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Research Theme: Infrastructure & Transportation

Includes both management/policy and design/building aspects

Does Accessibility Require Density or Speed?

Levine, J., Grengs, J., Shen, Q., & Shen, Q. (2012). Does Accessibility Require Density or Speed?. Journal of the American Planning Association, 78(2), 157–172.

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Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Advocates of accessibility as a transportation performance metric often assert that it requires higher density. Conversely, traditional transportation planning methods have valued speed per se as an indicator of success in transportation. In examining these claims, we make two methodological innovations. The first is a new intermetropolitan gravity-based accessibility metric. Second, we decompose the impact of density on accessibility to highlight the distinct opposing influences of speed and proximity in a manner that illustrates different families of relationships between these two factors. This reveals that denser metropolitan regions have slower travel speeds but greater origin-destination proximity. The former effect tends to degrade accessibility while the latter tends to enhance it. Despite theoretical reasons to expect that the speed effect dominates, results suggest that the proximity effect dominates, rendering the denser metropolitan areas more accessible.

Takeaway for practice: Having destinations nearby, as when densities are high, offers benefits even when the associated congestion slows traffic. Where land use policy frequently seeks to support low-development densities in part in an attempt to maintain travel speeds and forestall traffic congestion, our findings suggest that compact development can often improve transportation outcomes.

Research support: Environmental Protection Agency project RD-83334901-0, FHWA Cooperative Agreement Number: DTFH61-07-H-00037, and the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.

Keywords

accessibility; mobility; speed; proximity; transportation planning

Transit-Oriented Development at the Urban Periphery: Insights from a Case Study in Shanghai, China

‌Pan, H., Shen, Q., & Liu, C. (2011).. Transit-Oriented Development at the Urban Periphery: Insights from a Case Study in Shanghai, China. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2245(1), 95–102.

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Abstract

Major cities in China are extending rail transit into the urban periphery to counter urban growth and suburbanization that are automobile-driven and automobile-dependent. In the meantime, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been adopted widely in Chinese cities. Given the adoption of the TOD concept by many rail transit station areas at the peripheries of metropolitan regions, it is imperative to explore how TOD can be applied appropriately there. In this study, two station areas were examined in Songjiang, a district located approximately 30 km from the city center of Shanghai, China. These station areas have developed according to some basic TOD principles, and, in many important ways, they are representative of newly developed rail transit station areas in Shanghai and in other major Chinese cities. The conduct of a questionnaire survey allowed for investigation of resident travel behavior, assessment of the effectiveness of the TOD application, and discussion of how TOD should be adapted to peripheral locations in a large and complex metropolitan region. The study concluded that planners must carefully substantiate the basic TOD concept in connection with this particular kind of application setting. Careful consideration should be paid to mixed land use, differentiated density, and to pedestrian and bicycle travel and their connection with rail transit. Planners also must pay close attention to each peripheral area's economic and social conditions, as well as its relationships with the central city and with other parts of the metropolitan region. This case study not only provided timely feedback on current planning practice in Shanghai and other Chinese cities but also contributed to the literature on the adaptation of TOD to local circumstances.

 

Architecture for the Boston & Albany Railroad: 1881-1894

Ochsner, J. K. (1988). Architecture for the Boston & Albany Railroad: 1881-1894. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 47(2), 109-131 .

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Abstract

Between 1881 and 1894 the Boston & Albany Railroad undertook a major program of capital investment and improvements to the physical facilities of the line, including the construction of over 30 new passenger stations. H. H. Richardson's close friends, James A. Rumrill and Charles S. Sargent, as the two members of the B&A Board most interested in construction, were given responsibility for this program. They directed the commissions to Richardson and after his death to his successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Richardson's nine B&A station designs were generally variations on a simple theme-small rectangular stone blocks with overhanging roofs providing sheltered waiting space at trackside. The continuation of this approach by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in 23 additional station designs resulted in a remarkable consistency of character and quality throughout the B&A system. This consistency was also fostered by the continuing participation of Norcross Brothers of Worcester (Richardson's "Master Builder") as contractor, and by the participation of F. L. Olmsted, whose design of landscaped settings for many of the stations contributed to the establishment of the B&A program of "railroad gardening." While the stations were small commissions, the totality of the B&A program represents an impressive collaboration of designer, contractor, and client which has seldom been equalled.

