Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Pedestrian Observation And Data Collection Curriculum Guide, Jennifer Dill, Tara Beth Goddard

TREC Final Reports

This guidebook provides a comprehensive set of class exercises suitable for students in courses related to travel behavior, traffic safety, urban planning and design, community health, or civil engineering. Exercises include activities developed through this project as well as an extensive set of educational materials drawn from online resources. The exercises developed as part of this project focus on pedestrians. They include elements of both traditional traffic counts and behavioral components, the latter of which are often lacking from current data collections efforts. By encouraging students to consider behavioral interactions of roadway users, these exercises can provide students with field …

Challenges And Opportunities In Transportation Data, Kristin A. Tufte, Kushal Datta, Alekh Jindal, David Maier, Robert L. Bertini

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

From the time and money lost sitting in congestion and waiting for traffic signals to change, to the many people injured and killed in traffic crashes each year, to the emissions and energy consumption from our vehicles, the effects of transportation on our daily lives are immense. A wealth of transportation data is available to help address these problems; from data from sensors installed to monitor and operate the roadways and traffic signals to data from cell phone apps and -- just over the horizon -- data from connected vehicles and infrastructure. However, this wealth of data has yet to …

Making Sustainable Roadways From 7,000 Year-Old Volcanic Ash, Matthew D. Sleep, Morgan B. Masley

TREC Project Briefs

Volcanic ash from Mt. Mazama, prevalent in Southern Oregon, could be used as a natural pozzolan for unpaved roadway improvements. Sustainability benefits would include reduced carbon emissions.

Nationwide Worker Database To Analyze Transit Outcomes Using An Economic And Demographic Lens, Robert Hibberd, Arthur C. Nelson

TREC Datasets and Databases

This extensive database project provides demographic data for workers, both in terms of where they live and where they work, for 39 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Planners and researchers can use this database to assess the extent to which transit stations and station areas are associated with economic and demographic change, and to forecast similar magnitudes of change through proposed new or expanded transit systems. Specific data elements include job numbers based on job sector, earnings, race, education, sex, and distance of census blocks to transit separated by mode type. Data were extracted as part of a larger project …

A Survey Of Ride-Hailing Passengers, Steven Gehrke

PSU Transportation Seminars

In less than a decade, the ride-hailing industry, led by Uber and Lyft, has dramatically transformed the way we travel in our metro regions. Rider adoption of these on-demand mobility services has proceeded much quicker than our understanding of their impacts to our urban transportation systems. Planning for this transformation in personal mobility, which will have unintended consequences, has been made more difficult by the scarcity in meaningful data made available by these ride-hailing companies. Public agencies responsible for managing congestion and transit services are hindered in their ability to successfully plan for the integration of this emergent travel mode …

Utrecht, Bike Capital Of The World, Martijn Rietbergen

PSU Transportation Seminars

Utrecht is a bustling, bicycle-friendly city in the Netherlands. Every day, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., over 125,000 cyclists ride to their work, school, university, public transport, shops or home through the city centre.

The municipality wants to make cycling even more attractive for these and other cyclists. Consequently, the bicycle is given precedence in the mobility policy of the municipality of Utrecht. We want to be the most bike-friendly city in the world. We want to keep our growing city livable, accessible and economically strong, and we are convinced that the bicycle can and should play a major …

India's Economic Growth: Role Of Political Performance And Gender Wage Gap, Rajeev Indira Nagaraju

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation will explore how gender wage gap and political capacity represented by relative political extraction affect change in economic growth rate of a country. The main argument of the study is that gender wage gap is affecting the labor market by discouraging productive female labor force from entering the labor market. This in turn affects the efficiency and productivity of the labor market reflected in negative economic growth or economic growth potential being compromised. Here the case of Indian economy is examined. The important policy implication of this study is that it could account for the wage differential between …

Analysis Of The Contribution Of Transportation And Land Use To Citizen Perceptions Of Livability, Rebecca Lewis

PSU Transportation Seminars

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of the project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: …

Do Remittances Promote Or Deter Sound Fiscal Management Among Municipalities In Mexico?, Jennifer Martinez, Kent Robinson

Student Research Symposium

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between remittance income (migrant-dollars sent back home) and its effects on municipal tax revenue generation among municipalities in Mexico. A sharp contrast exists between remittances and own-source municipal tax revenue; remittances constitute a healthy 2% of Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) whereas the largest own-source revenue contributes only .2% of GDP (World Bank 2015, OECD 2015). In some instances remittances have been so productive that they have been used to fund local public services among municipalities. The objective of my study becomes two fold: first, determine if there is a …

Public Access To Crime Maps From Police Agencies: Frequency, Agency Characteristics, And Maps Used, Jordan A. Grant, Kris R. Henning

Student Research Symposium

Advances in desktop computing, research and theory addressing the geography of crime, and evidence for the efficacy of hotspot policing have resulted in rapid adoption of GIS mapping technology by police agencies. Some of these agencies have gone a step further and now offer access to crime maps for public viewing through their website or linked services. This includes maps depicting all or some criminal offenses, calls for service, and the location of specific offenders. These maps have the potential to influence community perceptions, and yet we know very little about the prevalence of public crime mapping, the characteristics of …

Challenges For Lgbtq Nonprofits To Secure Funding, Leo Aoyagi

Student Research Symposium

From 2003 to 2011, foundation funding for LGBTQ issues grew from $32 million to $123 million in the U.S. But in 2013, LGBTQ issues only receive 0.26% of foundation dollars, which means only 26 cents of every 100 dollars. Further, approximately 43% of all foundation funding for LGBTQ issues were made by private foundations established by LGBTQ members themselves and public foundations that raise their funds primarily from LGBTQ donors, over the past 40 years until 2013.

The main causes of this inequality in funding for LGBTQ NPOs from the mainstream foundations are risk in funding LGBTQ NPOs, funder’s fear …

Overcoming Barriers To Real-Time Transit Information, Sean J. Barbeau

TREC Project Briefs

This project focused on the community-driven creation of the GTFS-realtime v2.0 format, which establishes better guidance for transit agencies, application developers, and automatic vehicle location system vendors on what fields are required or optional under various transit use cases.

Transportation And Land Use—What Determines Livability?, Rebecca Lewis, Robert Parker

TREC Project Briefs

Livability is a key focus of transportation and land use planning throughout the United States, and a concept that has been guiding U.S. Department of Transportation policy since 2009. In Oregon, the state’s long-range transportation plan identifies “enhancing livability” as a key outcome, but little research has tackled how these planning efforts contribute to residents’ perceptions of livability. This project seeks to fill this research need by exploring the question, “How do residents understand the connection between transportation and land use planning, and its association with livability?”

Transforming Development And Disaster Risk, Frank Thomalla, Michael Boyland, Karlee Johnson, Jonathan Ensor, Heidi Tuhkanen, Asa Gerger Swartling, Guoyi Han, John Forrester, Darin Wahl

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Abstract:

This article focuses on the complex relationship between development and disaster risk. Development and disaster risk are closely linked as the people and assets exposed to risk, as well as their vulnerability and capacity, are largely determined by development processes. Transformation is key to moving from current development patterns that increase, create or unfairly distribute risks, to forms of development that are equitable, resilient and sustainable. Based on a review of existing literature, we present three opportunities that have the potential to lead to transformation in the development-disaster risk relationship: (i) exposing development-disaster risk trade-offs in development policy and …

A Fair Distribution Of Accessibility: Interpreting Civil Rights Regulations For Regional Transportation Plans, Karel Martens, Aaron Golub

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The US Department of Transportation requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to consider social equity in their plans and projects in accordance with civil rights–related laws. In this paper, we suggest four interpretations of directives’ distributional standards in relation to accessibility. Employing this framework, we review the equity assessments of regional plans of the ten largest MPOs in the United States. Against our expectations, we find that MPOs tend to employ relatively strong distributional standards, albeit never explicitly. We argue that more explicit guidance regarding standards would improve the fairness and consistency of planning practice

Military Factors Associated With Smoking In Veterans, Sara E. Golden, Sujata Thakurta, Christopher G. Slatore, Hyeyoung Woo, Donald R. Sullivan

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Given the high prevalence of smoking among Veterans and the economic, social, and clinical implications, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to smoking in order to focus efforts to mitigate these factors and improve smoking cessation efforts among Veterans. The availability of research on smoking in Veterans compared with civilians is limited given the military-specific differences in their life course. We aimed to identify military-specific factors combined with sociodemographic factors for ever smoking and current smoking among Veterans to inform future interventions. Materials and Methods: We used data from the 2010 National Survey of Veterans, the …

Improved Safety And Efficiency Of Protected/Permitted Right Turns In Oregon, David Hurwitz, Christopher M. Monsere, Sirisha Kothuri, Hisham Jashami, Kamilah Buker, Andrew Kading

TREC Final Reports

This research aimed to develop an understanding of the safety and operational implications of using the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) in permitted and protected/permitted right turn (PPRT) operations to maximize safety and efficiency. This report includes a review of more than 50 scientific and technical articles on the selection of right turn phasing alternatives and a review of Oregon crash data at intersections with exclusive right-turning lanes from 2011-2013. The study had three phases: 1) a web-based survey, 2) a microsimulation model, and 3) and a driving simulator study. The survey measured Oregon driver’s comprehension of right-turn signal display. Analysis …

