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Full-Text Articles in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Skip The Grid: Empowering The Navajo Nation Through Solar Energy, Estevan Marcel Hurtado Jun 2023

Skip The Grid: Empowering The Navajo Nation Through Solar Energy, Estevan Marcel Hurtado

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service project through California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) where students and faculty partnered with sponsors including SOLV Energy and Goal Zero, and facilitation by Heart of America, an educational equity non-profit, to bring solar power to 27 families of school aged children in the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is a historically disadvantaged community which lacks the infrastructure and financial capacity to provide electrical service to about a third of the families living on the reservation. Families in the Red Mesa and Chinle School Districts were the focus for this …

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Development Of Underground Utility Construction Course Curricula For The Granite Heavy Civil Minor, Jared T. Schlenker Jun 2023

Development Of Underground Utility Construction Course Curricula For The Granite Heavy Civil Minor, Jared T. Schlenker

Construction Management

This paper discusses the introduction of a new course into the Granite Heavy Civil Minor (GHCM) curriculum. This course revolves around underground utility construction and is designed to provide students with knowledge that neither the Construction Management nor Civil Engineering Departments provide. The additional curricula are comprised of underground construction safety, materials, and construction methods that will provide GHCM students with a competitive advantage when applying for jobs in heavy civil construction, further incentivizing the minor program. This senior project utilizes PowerPoint presentations that can either comprise an entire course or be added to existing courses as supplemental information

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Perceptions Of Major Barriers On The Leed Scorecard Preventing Projects From Reaching The Platinum Level, Gavin R. Beadle Jun 2023

Perceptions Of Major Barriers On The Leed Scorecard Preventing Projects From Reaching The Platinum Level, Gavin R. Beadle

Construction Management

This paper is an overview of the main barriers faced by general contractors when working with the LEED Scorecard on their projects. Oftentimes projects either do not chase LEED certification or are held up at the gold or silver certification levels, never making it to the highest-level being platinum. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors general contractors are facing causing their projects to be held up at a lower certification level or not certified at all. In addition to examining the main factors, some specific credits on the scorecard will also be examined that are …

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A Comparison Of Carbon-Based Calculators For Building Construction, Adam J. Walsh Jun 2023

A Comparison Of Carbon-Based Calculators For Building Construction, Adam J. Walsh

Construction Management

The construction industry has a significant environmental impact, contributing to energy usage, carbon emissions, and waste generation. Efforts to promote sustainability and reduce this impact have emerged, with organizations like the U.S. Green Building Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leading the way. One key aspect of sustainable construction is the use of carbon calculators, web-based tools that estimate and track carbon emissions throughout the building process. These calculators consider factors such as energy consumption, transportation, and waste disposal to provide a holistic view of a building's carbon footprint. However, there are challenges and limitations associated with these calculators, …

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National Association Of Home Builders Residential Construction Management Custom/Small Build Competition Guidebook, Madison R. Lightfoot Jun 2023

National Association Of Home Builders Residential Construction Management Custom/Small Build Competition Guidebook, Madison R. Lightfoot

Construction Management

Student Competitions have become increasingly popular amongst both students and recruiters, as it helps students prepare for successful careers. These competitions, such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC), provide valuable undergraduate experience and boost students' confidence as they enter the workforce. In the NAHB RCMC Custom Home Competition students are tasked with creating a comprehensive proposal for a real home site located in the United States. To assist competing teams, a guidebook has been developed based on the advice and strategies of previous participants who placed in this competition. This guidebook covers various …

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The Importance Of Implementing Safety Programs For Spanish-Only Workers In Mep, Izak J. Lozano Jun 2023

The Importance Of Implementing Safety Programs For Spanish-Only Workers In Mep, Izak J. Lozano

Construction Management

Hispanics make up 30% of the construction workers, the highest percentage of any non-Hispanic minority group. Unfortunately, evidence also suggests Hispanic and Latino workers with limited to no English language skills are not receiving an adequate amount of safety training which is a growing concern. A lack of safety training and language barriers on the jobsite are seen as the cause for Hispanic workers having 41.6% higher injuries and non-fatal injuries in construction as compared to non-Hispanics in 2020. Three contractors were interviewed about their safety training programs for Spanish-only workers to find what strategies were found to be effective. …

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Understanding The Legal Impacts Of Integrated Project Delivery And Building Information Modeling, Samuel Chris Wong Jun 2023

Understanding The Legal Impacts Of Integrated Project Delivery And Building Information Modeling, Samuel Chris Wong

Construction Management

This research paper aims to understand the legal ramifications of using integrated project delivery (IPD) and Building information Modeling (BIM) regarding shared risk and reward between parties and impacts of contract law. Using IPD and BIM allows for projects to be more collaborative and work through issues quickly. However, shared design can lead to legal issues that may cause problems if not resolved or accounted for at the beginning of the project. This paper serves as research to further understand the legal consequences of integrating IPD and BIM into construction projects in the United States. There are some differences to …

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Ranking And Analyzing Soft Skills Of Cal Poly Cm Students During Their Internships And Importance Of Possessing Them In The Cm Industry, Alex Cervantes Jun 2023

Ranking And Analyzing Soft Skills Of Cal Poly Cm Students During Their Internships And Importance Of Possessing Them In The Cm Industry, Alex Cervantes

Construction Management

Possession of a strong set of soft skills is essential to leading a successful career in the construction industry. Soft skills allow one to become an indispensable, well-respected, and effective member of one’s team. Should one need to facilitate processes, solve problems, positively influence others and even just complete day to day tasks, a well-versed construction industry professional can rely on soft skills to manage any situations that cross their path. This study determines the perception and value of certain soft skills of student interns along with construction industry professionals alike. Along the dimensions of the study, the soft skills …

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Floating Dock At Santa Rita Ranch: A Design And Cost Estimate Package Prepared For The Land Conservancy Of San Luis Obispo, Sophia Ann Federico Jun 2023

Floating Dock At Santa Rita Ranch: A Design And Cost Estimate Package Prepared For The Land Conservancy Of San Luis Obispo, Sophia Ann Federico

Construction Management

The purpose of this project is to provide the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo with three design options for a floating fishing/boat dock system that they want to build on a small lake located on a plot of land that they own and preserve called Santa Rita Ranch. The design package that I created includes drawings, weight and buoyancy calculations, a cost estimate, and product specs. My approach was to utilize my estimating skills that I have acquired from my construction management classes and from my work at a general contractor’s office in the preconstruction department. The design and …

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Slab Extension At Woods Humane Society, Corey K. Smith Jun 2023

Slab Extension At Woods Humane Society, Corey K. Smith

Construction Management

Woods Humane Society is an animal shelter that provides pet rehabilitation and adoption services to San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas. The Woods’ facility contains a number of kennels for dogs as well as numerous outdoor, fenced-in, concrete exercise yards. These yards give dogs the opportunity to play outside a few times a day allowing them to get vital exercise. One of these yards on the south side of the property had an exterior fence that was offset from an existing slab on the interior of the fence by one foot. This was an issue for the shelter as dogs …

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Effects Of Admixes On The Compressive Strength Of Permeable Concrete, James T. Lyon Jun 2023

Effects Of Admixes On The Compressive Strength Of Permeable Concrete, James T. Lyon

Construction Management

Compression tests were performed on three samples of permeable concrete to evaluate the effects of admixes on a conventional permeable concrete. The first mix served as the control, representing a standard permeable concrete sample. The second mix replicated the control but added a small amount of fiberglass, accounting for 0.5% of the cement's weight. The third mix again mirrored the control and incorporated the manufacturer's recommended amount of a water reducing admix known as "Reducer 555". The objective of testing the two new mixes against the control mix was to evaluate the potential increase in ultimate compressive strength. Four 6” …

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City Farm Slo Fencing Upgrade, Jorge Ignacio Hernandez Jun 2023

City Farm Slo Fencing Upgrade, Jorge Ignacio Hernandez

Construction Management

This paper outlines the process of a fence upgrade that was built for a non-profit organization in San Luis Obispo, CA called City Farm SLO. The City Farm SLO is a non-profit organization that educates locals how to grow healthy and sustainable foods. This new fencing project spans a total of 422 feet with three new farm gates. The process that was approached for this project was to have it planned in three different phases. The first phase was the pre-construction phase, which consisted of meetings with the owner, creating a design, making a materials list, estimating the total cost …

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The Sonoma Developmental Center Redevelopment Project: A Stakeholder Salience And Conflict Analysis Case Study, Leo Dickson Jun 2023

The Sonoma Developmental Center Redevelopment Project: A Stakeholder Salience And Conflict Analysis Case Study, Leo Dickson

