Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Should State Land In Southern California Be Allocated To Warehousing Goods Or Housing People? Analyzing Transportation, Climate, And Unintended Consequences Of Supply Chain Solutions, Tianjun Lu, Jian-Yu Ke, Azure Fisher, Mahmoud Salari, Patricia Valladolid, Fynnwin Prager

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

In response to COVID-19 pandemic supply chain issues, the State of California issued Executive Order (EO) N-19-21 to use state land to increase warehousing capacity. This highlights a land-use paradox between economic and environmental goals: adding warehouse capacity increases climate pollution and traffic congestion around the ports and warehouses, while there is a deficit of affordable housing and high homeless rates in port-adjacent underserved communities. This study aims to inform regional policymakers and community stakeholders about these trade-offs by identifying current and future supply of and demand for warehousing and housing in Southern California through 2040. The study uses statistical …

A Bike System For All In Silicon Valley: Equity Assessment Of Bike Infrastructure In San José, Ca, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Jochen Albrecht, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Investing in sustainable, multimodal infrastructure is of increasing importance throughout the United States and worldwide. Cities are increasingly making strategic capital investment decisions about bicycle infrastructure—decisions that need planning efforts that accurately assess the equity aspects of developments, achieve equitable distribution of infrastructures, and draw upon accurate assessment methods. Toward these efforts, this project uses a granular bike network dataset with statistical and geospatial analyses to quantify a bike infrastructure availability score (i.e., bike score) that accounts for the safety and comfort differences in bike path classes in San José, California. San José is the 10th largest U.S. city and …

Assessing Public Health Benefits Of Replacing Freight Trucks With Cargo Cycles In Last Leg Delivery Trips In Urban Centers, Jennifer C. Hartle, Ossama (Sam) A. Elrahman, Cara Wang, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Yue Ding, Matt Mcgahan

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Increased urbanization, population growth, and demand for time-sensitive deliveries means increased freight movement in cities, which contributes to emissions, noise, and safety concerns. One innovative mode gaining widespread attention for urban deliveries is cargo cycles—bicycles adapted for freight delivery. Despite the recognized potential and possible success of transporting at least 25% of freight via cycle, research remains limited. This research investigates the potential of cargo cycle delivery for last mile freight in Oakland, California, with a focus on the West Oakland neighborhood. The data collection included interviews, focus groups, vehicle field observation and counts, and traffic simulation modeling. The traffic …

Optimizing Multimodal Transportation Access To Support Commuting Among Low-Income Transit Riders With Social Distancing, Shailesh Chandra, Vivek Mishra

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

During the COVID-19 pandemic, LA Metro has encouraged social distancing among passengers—especially at stations of high-demand routes—and has increased fixed-route transit (FRT) services. However, potential impacts of social distancing on the performance of FRT services remain mostly unknown. This research evaluates the accessibility of FRT buses with social distancing using the ridership data collected on four FRT routes: 105, 108, 111, and 115 of the LA Metro's A Line stations located in low-income neighborhoods. This research shows that social distancing of six feet can impact FRT's accessibility to destination stations, and maximum accessibility is achieved only for a certain number …

Examining The Effects Of Precision Scheduled Railroading On Intercity Passenger And High-Speed Rail Service, John G. Green, Francis J. Miller

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

More than just scheduling terminal-to-terminal trips for trains, “Precision Scheduled Railroading” (PSR) creates entire point-to-point trip plans for individual railroad shipments. Since precision execution was first put into practice, the benefits to shipment arrival reliability and to freight railroads’ profitability have been demonstrated by its use in several Class One freight railroads. However, the effects of the PSR operating strategy on passenger railway operations in shared freight/passenger corridors has not been studied in detail. This research examines the effects of PSR railroad operations on passenger railways, including measuring “Host Railroad Minutes of Delay per 10,000 Train-Miles” and “On-Time Performance” of …

Negotiating Transportation Insecurity: Local Responses And Coping Strategies In San José, Ca, Andrew Ng, Melissa Beresford

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

People rely on transportation every day to access food, work, and social activities. Transportation insecurity—the lack of regular access to adequate transportation—can therefore cause significant disruptions to livelihoods. Understanding how people experience transportation insecurity in metropolitan areas may contribute to building better transportation systems and help formulate ways to alleviate persistent and underlying transportation issues. In this study, the researchers interviewed San José residents who experience transportation insecurity to better understand their experiences and identify the major ways that they cope with lack of adequate transportation. The researchers then used inductive techniques for thematic text analysis to identify patterns major …

A Geographical Contribution On Interurban Passenger Rail Transportation In The United States, Matthieu Schorung