Using Open Data and Open-source Software to Develop Spatial Indicators of Urban Design and Transport Features for Achieving Healthy and Sustainable Cities

Boeing, Geoff; Higgs, Carl; Liu, Shiqin; Giles-corti, Billie; Sallis, James F.; Cerin, Ester; Lowe, Melanie; Adlakha, Deepti; Hinckson, Erica; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Salvo, Deborah; Adams, Marc A.; Barrozo, Ligia, V; Bozovic, Tamara; Delclos-alio, Xavier; Dygryn, Jan; Ferguson, Sara; Gebel, Klaus; Thanh Phuong Ho; Lai, Poh-chin; Martori, Joan C.; Nitvimol, Kornsupha; Queralt, Ana; Roberts, Jennifer D.; Sambo, Garba H.; Schipperijn, Jasper; Vale, David; Van De Weghe, Nico; Vich, Guillem; Arundel, Jonathan. (2022). Using Open Data and Open-source Software to Develop Spatial Indicators of Urban Design and Transport Features for Achieving Healthy and Sustainable Cities. Lancet Global Health, 10(6), E907-E918.

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Abstract

Benchmarking and monitoring of urban design and transport features is crucial to achieving local and international health and sustainability goals. However, most urban indicator frameworks use coarse spatial scales that either only allow between-city comparisons, or require expensive, technical, local spatial analyses for within-city comparisons. This study developed a reusable, open-source urban indicator computational framework using open data to enable consistent local and global comparative analyses. We show this framework by calculating spatial indicators-for 25 diverse cities in 19 countries-of urban design and transport features that support health and sustainability. We link these indicators to cities' policy contexts, and identify populations living above and below critical thresholds for physical activity through walking. Efforts to broaden participation in crowdsourcing data and to calculate globally consistent indicators are essential for planning evidence-informed urban interventions, monitoring policy effects, and learning lessons from peer cities to achieve health, equity, and sustainability goals.

Keywords

Systems; Access; Care

Qing Shen awarded funding for commute research survey

The Mobility Innovation Center announced that Qing Shen, professor of Urban Design & Planning and an expert in transportation planning and policy, has received a $100,000 award to study commuting patterns and develop a model to understand the effect of telework and flexible scheduling. The project will build off the existing Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) survey for employers who are in the CTR program as required by state law in the central city portion of Seattle. In addition, a complementary…

Are We Prepared for the Economic Risk Resulting from Telecom Hotel Disruptions?

Armbruster, Ginger; Endicott-Popousky, Barbara; Whittington, Jan. (2012). Are We Prepared for the Economic Risk Resulting from Telecom Hotel Disruptions? International Journal Of Critical Infrastructure Protection, 5(2), 55 – 65.

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Abstract

Large and small businesses in Seattle, Washington, as in most urban centers across the United States, increasingly rely on telecom hotels and related telecommunications centers to conduct business operations. What would be the economic impact to these businesses if a natural or man-made disaster were to make this infrastructure unavailable for a significant period of time? How long would it take for the owners of small businesses, which provide the foundation for economic recovery, to give up and move away? Are metropolitan regions prepared for this risk? This paper draws on publicly available reports of telecom hotel investments to examine the economic risks that such telecommunications hubs pose at the regional scale. New York City and Seattle are two urban areas that depend on key investments in telecom hotels. In the Pacific Northwest, these assets are located downtown, primarily in the center of the urban real estate market of Seattle. Although the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were directed at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, collateral damage to a major telecommunications hub brought outages during and after the attacks that highlighted the serious risk posed to small- and mid-sized businesses from disruptions in telecommunications service. The Seattle case study illustrates the potential to learn from the experience in Lower Manhattan and apply this knowledge across the United States. Regional economic analysis of the benefits of and the means to protect small- and mid-sized businesses can provide the basis for strategic investments that minimize economic loss and reduce the recovery time. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Telecommunications Hubs; Telecom Hotels; Business Continuity; Risk

Design Management in Design-Build Megaprojects: SR 99 Bored Tunnel Case Study

Gatti, U.C.; Migliaccio, G.C.; Laird, L. (2014). Design Management in Design-Build Megaprojects: SR 99 Bored Tunnel Case Study. Practice Periodical On Structural Design And Construction, 19(1), 148-58.

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Abstract

The increasing use of the design-build project delivery method has resulted in it now being one of the most popular nontraditional methods for delivering road, bridge, mass transit, and rail projects in the United States. However, although the use of design-build is widespread, there remains a substantial lack of information about how to effectively plan and implement design management procedures for design-build transportation projects. In particular, transportation agencies lack information about how to shape appropriate design management roles for various contractual parties and to manage design activities for design-build megaprojects. To fill this gap, this paper presents a case study of the SR 99 Bored Tunnel project in Seattle, Washington. It provides detailed information on how the owner, the Washington State DOT (WSDOT), incorporated design management procedures into its requirements and how the design-builder, Seattle Tunnel Partners, implemented them within its project management processes.

Keywords

Boring; Design Engineering; Project Management; Tunnels; Design-build Megaproject; Design-build Project Delivery Method; Road Project; Bridge Project; Mass Transit Project; Rail Project; United States; Design-build Transportation Project; Transportation Agency; Sr 99 Bored Tunnel Project; Seattle; Washington State Dot; Wsdot; Design Management; Project Management Process

Comparisons of Physical Activity and Walking between Korean Immigrant and White Women in King County, WA

Baek, So-Ra; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Saelens, Brian E.; Kang, Bumjoon; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Bae, Chang-hee Christine. (2016). Comparisons of Physical Activity and Walking between Korean Immigrant and White Women in King County, WA. Journal Of Immigrant & Minority Health, 18(6), 1541 – 1546.

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Abstract

Immigrant and minority women are less physically active than White women particularly during leisure time. However, prior research demonstrates that reported household physical activity (PA) and non-leisure time walking/biking were higher among the former. Using accelerometers, GPS, and travel logs, transport-related, home-based, and leisure time PA were measured objectively for 7 days from a convenience sample of 60 first-generation Korean immigrant women and 69 matched White women from the Travel Assessment and Community Project in King County, Washington. Time spent in total PA, walking, and home-based PA was higher among Whites than Korean immigrants regardless of PA type or location. 58 % of the White women but only 20 % of the Korean women met CDC's PA recommendations. Socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, and participants' neighborhood built environmental factors failed to account for the observed PA differences between these groups.

Keywords

Accelerometer; Gps; Korean Immigrant Women; Objective Measures; Physical Activity; Walking; White Women; Nonleisure Time; Leisure-time; Environment; Transportation; Adults; Women; Socioeconomic Status; Time Use; Home Based; Environmental Aspects; Economic Status; Immigrants; Leisure; Socioeconomic Factors; Bicycles; Psychosocial Factors; Comparative Analysis; Minority & Ethnic Groups; Physical Fitness; Regression Analysis; Accelerometers; Travel; Traveltime; Environmental Factors; Recreation; Neighborhoods; Hispanic Americans; Global Positioning Systems--gps; Social Support; Noncitizens; Data Collection; Asian Americans; Psychological Aspects; Households; White People; Asian People; King County Washington; United States--us

Comparing Associations between the Built Environment and Walking in Rural Small Towns and a Large Metropolitan Area

Stewart, Orion T.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Saelens, Brian E.; Lee, Chanam; Kang, Bumjoon; Doescher, Mark P. (2016). Comparing Associations between the Built Environment and Walking in Rural Small Towns and a Large Metropolitan Area. Environment And Behavior, 48(1), 13 – 36.

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Abstract

The association between the built environment (BE) and walking has been studied extensively in urban areas, yet little is known whether the same associations hold for smaller, rural towns. This analysis examined objective measures of the BE around participants' residence and their utilitarian and recreational walking from two studies, one in the urban Seattle area (n = 464) and the other in nine small U.S. towns (n = 299). After adjusting for sociodemographics, small town residents walked less for utilitarian purposes but more for recreational purposes. These differences were largely explained by differential associations of the BE on walking in the two settings. In Seattle, the number of neighborhood restaurants was positively associated with utilitarian walking, but in small towns, the association was negative. In small towns, perception of slow traffic on nearby streets was positively associated with recreational walking, but not in Seattle. These observations suggest that urban-rural context matters when planning BE interventions to support walking.

Keywords

Physical-activity; Utilitarian Walking; Transportation; Obesity; Adults; Travel; Urban; Prevalence; Strategies; Physical Activity; Walkability; City Planning; Urban Design; Community Health; Gis (geographic Information System); Gps (global Positioning System); Accelerometer; Effect Modification