» Home        Gateways and Corridors: assessing and addressing strategic security concerns Margaret Purdy, University of British Columbia, Canada Abstract Countries and regions develop and promote transportation gateways and corridors principally as a means to increase trade and enhance competitiveness. Economic issues dominate the public dialogue, as well as the academic literature and research, around gateways and corridors. Non-economic issues and concerns are beginning to emerge, including about such matters as the human rights records of prospective trading partners and the negative impacts of increased trade on gateway communities, including increased congestion and pollution. Security has remained a peripheral issue in the discussion of gateways and corridors – both inside and outside governments. Most business and industry stakeholders continue to perceive security as an obstacle, an inconvenience and an expense -- even in the post- September 11 period. On their part, governments have focused on the international trade potential of gateway and corridor initiatives. The end result is that little policy or research attention is being directed to assessing how robust security programs could help facilitate trade or provide competitive advantage to specific gateways and corridors. A serious and comprehensive approach to gateway and corridor security would entail much more than protecting shipments of goods and passenger movements, and would encompass the full range of threats – economic espionage, terrorism, organized crime, pandemics and other serious human/animal health concerns, cyber attacks, and natural disasters. Initiatives to address these threats would include not only defensive, protective measures, but also emergency response and business resumption programs. The most significant threats to the security of gateways and corridors have international dimensions. As a result, a strategic approach to gateway and corridor security must take into consideration the security measures in place at points of origin and international borders, as well as along supply chains and international trade and travel routes. « Back to Abstracts  ©2007 Center for Transportation Studies, UBC. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy