirmam a configuração estilística do gênero cinematográfico road movie na filmografia nacional, a despeito da sua condição numericamente pouco representativa, semelhante à verificada, em pesquisa exploratória, na produção mundial. O gênero narrativo estudado possui mediação histórica com a chamada hipermodernidade, na qual a figura estrada é um dos seus elementos-chave de significação simbólica; estes, articulados em valores, discursos e imagens como mobilidade social, individualidade, fragmentação e reordenação do tempo e espaço. Identificou-se uma característica abordagem ontológica nos filmes pesquisados, bem como uma marcante criticidade social. As análises também afirmam a pertinência da temática da identidade cultural em plena era de globalização econômica e mundialização da cultura

Etant donné les constations multiples révélées par certains sociologues (G. Deleuze, M. Maffesoli, etc. ) Sur le thème nomadisme, l'auteur cherche a révéler la structure immanente et les caractères essentiels de ce sujet en employant la méthodologie de 1. Forme archétypale et 2. Idealtype comme accès de recherche. Ce qui est une méthodologie construite à partir des idées de Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Durand et M. Maffesoli. Ainsi 5 formes archétypales (qui revêtent chacune partiellement des traits du nomadisme concerné) 1. Ulysse - voyage + égarement, 2. Don Quichotte - errance, 3. Rimbaud - fuite perpétuelle et Baudelaire - en tant qu'une forme-arch2typale par excellence avec ses 3 qualités comme 1. "Cent déménagements, pas un voyage !" (selon J. P. Sartre), 2. Travestie, 3. Avarice onaniste et puis le road-movie en tant qu'un idéaltype (dans le contexte postmoderne) analyse à partir de 1. Jack Kerouac et la "beat generation" (légitimation contextuelle), 2. John Ford et le western (archétype de road-movie), 3. Wim Wenders (apogée de road-movie) "Blade Runner" en tant qu'une métamorphose de road-movie dans lequel nous retrouvons les mêmes comportements et trajectoires de "homo-vagabundus" et "homo-noctambulus" dans une espace clos et nocturn symbolique, qui révèle la nouvelle relation entre l'homme et l'image, ce qui serait en même temps la forme de communication alternative, une dérive et un effet pervers de la postmodernité
Certain sociologists such as G. Deleuze and M. Maffesoli has revealed various investigations on the theme of nomadism in the post modern context. Thus in this thesis, i intend to point cut the immanent structure and the essential characteristics of this subject by applying the rfisfchods of 1. Archetype-form, and 2. Idealtype to initiate the research. This method is developped from the theories of Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Durand and M. Maffesoli. Therefore, 3 archetype-forms (which each partially represented some feature of the nomadism in question) 1. Ulysse - voyage - "egarement", 2. Don Quichotte - rootless wandering, 3. Rimbaud - perpetual escape and Baudelaire - as an archetype-form par excellence with his 3 qualities 1. "Hundred moves, never a trip !" (in J. P. Sartre's words), 2. Trens, 3. "avarice onaniste" and then the road-movie as an idealtype (in the postnodsrn context). This subject will be analysed from 3 standpoints 1. Jack Kerouac and the "beat generation", for its textual justification ; 2. John Ford and this western - archetype of roadmovie, 5. Wim Wenders - apogee of . "Blade runner" - a road-movie's metamorphosis in which we uncover the same behaviours and trajectories of "homo-vagabundus" and "homo-noctambulus" from Baudelaire to blade runner in a symbolic, closed and nocturnal space which reveals further relationships between man and image. This would be at the same time an alternative communication form, one of the postmodernity's "drift" (derive) and "perverse effects"

Tundra roads and ice roads supported on water or unfrozen soil are a viable means of transporting module loads across remote northern areas. Module loads to 2,000 tonnes have been transported in recent years on Tundra and ice roads in northern areas and loads to 10,000 tonnes and more have been transported on constructed unfrozen roads in temperate areas. Design parameters for Tundra and ice roads supported on unfrozen soil or water are presented in this paper for loads up to 10,000 tonnes. Typically the modules would be transported to the northern project area on ocean barges, off-loaded to the shoreline with a temporary or permanent wharf and then transported inland to a facility by the shortest, most direct route available. The crossing of rivers and areas of unfrozen soil presents challenges to the transportation effort and the road design must ensure that sufficient bearing support and traction are available for the module transportation equipment. Development of Self Propelled Module Transporters (SPMT), especially in the last 10 years, has produced reliable hydraulic lifting and transporting equipment that can readily move module loads to 10,000 tonnes and more. The safe and reliable operation of heavy load SPMT equipment in the north is primarily limited by the ability to construct suitable roads and off-loading structures.

A pacemaker is a device that is implanted under the skin and sends electrical impulses to activate the heart muscle and maintain a normal heart rhythm. After two months from implantation, you can drive a motor vehicle if the doctor approves, or if there are no symptoms such as dizziness, weakness, loss of consciousness. Some of the risks are that the device may move, the battery may weaken, and then dizziness, fainting, and loss of consciousness may occur while driving a motor vehicle. In this condition, the driver is very risky from the aspect of traffic safety The aim of this work is to show the potential risks when driving a motor vehicle after the implantation of a pacemaker, as well as the measures that can improve the traffic safety of this category of road users with heart rhythm disorders and the measures that can be taken to improve the traffic safety of this category of road users.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">As the world grapples to combat the spread of COVID-19, our city streets have nearly emptied. Unprecedented community mitigation interventions have been applied in efforts to “flatten the curve” and slow the transmission of the virus. Social distancing measures have dramatically altered our daily behavior; notably, in the ways we do or do not move. This report seeks to identify emerging trends in urban mobility and road safety in respect to COVID-19. This is followed by a discussion of how we could shape our mobility future as communities begin to reopen.</div></div>

The present paper describes the tasks developed along 550 kilometers of PETROBRAS TRANSPORTE South Region right-of-way where there are more than 1000 kilometers of onshore pipelines. This work was based on the company Integrity Management Program, with focus on risk reduction due to third party damage, promoting social accountability and environment preservation. On the Introduction there are presented pipeline failures stats in USA and Europe. It’s visible in the stats that third party damage is one of the most common pipeline failures responsibleness. In the next topics we list the mitigation methods based on the Integrity Management Program that involves risk analysis; inspection plans based on risk; plan check and program audits. On the Detailed Plan we present standards and normal requirement for pipeline integrity; the Company GIS — Geographic Information System — where you find the pipeline data with its position and depth from ground level; the action plan to correct anomalies found during inspections; and the awareness programs performed through the Communication System to answer the solicitations registered at TRANSPETRO Call Center. We also present the social and environment Responsibility Program that includes the Identification of the communities around our right-of-way, the social and environment classification and the projects development to guaranty the installation integrity that contribute to the communities quality life raise. The Communication Plan for the stakeholders is based on API 1162 – Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators. This plan is accomplished by a team of different professionals such as communication and social service professionals and others. They visit Public Officials (City Hall, Civil Defense, Fire Department, Road Police and Public Services Providers), Excavators, land owners and communities with the objective to guide and publicize safe and co-responsible manners to pipeline installations. It’s remarkable the creation of especial projects in the communities along the right-of-way, such as Communitarian vegetable fields, mobile movie theaters and educational effort in high schools. We also present the results from the Integrity Program to prevent third party damage, the improvement promoted and the recommendations to make it better. At the end we present the costs involved in all actions to prevent third party damage by Brazil South Region Pipeline Operator.

Employing an independent four-wheel-steering (4WS) system, we introduce an autodriver algorithm to keep an autonomous vehicle on a given road. The kinematic condition of steering can be used to set the steer angles such that the kinematic center of rotation is at a desired point. The road and tire characteristics, along with the dynamics of a moving vehicle cause the vehicle to turn about an actual point that is not necessarily at the road curvature center. The position of the dynamic turning center can be controlled by adjusting the steer angles such that it coincides with the road curvature center. Such a vehicle will move on the desired road autonomously.

