Engineering Commons^™

The Sustainability Of Decarbonizing The Grid: A Multi-Model Decision Analysis Applied To Mexico, Rodrigo Mercado Fernandez, Erin Baker

Publications

Mexico recognizes its vulnerability to the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, increasing average temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events and changes to the hydrological cycle. Because of these concerns Mexico has a vested interest in developing sustainable strategies for mitigating climate change as it develops its electricity grid. In this study, we use a set of sustainability criteria to evaluate a number of model-derived pathways for the electricity grid aimed at meeting Mexico's climate goals. We use a multi-step approach, combining pathways from multiple large scale global models with a detailed electricity model to leverage geographic information …

Tall Timber In Denver: An Exploration Of New Forms In Large Scale Timber Architecture, Andrew P. Weuling

Masters Theses

Wood has been utilized by humans for thousands of years in the construction of our built environment. More recently, our expanded understanding of the material and the advancement of engineered wood have allowed us to use wood like never before. Concrete and steel, however, have emerged as the main materials used in large scale construction in the late 19^th and 20^th Centuries. As we are battling and searching for solutions to climate change, the importance of wood in large scale construction has increased as not only is its carbon intensity is lower than steel and concrete, but its …

Transportation Sustainability, Eleni Christofa

Sustainability Education Resources

An overview of sustainable transportation planning practices and management strategies and policies; current transportation trends; environmental and energy policies; nonmotorized modes (mainly bicycles and pedestrians); public transportation; life-cycle assessment for transportation infrastructure; alternative fuel vehicles; vehicle emission estimation models; demand management strategies (including parking policies, pricing strategies).

Modeling Of Electrical Grid Systems To Evaluate Sustainable Electricity Generation In Pakistan, Muhammad Mustafa Amjad

Masters Theses

Pakistan has always had a history of severe energy shortfalls, which rose up to an alarming 33% in 2013. This situation was countered by investments in the energy sector through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which were unfortunately largely based on brown fuels. Although beneficial in the short term, these investments do not bode well for the climate scenario of Pakistan, with various parts of the country already having experienced temperatures rise of 1-3°C. To ensure that the current situation doesn’t exacerbate and is tackled in a timely manner, this research aims to examine how the untapped potential of …

Multi-Criteria Decision Making When Planning Sustainable Multimodal Transportation Routes In A Linear Corridor, Marie Louis

Doctoral Dissertations

In urban and suburban locations, public transit can be seen as an effective mode of daily transportation. The majority of the time, travelers would seek the cheapest, shortest, and possibly most eco-friendly means of transit. When designing public transit network systems, transportation planners and decision-makers, with input from stakeholders, should strive to optimize transportation services to meet the needs of the population most efficiently and at the lowest cost, that is, providing a transportation system that s the three E's of the sustainability concept: environment, social equity, and economic. Previous studies have focused on sustainability as the primary concern in …

Syllabus: Transportation Sustainability, Eleni Christofa

Sustainability Education Resources

An overview of sustainable transportation planning practices and management strategies and policies; current transportation trends; environmental and energy policies; non-motorized modes (mainly bicycles and pedestrians); public transportation; life-cycle assessment for transportation infrastructure; alternative fuel vehicles; vehicle emission estimation models; demand management strategies (including parking policies, pricing strategies).

Umass Amherst Campus-Wide Hardscape Condition Assessment 2014, Joseph Wanat

Campus Planning Master Plans

The UMass Amherst Campus-Wide Hardscape Condition Assessment conducted by VHB / Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. assessed the condition of all UMass hardscapes - roads, parking lots and sidewalks – and developed a pavement management database that integrates with GIS and other work management technologies to collect information that can be leveraged for future campus project selection, development, and decision making.

University Of Massachusetts Amherst 2012-2021 Capital Improvement Projects, Douglas Vigneau, Juanita Holler, University Of Massachusetts Building Authority, John Mathews, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ezra Small

Campus Planning Master Plans

In 2013 the University of Massachusetts, on behalf of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), submitted an Expanded Environmental Notification Form for the University's 2012 - 2021 Capital Improvement Plan to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA).

Taken individually, the majority of the Projects, comprising of 13 building/space, 7 site/landscape, and 5 facility/ utility scale improvement projects, do not require MEPA review as most of the Project sites are confined to infill areas on campus that are currently or …

Umass Amherst Green Building Guidelines 2013, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ted Mendoza, Ezra Small, Patricia O'Flaherty, Nariman Mostafavi, Mohamed Farzinmoghadam, Somayeh Tabatabaee Pozveh

Campus Planning Reports and Plans

Facilities & Campus Services, Sustainable UMass and Campus Planning support sustainability and energy conservation initiatives by providing in-house resources to campus staff as well as designers and contractors working with the University. The UMass Amherst Green Building Guidelines provide a framework for approaching new construction and major renovation projects at UMass Amherst that are undergoing LEED certification by focusing the conversation on green building aspects that are most important to the campus. They are intended to be the beginning of a dynamic conversation between designers, environmental consultants and constructors, university stakeholders, and users of new high performance buildings.