Construction Management

This analytical case study is an experimental exploration into the utilization of stakeholder salience research to analyze land redevelopment projects from a managerial perspective. The study attempted to develop and apply a simple and approachable research model to a real redevelopment project. The research design is derived from an existing mathematical model designed to quantitatively measure stakeholder salience. Stakeholder salience theory and Pawlak’s conflict theory are the fundamental concepts used to create the research design model. The objective of this research was to assess its effectiveness when applied to a rural land redevelopment setting in the United States. The Sonoma …

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Mobile Classroom: City Farm, Slo, Robert Dasch Jun 2023

Mobile Classroom: City Farm, Slo, Robert Dasch

Construction Management

The Mobile Classroom project is one element of the larger “Garden for All” project at City Farm SLO. The “Garden for All” project has created a garden that is accessible to mobility limited people, such as those in wheelchairs. The Mobile Classroom is 3 picnic tables with 6 movable benches. The tables are not be connected to the benches which allow a person in a wheelchair to roll up to the table. The picnic tables are 6’ long, 40” wide, and 29” tall. The benches are 6’ long, 14.5” wide, and 18” tall. The supporting elements of the tables and …

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Assessing The Effectiveness Of Noise Ordinances On Residential Construction: A Case Study In San Luis Obispo, Duncan Catley Jun 2023

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Noise Ordinances On Residential Construction: A Case Study In San Luis Obispo, Duncan Catley

Construction Management

Construction activities inherently generate substantial noise. As a result, construction becomes a notable source of ambient sound that permeates populated areas daily. This sound, especially at extreme volumes, can be the source of significant public annoyance and anger. Studies have shown that prolonged noise exposure can lead to hypertension, distraction, and even cognitive impairment in children. For these reasons, local governments will set noise ordinances to limit when and at what volume construction sounds can be made. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of these noise ordinances set by the city of San Luis Obispo. The …

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Outdoor Furniture Build For Echo, Audrey S. Mcgowan Jun 2023

Outdoor Furniture Build For Echo, Audrey S. Mcgowan

Construction Management

This paper outlines the building of outdoor furniture to be placed in the garden at El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO). The outdoor furniture that was built included a couch, two chairs, and a coffee table, all of which were made from redwood. The client requested the construction of the outdoor furniture because they did not have any safe or quality seating in their garden for the residents and staff to enjoy. The El Camino Homeless Organization provides food and housing for homeless residents within Atascadero. The funds required to procure the building materials were donated by Niner Wine Estates. This …

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Disc Analysis Of Cal Poly Cm Students And Industry Professionals, Kai Gunaratna Jun 2023

Disc Analysis Of Cal Poly Cm Students And Industry Professionals, Kai Gunaratna

Construction Management

This research analyzes why type D personality, as defined by the DISC personality assessment of 123test, was by far the most common personality type in the Cal Poly Commercial Construction class of winter 2022. This is interesting, as type D is the rarest personality type, making up ~ 9% of the global population (D Style - Type D Personality, n.d.). This was investigated by collecting DISC data from other Cal Poly Construction Management students to see if winter 2022 was an outlier, or if D type prominence is indeed a Cal Poly trend. The results of this research confirm that …

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United Methodist Children's Center Playground Improvements, Kyle Passey, Hayden Garcia, Mario Taurian Jun 2023

United Methodist Children's Center Playground Improvements, Kyle Passey, Hayden Garcia, Mario Taurian

Construction Management

The project consists of multiple pieces that were done as a team to improve the outdoor areas of the United Methodist Children’s Center. The scope of the work consists of placing gorilla hair mulch, making a bench for the kids, removing, grading, and placing artificial turf, and replacing the canvas of a shade structure. There are a few other smaller pieces that will be completed as well but those are the main pieces of the project. The project was executed by teaming up with multiple companies and getting teams of students together to construct the pieces of the project in …

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Pcra-Icra Pre-Construction Risk Assessment/Infection Control Risk Assessment Course, Nicholas Dean Schorno Jun 2023

Pcra-Icra Pre-Construction Risk Assessment/Infection Control Risk Assessment Course, Nicholas Dean Schorno

Construction Management

The Preconstruction Risk Assessment and Infection Control Risk Assessment (PCRA/ICRA) course is a collaboration between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Construction Management Department, Cal Poly’s California Center for Construction Education, Green Advantage, LLC and Thomas Kommer, J.D. The goal is to create a certification course in which industry professionals become certified, signifying their knowledge and understanding of PCRA/ICRA practices associated with construction in the environment of patient care. The project began with the PCRA/ICRA manual authored by Stellar Performance, LLC. Working with Devin Deiranieh, the author developed the learning material for the course. The learning material consists of power point …