The Fast Ice Drilling System (FIDS) is a concept to extend the season for Ice Island drilling and to move it into deeper water as an alternative to bottom supported drilling units, such as the Steel Drilling Caisson (SDC). As currently conceived, the FIDS can support drilling of up to four wells during the course of one winter season. The FID System is designed to overcome one of the limitations of current ice island drilling, i.e. the requirement for shore access via an ice road. Building of ice roads can delay season start and shore leads and over-flooding in the spring can make the ice road unusable while the ice island platform is still stable and intact. The FID System is based on using marine logistics and supply which obviates (or minimizes) the need for shore access via ice roads. The FIDS concept uses a marine vessel(s) for early construction of spray ice islands and provides support for construction of ice roads and additional man-made ice islands. The use of logistics vessel(s) within the FIDS concept to position construction and drilling equipment, camps, fuel and other supplies in the vicinity of the target well locations improves overall efficiency and allows for an extended drilling season. This approach allows for the earliest start of ice island construction and correspondingly maximizes the time available for drilling a deep and complex well at this location. After completion of drilling and well testing, all drilling equipment and remaining supplies on the islands are returned to the logistics vessel, which remains in the ice until break-up the following summer, when it can sail to a southern port for replenishment. While the original FIDS study was based on the use of Russia SA-15 arctic logistics ships, it is possible to foresee construction of similar special purpose ships, perhaps with increased capacity which could support the FIDS concept and which might also act as support or wareships for te open-water drilling season in areas such as the Chukchi Sea.

It calls on UK Government to publish, with urgency, a Safe and Healthy Mobility Strategy and Action Plan for roads and civic spaces across the UK that is based on Safe System solutions; and for Government to place this strategy and action plan at the heart of its transport policy decisions to save people and the planet. This report proposes goals, work areas, and priority actions for the strategy and action plan. Safe and healthy mobility means we get around on roads and around our civic spaces (the spaces between our buildings) in ways that: prevent death and serious injury from road crashes; prevent death and illness from air pollution and inactivity; and achieve decarbonisation to tackle the climate crisis. We enable people to move around in active ways (walking, cycling) and we enable the safe, clean, and green use of vehicles too; to move our goods, deliver services, or move people, including by public transport.

The focus of this SAE EDGE™ Research Report is to address a topic overlooked by many who choose to view automated driving systems and AVs from a “10,000-foot” perspective: how automated vehicles (AVs) will actually communicate with other road users. Conventional (human-driven) vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians already have a functioning system of understating each other while on the move. Adding automated vehicles to the mix requires assessing the spectrum of existing modes of communication – both implicit and explicit, biological and technological, and how they will interact with each other in the real world. The impending deployment of AVs represents a major shift in the traditional approach to ground transportation; its effects will inevitably be felt by parties directly involved with the vehicle manufacturing and use and those that play roles in the mobility ecosystem (e.g., aftermarket and maintenance industries, infrastructure and planning organizations, automotive insurance providers, marketers, telecommunication companies). Unsettled Issues Regarding Communication of Automated Vehicles with Other Road Users brings together the multiple scenarios we are likely to see in a future not too far away and how they are likely to play out in practical ways.

The first Decade of Action for Road Safety has ended, but not without demonstrating the importance that systemic work on road safety offers towards protecting life. At the same time, it is clear that real progress in road safety requires a significant commitment of time, resources and political effort. In the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC), over the past ten years, the growth in the rate of vehicle deaths has slowed. Unfortunately, in the last two years this trend has reversed due to the expansion of the motorcycle fleet in the region. Although it has been possible to raise awareness, create institutions, plan and implement important actions to reduce fatalities, LAC has not obtained the same results as high-income countries, which have entirely reversed the trend in road deaths. In accordance with the above, it is possible to conceive of a second decade of action as an opportunity for LAC countries to finalize the processes initiated over the past decade and to introduce successful lessons experiences from other countries in the region. With this study, the IDB intends to guide this process of continuous improvement, highlighting the best practices and offering an overview of how to move from theory to practice, following the principles that mobility must be safe, sustainable and inclusive, while reducing the risk to all road users, especially the most vulnerable, and maintain the focus on users with special needs (people with disabilities, children and the elderly).