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Why does the rail infrastructure of the United States lag behind those of many other developed countries? Where is U.S. high-speed rail? This research approaches this in a dilemma by exploring Amtrak’s traditional rail services and high-speed rail projects in the nation to understand the workings of public rail transportation policies, what they contain, and how they are developed and pursued by the different stakeholders. This research utilizes case studies and a multiscale approach to analyze the territorialization of intercity rail transportation policies. The analysis demonstrates the emergence of a bottom-up approach to projects, notably apparent in the California HSR …

Can Californian Households Save Money On Transportation Costs By Living In Transit-Oriented Developments (Tods)?, Hongwei Dong

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Many residents in large Californian metropolitan areas are heavily burdened by housing costs. Advocates, researchers, and elected officials in California are debating whether transit-oriented development (TOD) could be an effective tool to mitigate the housing affordability problem by increasing housing supply and reducing transportation costs in transit-rich neighborhoods. This study contributes to this debate by estimating how much Californian families can save on transportation costs by living in transit-oriented developments (TODs). By utilizing the confidential version of the 2010–2012 California Household Travel Survey, this study evaluates the impact of TOD on household transportation expenditures by comparing TOD households with two …

Fair Housing And Transit-Centric Development: Finding A Path Forward, Alison Cingolani

Master's Projects

This study examines the implementation of land use planning under SB 375, and analyzes the siting of low-income housing related to areas rich in opportunity in Santa Clara County. How do sites planned or chosen for the development of housing in the current planning cycle relate to areas of opportunity?

Façade Improvement Programs In The San Francisco Bay Area, Liz Lange

Master's Projects

The purpose of this research project is to provide a comprehensive inventory and analysis of FIPs that currently operate in the SFBA, identify common components, analyze unique features, evaluate program goals, and determine successful practices. The intent of this study is to encourage municipalities, particularly in the SFBA, that do not operate a FIP to consider implementing one by providing a starting point and guidelines for program development. Many municipalities are unable to research FIPs due to limited staff hours and other competing priorities. Through this research, staff will be able to identify what resources are required to operate a …

Negative Consequences Of Innovation-Igniting Urban Developments: Empirical Evidence From Three Us Cities, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Carla Maria Kayanan

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

Emergent economic development policies reflect the challenges urban growth coalitions face in attracting the footloose tech-entrepreneurs of the global economy. This convergence between the focus on place and the harnessing of global capital has led to the proliferation of innovation-igniting urban developments (IIUD)—place-based economic development strategies to boost the local knowledge economy. Economic developers are using IIUD strategies to convert areas of the city into entrepreneurial “launch pads” for innovation. However, because these developments remain young, considerations to implement IIUDs lack an evidence-base to show the potential for negative consequences on the communities where they are embedded. This research addresses …

The Help-Yourself City: Legitimacy And Inequality In Diy Urbanism, Gordon Douglas

University Scholar Series

When local governments neglect public services or community priorities, how do concerned citizens respond? In The Help-Yourself City: Legitimacy and Inequality in DIY Urbanism, Dr. Douglas looks closely at people who take urban planning into their own hands with homemade signs and benches, guerrilla bike lanes, and more. He explores the frustration, creativity, and technical expertise behind these interventions, but also the position of privilege from which they often come. Presenting a needed analysis of this growing trend from vacant lots to city planning offices, The Help-Yourself City tells a street-level story of people’s relationships to their urban surroundings …

Memos And Mega Projects: Applying Planners’ Perceptions Of Their Software To A Framework For The Future Of Planning, Richard L. Davis

Master's Projects

Software powers the modern urban planning department. However, the majority of academic attention on software in the planning profession has focused on highly specialized land use models, ignoring the importance of common applications that most planners rely upon throughout their workdays. For example, email’s impact on planning has gone largely undiscussed in the literature despite its role as one of the most commonly used software by planners. This report has a twofold purpose: 1) create a protocol for interviewing planners about the software they use routinely; 2) synthesize needs and expectations of planners gathered during interviews with relevant literature on …

Community Benefits And Lessons For Local Engagement In A California Open Streets Event: A Mixed-Methods Assessment Of Viva Callesj 2018, Gordon Douglas, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Mary Currin-Percival, Katherine Cushing, Jason Dehaan

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report presents the findings from an evaluation of the September 2018 Viva CalleSJ open streets event in San José,CA. The research was designed to assess the success of the event, guide planning for future open streets events, and inform potential funders and community partners about the benefits of such events. To gather the impressions of participants, local residents, and workers at businesses along the event route, the mixed-methods study analyzed results from a survey of 1,571participants, 114 interviews with community members and businesses, and participant observations. Researchers also examined social media presence and a related augmented reality gaming component. …

Full Potential Of Future Robotaxis Achievable With Trip-Based Subsidies And Fees Applied To The For-Hire Vehicles Of Today, John Niles

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

As described by Grush and Niles in their textbook, The End of Driving: Transportation Systems and Public Policy Planning for Autonomous Vehicles, there are two distinct market states for the future of automobility as vehicles become increasingly automated. The first, Market-1, is comprised of all vehicles that are manufactured and sold to private owners and used as household vehicles. This private consumer fleet will—through automated driver assistance systems (ADAS)—be increasingly capable of hands-off operation, even self-driving in certain environments such as limited-access expressways. The second category, Market-2, represents all the vehicles made expressly for the service market, i.e., roboshuttles and …

Value Capture To Fund Public Transportation: The Impact Of Warm Springs Bart Station On The Value Of Neighboring Residential Properties In Fremont, Ca, Shishir Mathur

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This study estimates households’ willingness to pay for single-family houses and condominiums/townhouses located within 2 miles of Warm Springs (WS) BART Station in Fremont, CA. The study finds that, compared to the houses sold in the referent category (2 to 5 miles away and sold during the pre-project-announcement period of 2000-2001), an average-priced single-family house within two miles of the WS BART Station was higher in price by 9% to 15%. The total property value increment for the single-family houses is large enough to fund the $802 million Warm Springs BART Extension Project cost five times over.

Housing And Mobility Toolkit For San Mateo County, Serena Alexander, Joseph Kott, Bruce Appleyard, Mark Garrett, Shannon Mcdonald, Maaza Mekuria, Udeme J. Ndon, Anurag Pande, Eric Peterson

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Since the end of the Great Recession, San Mateo County has attracted new workers at a record rate without building anywhere near enough housing. This jobs-housing imbalance drives the cost of housing up and forces many moderate and lower-income employees and their families out of the County. A lack of access to quality affordable housing in the County and the entire Bay Area along with limited transportation options means that an increased number of employees drive in and out of the County every workday. The resultant congestion, gridlock, and long commutes along with other negative environmental, social, and economic impacts …

Urban Goods Movement And Local Climate Action Plans: Assessing Strategies To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Urban Freight Transportation, Andrew R. Goetz, Serena Alexander

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report examines how freight transport/goods movement has been addressed in U.S. city climate action planning. Transportation generally is a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and freight transport represents a growing component of transportation’s share. Almost all climate action plans (CAPs) address transportation generally, but we wished to focus on efforts to reduce GHG emissions from freight transport specifically. We analyzed 27 advanced local CAPs to determine the degree to which freight transport was targeted in goals and strategies to reduce GHG emissions. We found only six CAPs that included direct measures or programs to reduce freight emissions. …

Automated Vehicles Have Arrived: What's A Transit Agency To Do?, John Niles

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Ongoing innovations in automated and connected road vehicles create a path of radical transformation of personal mobility, the automotive industry, trucking, public transit, the taxi industry, urban planning, transportation infrastructure, jobs, vehicle ownership, and other physical and social aspects of our built world and daily lives.

In considering automated vehicle (AV) deployments and their cost, as well as the changes in traffic volume, congestion, rights of way, and the complexities of mixed fleets with both automated and non-automated vehicles, the time frame of impacts can only be surmised.

Still, it is worth considering a framework for understanding and managing the …

Transportation For An Aging Population: Promoting Mobility And Equity For Low-Income Seniors, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Martin Wachs, Lené Levy-Storms, Madeline Brozen

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This study explores the travel patterns, needs, and mobility problems faced by diverse low-income, inner-city older adults in Los Angeles in order to identify solutions to their mobility challenges. The study draws information from: (1) a systematic literature review of the travel patterns of older adults; (2) a review of municipal policies and services geared toward older adult mobility in six cities; (3) a quantitative analysis of the mobility patterns of older adults in California using the California Household Travel Survey; and (4) empirical work with 81 older adults residing in and around Los Angeles’ inner-city Westlake neighborhood, who participated …

Where Do Riders Park Dockless, Shared Electric Scooters? Findings From San Jose, California, Kevin Fang, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jeremy Steele, John Joseph Hunter, Ashley M. Hooper

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Dockless, shared, electric kick-scooters started popping up on U.S. city streets without warning in 2017. Reaction to the shared scooters came swiftly and strongly. On the one hand, the scooters have proven popular with riders, attracting investment capital and expanding service to additional cities. But others have been less enthusiastic, with a central complaint being how shared scooters are parked.

This perspective explores the extent to which parked shared scooters pose a problem to others on streets, sidewalks, and public spaces, using empirical evidence documenting where scooters have been parked in downtown San Jose, California.

Examining The Development Effects Of Modern-Era Streetcars: An Assessment Of Portland And Seattle, Jeffrey Brown, Joel Mendez

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Most U.S. cities pursuing streetcars are doing so primarily for their purported development effects, as opposed to for their transportation role, yet there is little evidence about the nature or magnitude of these development effects due to a scarcity of rigorous, empirical research. Most available work simply presents descriptive information about development outcomes (typically measured as changes in population, employment, land values, or permit activity) within streetcar corridors as indicators of the streetcar’s development effects. Alternate factors which may have influenced such results are often not considered, placing into question the validity of such measures.

This study examines the development …

Cycling Into The Future: Implementation Of Enhanced Bikeways Along San Fernando Street In Downtown San Jose, Patrick Rubens

Master's Projects

In 2012, the City of San Jose acquired funding from the Transportation for Livable Communities Grant Program and began installing “green striped” enhanced bicycle lanes on a 1.5 mile stretch San Fernando Street between Diridon Station and 10th Street connecting San Jose’s Downtown Train Station to San Jose State University. According to city documents, these enhanced bikeways are intended to “enhance the visibility and safety of this route as a primary bikeway.” An important element of the project was the installation of LED streetlights to improve nighttime visibility. This specific project undertaken by the city falls under the umbrella of …

Smarter Crm From A Customer Service Perspective: A Process Evaluation On The City Of San José'S My San Jose Smartphone Application For City Services, Roxanna Moradi

Master's Projects

This research paper provides background on the City of San José’s smart phone application history and reviews other similar municipal smart phone applications. It also analyzes current literature on implementations of non-emergency service communications and service requests (311). Primarily, this research paper investigates whether the functioning of the My San Jose smartphone application and website platforms are meeting the intended goal of improving the customer experience for city services.

This paper analyzes My San Jose raw service request data to review performance. In addition, this paper analyzes qualitative information gathered from semi-structured interviews of City of San José employees to …

San Jose's Walk N' Roll Program: An Evaluation Of School Pedestrian Education Programs, Stephen Ngo

Master's Projects

The City of San Jose has been recognized as among the safest cities in the United States, but an area that the city seeks to improve in is reducing the number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists. As stated by the city, “San Jose’s injury crash rate is about half the national average” (Vision Zero San Jose, 2015, p. 6), but, on average, 40 people are killed annually and 150 are seriously injured on San Jose’s streets. To address this, San Jose is using data, education, and technology to make a shift towards creating streets and roads that benefit …

Pedestrian Safety On San Jose Roads: The Impact Of Traffic Safety Infrastructure, David Lisenbee

Master's Projects

How successful have the City of San Jose’s traffic safety improvement programs been in reducing pedestrian injuries/fatalities on city streets? This research question focuses on the impact of the City of San Jose’s traffic safety programs on pedestrian safety between 2010 and 2014. The research aims to determine the extent to which traffic safety programs and infrastructure reduce rates of pedestrian injuries/fatalities and the severity of pedestrian injuries when incidents occur.

A Survey Of Viva Callesj Participants: San Jose, California, 2017, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon, Cameron Simons

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report presents the findings from a self-complete paper survey of participants at the Viva CalleSJ open streets event held on Sunday, September 17, 2017. The survey was designed to provide information that would help the City of San José assess the success of the event, guide planning for future Viva CalleSJ events, and inform potential funders and community partners about the benefits of Viva CalleSJ. A total of 860 adults at the event completed the one-page paper survey. Survey findings provide detail about how people traveled to the event, their reasons for attending, what they did at the event, …

Improving Livability Using Green And Active Modes: A Traffic Stress Level Analysis Of Transit, Bicycle, And Pedestrian Access And Mobility, Maaza C. Mekuria, Bruce Appleyard, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Understanding the relative attractiveness of alternatives to driving is vitally important toward lowering driving rates and, by extension, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), traffic congestion, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, etc. The relative effectiveness of automobile alternatives (i.e., buses, bicycling, and walking) depends on how well streets are designed to work for these respective modes in terms of safety, comfort and cost, which can sometimes pit their relative effectiveness against each other. In this report, the level of traffic stress (LTS) criteria previously developed by two of the authors was used to determine how the streets functioned for these auto alternative modes. …

Graffiti Abatement Program In The City Of East Palo Alto, Oscar Ortiz

Master's Projects

This research project will be of interest for community residents, local government, and non-profit organizations in the City of East Palo Alto. The three main objectives for this project are:

1. Strengthen or establish a relationship between community residents and officials in the City of East Palo Alto.
2. Provide data for local government officials that will help abate graffiti throughout the city.
3. Offer recommendations to improve neighborhood safety, sense of security, and appearance in East Palo Alto

The research question for this report is: How can community participation help abate graffiti in the City of East Palo Alto?

A Survey Of Viva Callesj Participants: San Jose, California 2016, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report presents the findings from a self-complete paper survey of participants at the Viva CalleSJ open streets event held on September 18, 2016. The survey was designed to provide information that would help the City of San Jose assess the success of the event, guide the planning for future Viva CalleSJ events, and inform potential funders and community partners about the benefits of Viva CalleSJ. A total of 318 people completed the one-page paper survey while at the event. Survey findings provide detail about how people learned about the event, how they traveled to the event, what they did …