Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Webinar: Transportation Benefits Of Polycentric Urban Form, Reid Ewing, Sadegh Sabouri

TREC Webinar Series

A “polycentric” region consists of a network of compact developments connected with each other through high-quality transportation options. Rather than continuing the expanse of low-density development radiating from an urban core, investments can be concentrated on central nodes and transit connections. This development pattern is very popular in Europe and is linked to significant benefits. This presentation is aimed at exploring the academic literature and empirical evidence surrounding polycentric development, analyzing more than 120 regional transportation plans to see how they promote polycentric development, defining types of centers in a hierarchy of centers, quantifying the transportation benefits of polycentric development, …

Winning The Fight For Better Bus Service, Steven Higashide

PSU Transportation Seminars

The "right to the city" depends on the right to access the city, and U.S. regions are marked by profoundly unequal access. One of the clearest manifestations of this is the state of U.S. bus transit. Bus service is simple to improve and has vast potential to better people's lives, but has been constrained by the racist planning and politics that shape every American city.

How can we fulfill the promise of better buses and create abundant transit networks that expand access to opportunity? In this seminar, Higashide unpacks the elements of effective bus service – and cites examples from …

Webinar: Bus Stops: Access And Equity, Keith Bartholomew

TREC Webinar Series

Improving bus stops by providing shelters, seating, signage, and sidewalks is relatively inexpensive and popular among riders and local officials. Making such improvements, however, is not often a priority for U.S. transit providers because of competing demands for capital funds and a perception that amenities are not tied to measurable increases in system effectiveness or efficiency. This webinar focuses on the role that bus stops play as the point of first contact between transit agencies and their potential riders, and how the quality of that contact can influence both ridership and accessibility for riders with mobility-related disabilities. The webinar will …

Bus-Bike Designs For The Division Transit Project, Derek Abe, Jesse Stemmier

PSU Transportation Seminars

This seminar is brought to you by the Oregon chapter of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP), with support from TREC at Portland State.

Transit stops and stations are a confluence of complementary and competing activities - pedestrians accessing businesses, passengers boarding and alighting, and bicyclists zipping through to their destinations. People are moving in different directions, at different speeds, and need to be able to navigate this space safely and comfortably. A common point of conflict is the bus/bicycle interaction when a transit stop is adjacent to a bike lane. Designs for integrating pedestrian and bicycle …

Examining The Role Of Internal Planning Decisions In Improving Transit Performance And Economic Outcomes, Michal Jaroszynski

PSU Transportation Seminars

Scholars and practitioners continuously seek best practices to increase transit ridership, efficiency, and modal share. The ongoing suburbanization and decentralization of U.S. metropolitan regions brings new challenges for accomplishing these goals. Investigating possible strategies for improving transit outcomes in the existing socioeconomic setting, scholars from the Florida State University have pointed to the role of internal performance factors. In a series of research studies, they have found that improving transit service characteristics, such as frequency, connectivity, regional coverage, intermodal integration, as well as decentralization of network structures, could result in increased transit ridership and productivity. These positive effects could be …