In 2004-2006, Central America made significant efforts to complete its free trade area (FTA), further itsCustoms Union (CU) and launch the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free TradeAgreement (DR-CAFTA). There have been several breakthroughs on the road to economic union, but theprocess is still only at the halfway stage. The subregion¿s political forces are in agreement over the needto intensify the integration dynamic and move it forward. Yet, in the course of this work, significantlimitations have emerged.

Chile's housing policy is widely regarded as a success. For almost a decade, new construction has been above the level required to provide houses for new families and replace obsolete structures. This raises hopes that within the next decade all families in Chile will occupy dwellings that comply with minimum quality and service standards. This is no small accomplishment for a country just entering the middle ground in the development scale. Moreover, the private sector is taking an increasingly active role in housing production and financing. This too is a significant achievement considering that in the 1970s most housing was built and financed by the government. Further, government assistance is effectively reaching the poor, and most public resources are benefiting low-income households. Confidence in the housing policy is high among the low-income population as expressed in their high level of participation in a housing savings program and by the absence of land invasions. These accomplishments are the result of a long maturation process in the Chilean housing sector. Fifty years of government policy have consolidated the legal, institutional, and entrepreneurial foundations of the current housing production and financing system. Several success factors can be identified: an integrated sector approach (which incorporates the housing needs of all income groups); an efficient subsidy system (the result of a long process of experimentation); and reforms of the general banking system and the social security system (which created strong institutions to intermediate the financial resources accumulated by pension funds and life insurance companies). Even with its accomplishments, Chile's housing sector still faces significant challenges. Improvements are needed to more effectively mobilize the resources devoted to housing. The lack of coordination between housing and urban development policies is becoming a major liability for both efficient housing production and equitable urban growth. Direct government involvement in house construction and home financing enforce uniformity in design and repayment schedules failing to fully meet the diversified demand of the target households and to fully mobilize the repayment capacity of beneficiaries. It is suggested that it may be time for housing policy to move beyond this basic approach introducing more flexibility through greater market participation in low-income housing.

Decarbonization and energy security in Europe are two faces of the same coin. They are both related to the large dependency of the European Union economy on fossil fuels, which today represent around 70% of the total supply of energy. The bulk of these energy resources are imported, with Russia being the largest supplier, accounting for 40% of natural gas and 27% of oil imports. However, fossil fuels are also the primary root cause of greenhouse gas emissions, and the European Union is committed to reduce those by 55% by 2030 (versus 1990). This report is based on the landmark research from the Joint Research Center of the European Commission, the “Integrated Database of the European Energy Sector”, which for the first time mapped actual energy uses for each country within the European Union, across 17 sectors of activity, with data granularity at the level of each process step (or end-use) of each of these sectors. Our approach here has been to systematically review these process steps (or end-uses) and qualify the extent to which they could be electrified, effectively removing the demand for fossil fuels as a result. We have focused only on those process steps where technology was already widely available and for which we evaluated the switch to be relatively easy (or attractive). In other words, we estimated the impact of rapid electrification of “easy to abate” activities. The conclusion of this evaluation is that the share of electricity demand in the final energy mix could jump from around 20% today to 50%, which would drive a reduction in emissions at end-use of around 1,300 MtCO2 /y, as well as a drop in natural gas and oil supply of around 50%. As a result of such transformation, electricity demand would nearly double, with the bulk of that growth materializing in the building sector. Short-term, the challenge of addressing climate targets while providing for energy security is thus intimately connected to buildings. While such transition would certainly require major infrastructure upgrades, which may prove a roadblock to rapid deployment, we find that the combination of energy efficiency measures (notably digital) and distributed generation penetration (rooftop solar) could significantly tame the issue, and hence help accelerate the move away from fossil fuels, with energy spend savings as high as 80% across some building types; a major driver of change. Beyond this, further potential exists for electrification. Other measures on the demand-side will include deeper renovations of the industrial stock (notably in the automotive, machinery, paper, and petrochemical industries for which our current assessment may be underestimated) and further electrification of mobility (trucks). The transition of the power system away from coal (and ultimately natural gas) will then also play a key role, followed ultimately by feedstocks substitution in industry. Some of these transitions are already on the way and will likely bring further improvements. The key message, however, is that a significant opportunity revolves around buildings to both quickly decarbonize and reduce energy dependencies in Europe. Rapid transformation of the energy system may be more feasible than we think. We notably estimate that, by 2030, an ambitious and focused effort could help displace 15% to 25% of natural gas and oil supply and reduce emissions by around 500 MtCO2 /y (note that these savings would come on top of additional measures regarding energy efficiency and flexibility, which are not the object of this study). For this to happen, approximately 100 million buildings will need renovating, and a similar number of electric vehicles would need to hit the road.