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Enhancing Construction Safety Training Of Bridges Using Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality, Mohamed Sherif Elrifaee Jun 2023

Enhancing Construction Safety Training Of Bridges Using Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality, Mohamed Sherif Elrifaee

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure development projects are widely acknowledged as some of the most complex and challenging projects to undertake. The construction of bridges, in particular, has proven to be a significant safety risk for workers, with a considerable number of accidents reported on construction sites. There is a lack of comprehensive training programs specifically designed for bridge construction safety, and only a few studies have explored the use of both AR and VR to enhance safety training in construction. As such, this research aims to improve the safety of bridge construction sites through the implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality …

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The Feasibility Of Using High Strength Stainless Steel In Pre-Stressing Applications, Rana Khaled Morsy Jun 2023

The Feasibility Of Using High Strength Stainless Steel In Pre-Stressing Applications, Rana Khaled Morsy

Theses and Dissertations

This paper evaluates the applicability of using a corrosion-resistant reinforcement high strength stainless steel strands (HSSS) Duplex 2205 in pre-stressing applications. HSSS-Duplex 2205 is a high performance steel which can be used as an alternative to the conventional carbon steel strands, for a better service life. The high strength and corrosion resistance of the material allows it to show its impressive performance in marine structural applications. Although the use of HSSS-Duplex 2205 could be initially costly; however, the improved durability and extended service life of the concrete structures using HSSS would require less life-cycle cost. Although there is a gap …

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Drinking Water Contaminants: Lead, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky M. Schuerman Jun 2023

Drinking Water Contaminants: Lead, Bruce I. Dvorak, Becky M. Schuerman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Any lead exposure, even low levels, can be a serious health concern, especially for infants, children, and developing fetuses. This NebGuide discusses how to safely manage lead in a domestic water supply (or often referred to as a private well). This NebGuide includes discussion related to topics such as lead services lines and changes in public water supply regulations related to lead in drinking water.

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Non-Steady-State Fickian Diffusion Models Decrease The Estimated Gel Layer Diffusion Coefficient Uncertainty For Diffusive Gradients In Thin-Films Passive Samplers, Samuel D. Hodges, David G. Wahman, Levi M. Haupert, Huong T. Pham, Margaret K. Bozarth, Michael B. Howland, Julian L. Fairey Jun 2023

Non-Steady-State Fickian Diffusion Models Decrease The Estimated Gel Layer Diffusion Coefficient Uncertainty For Diffusive Gradients In Thin-Films Passive Samplers, Samuel D. Hodges, David G. Wahman, Levi M. Haupert, Huong T. Pham, Margaret K. Bozarth, Michael B. Howland, Julian L. Fairey

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mass transport in diffusive gradients in thin-film passive samplers is restricted to diffusion through a gel layer of agarose or agarose cross-linked polyacrylamide (APA). The gel layer diffusion coefficient, DGel, is typically determined using a standard analysis (SA) based on Fick’s first law from two-compartment diffusion cell (D-Cell) tests. The SA assumes pseudo-steady-state flux, characterized by linear sink mass accumulation–time profiles with a typical threshold R2 ≥ 0.97. In 72 D-Cell tests with nitrate, 63 met this threshold, but the SA-determined DGel ranged from 10.1 to 15.8 × 10–6 cm2·s–1 (agarose) and …

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Estimating The Impact Of Infill Housing On Reduction In Vehicle Miles Traveled, Peyton Marie Ratto Jun 2023

Estimating The Impact Of Infill Housing On Reduction In Vehicle Miles Traveled, Peyton Marie Ratto

Master's Theses

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and its relationship with the built environment has been extensively studied. Most notably, five D variables of the built environment including density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit are the key variables included in this research to explain VMT generation from housing developments. This thesis uses prior research that developed robust statistical models and findings to create a framework to estimate VMT reduction affected by infill housing developed using incentives provided by the state compared to a regional comparator. The regional comparator is typically a suburban single-family housing development in the region. The models …

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Integration Of Environmental Sustainability And Decision Making: Case Studies Of Civil Infrastructure, Sussan Moussavi Jun 2023

Integration Of Environmental Sustainability And Decision Making: Case Studies Of Civil Infrastructure, Sussan Moussavi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sustainable development is important in the planning and design of critical civil infrastructure systems. However, decision making related to these systems currently lacks meaningful sustainability considerations. To fill this gap, this research explores the life cycle impacts of wastewater and energy infrastructure using case studies, life cycle assessment methodologies, and stakeholder discussions. Environmental and economic impacts, which are more commonly quantified, as well as more difficult to quantify societal factors, are explored. The goal of this research is to help inform decision making and facilitate the consideration of the three pillars of sustainability (e.g., economic, environmental, and social) during the …

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Geopolymers: The Green Alternative To Traditional Materials For Engineering Applications, Zahraa Jwaida, Anmar Dulaimi, Nuha Mashaan, Md A. O. Mydin Jun 2023

Geopolymers: The Green Alternative To Traditional Materials For Engineering Applications, Zahraa Jwaida, Anmar Dulaimi, Nuha Mashaan, Md A. O. Mydin

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Researchers have been driven to investigate sustainable alternatives to cement production, such as geopolymers, due to the impact of global warming and climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, they are exploring different methods and waste materials to enhance the mechanical and physical properties of geopolymer and expand its application range. This review paper offers a thorough analysis of the utilization of various waste materials in geopolymer manufacturing and shows the creative contribution of this research to the development of environmentally friendly cement substitutes. The article covers the properties, durability, and practical applications of geopolymer composites made from various …

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Effects Of Individual Strategies For Resource Access On Collaboratively Maintained Irrigation Infrastructure, Jordan L. Stern, Afreen Siddiqi, Paul N. Grogan Jun 2023

Effects Of Individual Strategies For Resource Access On Collaboratively Maintained Irrigation Infrastructure, Jordan L. Stern, Afreen Siddiqi, Paul N. Grogan

Faculty Publications

Built infrastructure for water and energy supply, transportation, and other such services underpins human well-being and socioeconomic development. A fundamental understanding of how infrastructure design and user strategies interact can guide important design decisions as well as policy formulation for ensuring long-term infrastructure viability in conjunction with improved individual user benefits. In this work, an agent based model (ABM) is developed to study this issue for the specific case of irrigation canals. Cooperatively maintained irrigation canals serve essential roles in sustaining agriculture-based economies in many regions. Canal system design can strongly affect benefits derived by distributed users, regional agricultural output, …

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Pavement Condition Survey Using Drone Technology, Lerose Lane, Dingxin Cheng Jun 2023

Pavement Condition Survey Using Drone Technology, Lerose Lane, Dingxin Cheng

Mineta Transportation Institute

Timely repairs of pavement defects are essential in protecting both public road and highway systems. Identification of pavement distresses is necessary for planning pavement repairs. This has previously been performed by engineers surveying the roadways visually in the field. As drone usage has progressed, it has become clear that drones are a valuable tool to enhance visual documentation, improve project communication, and provide various data for processing. The use of drone technology has improved both the speed and accuracy of capturing data. Available software has allowed the data to be processed and analyzed in an office environment. This report summarizes …

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Optimal Domain-Partitioning Algorithm For Real-Life Transportation Networks And Finite Element Meshes, Jimesh Bhagatji, Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi, Eric Thompson, Duc T. Nguyen Jun 2023

Optimal Domain-Partitioning Algorithm For Real-Life Transportation Networks And Finite Element Meshes, Jimesh Bhagatji, Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi, Eric Thompson, Duc T. Nguyen

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

For large-scale engineering problems, it has been generally accepted that domain-partitioning algorithms are highly desirable for general-purpose finite element analysis (FEA). This paper presents a heuristic numerical algorithm that can efficiently partition any transportation network (or any finite element mesh) into a specified number of subdomains (usually depending on the number of parallel processors available on a computer), which will result in “minimising the total number of system BOUNDARY nodes” (as a primary criterion) and achieve “balancing work loads” amongst the subdomains (as a secondary criterion). The proposed seven-step heuristic algorithm (with enhancement features) is based on engineering common sense …

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Establishing A Scootability Index To Prioritise Road And Footway Infrastructure Improvements For Smooth And Safe E-Scooter Usage, Nadia Jalal Maksoud Jun 2023

Establishing A Scootability Index To Prioritise Road And Footway Infrastructure Improvements For Smooth And Safe E-Scooter Usage, Nadia Jalal Maksoud

Theses

The intensifying use of electric scooters as a form of transportation calls for new infrastructure assessment methods to improve the smoothness and safety of facilities in which these devices are ridden. Despite the extensive research on the infrastructure requirements of bicycles, there is a dearth of studies on electric scooters. This study aims to define the main infrastructure requirements for electric scooters in an urban context. A mixed-methods approach is employed combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and regression analysis. To provide a basis for a so-called multi-dimensional “scootability” index that covers all aspects pertaining to the safety and smoothness …

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