Many automotive industry safety advocates have been pushing for greater market penetration for active safety and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), with the goal of ending deaths due to car crashes. However, there are far-reaching implications for the collision repair, specialty equipment, and performance aftermarket sectors—after a collision or modification, the ADAS system functionality must be preserved to maintain, driver, passenger, and road user safety. To do this, sensor recalibration and ADAS functional safety validation and documentation after repair, modification, or accessorizing are necessary. Unsettled Issues on Sensor Calibration for Automotive Aftermarket ADAS tackles the challenges of accelerating the pace of ADAS implementation; increasing industry understanding of systems, sensors, software, controllers; and minimizing the overwhelming variety of sensor calibration procedures and automaker targets. Additionally, this report addresses the liability concerns that are challenging the industry as it seeks to move forward safely.

We have an urgent need—and a unique opportunity—to profoundly transform the ways in which people and goods move around in the United States. A collaborative analysis led by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that using existing technologies, and at modest cost, we can achieve a zero-carbon, equitable transportation system by 2050. This transformation is made possible by phasing out petroleum and transitioning to low and zero-carbon fuels. This eliminates tailpipe emissions that endanger communities, and at the same time keeps our climate targets within reach. To get there, we need to rapidly electrify vehicle fleets; strengthen efficiency standards for both electric and internal-combustion engine vehicles; reduce emissions from the remaining liquid fuels in hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation, shipping, and long distance road transportation; and enable communities to reduce or eliminate the need to drive. Achieving these goals will require a suite of forward-thinking policies and regulations at all administrative levels that are implemented with meaningful community engagement.

The present study was initiated by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to better understand characteristics of roadway segments categorized as unmarked in IDOT’s Transportation Asset Management Plan and to suggest recommendations to manage, vacate, abandon, retain, or transfer individual routes. The researchers developed a methodology, labeled JARM, to identify potential candidates for jurisdictional transfer, abandonment (or vacation), reconfiguration, or maintenance. The JARM methodology is an easy-to-use and stand-alone spreadsheet tool for IDOT districts. It includes all unmarked routes as well as their key database variables and visual attributes. The study identified that over 90% of unmarked route centerline mileage is recommended for jurisdictional transfer to move off IDOT’s inventory and to be better served by local agencies, while reducing maintenance costs and future funding needs. To identify maintenance strategies for unmarked routes and low-volume roads, the researchers reviewed best practices of various state agencies and developed treatment catalogues for rural and urban routes. Additionally, they conducted two surveys: (1) a survey of other state DOTs to understand management of similar routes and (2) a survey of local public agencies within Illinois to understand their familiarity and willingness to accept unmarked routes. Twenty-five DOTs responded to the survey to provide insight into how they manage similar routes. The results demonstrated that 70% of local public agency respondents were amenable to a discussion of jurisdictional transfer. The next logical step is to build off this network-level research and to identify execution strategies at the project level in the most cost-effective manner.

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3