Eliminating The Right Hook: Safer Intersections For Bikes, Sirisha Kothuri, Andrew Kading, Andrew Schrope, Kelly White, Edward Smaglik, Chris Aguilar, William Gil

TREC Project Briefs

Over the last decade there has been increased interest in promoting active and sustainable transportation modes such as bicycling and walking especially in urban areas, as a means to alleviate congestion, lower emission levels and improve personal health. In urban areas, intersections are locations where a variety of modes converge, thus increasing the propensity for conflicts. Many bicycle-vehicle crashes occur at intersections. A common crash type involving bicycles at intersections is the “right-hook” where a right-turning vehicle collides with a through bicyclist. Intersections are also the source of increased stress for many bicyclists where the interactions with cars are more …

Improving Bicycle Crash Prediction For Urban Road Segments, Krista Nordback, Sirisha Kothuri, Wesley Marshall, Geoff Gibson, Nick Ferenchak

TREC Project Briefs

The 2010 Highway Safety Manual (HSM) provides methods for predicting the number of motor vehicle crashes on various roadway facilities. However, it includes only a rudimentary method for predicting the number of bicycle-related crashes. Despite research demonstrating that bicycle volume is an important factor in estimating number of bicycle crashes, the method does not include the volume of bicyclists using the roadway. To remedy this, this project will investigate the potential of various simplified methods to include bicycle volumes in future versions of the HSM. By studying locations where bicycle traffic volumes, motor vehicle traffic volumes, bicycle collisions, and roadway …

Intersection: Orientation And Mobility As Interdisciplinary Conversation, Amy T. Parker, Prateek Dujari

PSU Transportation Seminars

Knowing where one wants to go and how to get there are essential life skills for all people. Community access and travel skills are not only important rites of passage for youth in becoming adults, they are linked to higher rates of employment and overall health. People who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) face challenges in accessing public transportation, yet studies have shown that with relevant orientation and mobility instruction, technology, and accessible design, vision loss need not preclude community travel.

Join PSU's Amy Parker and Intel's Prateek Dujari on the ways that knowledge from consumers and the field …

Webinar: Tools And Techniques For Teaching Collaborative Regional Planning And Enhancing Livability And Sustainable Transportation In Gateway & Natural Amenity Regions, Danya Rumore

TREC Webinar Series

Small towns and cities outside of national parks and other major natural amenities throughout the western United States are becoming increasingly popular places to visit and live. As a result, many of these gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities—including places such as Jackson, Wyoming, and Moab, Utah—are facing a variety of “big city” issues, such as severe congestion, lack of affordable workforce housing, and concerns about sprawl and density. This webinar will introduce the planning and transportation concerns being experienced by GNAR communities throughout the west. It will then share the tools and resources developed by the University of …

Fhwa Guidebook For Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity, Joseph Broach

PSU Transportation Seminars

In 2016 the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures that presents methods for measuring walking and bicycling performance and activities and embedding them into the transportation planning and decisionmaking process (U.S. Department of Transportation 2016). Building on the 2016 guidebook, this resource focuses on pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity and provides information on incorporating connectivity measures into state, metropolitan, and local transportation planning processes.

Connectivity measures can help transportation practitioners identify high priority network gaps, implement cost-effective solutions that address multiple needs, optimize potential co-benefits, and …

Transportation Impacts Of Affordable Housing: Informing Development Review With Travel Behavior Analysis, Amanda Howell

PSU Transportation Seminars

Planning for affordable housing is challenged by development policies that often do not differentiate between the travel patterns of residents of market-rate housing and those living in affordable units. The development review process generally requires an evaluation of the anticipated additional transportation demand that new development places on the system and an assessment of fees or improvements to mitigate these impacts.

However, industry standard guidelines for assessment of travel demand outlined within the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Handbook have been focused solely on vehicle trip rates for these traffic impact analyses. Given the public goals of providing …

Portland Msa Economic & Population Outlook April 2018, Portland State University, Northwest Economic Research Center, Thomas Potiowsky

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

NERC's biannual forecast of employment, income, housing permits, and house prices for the Portland MSA. The April release also includes the annual forecast of population and households.

Project Phenom: A Smart Bike Project, Stephen Fickas

TREC Final Reports

This project introduces students to hands-on, experience-building, smart-transportation hardware and software. After completing the project, students will gain practical experience with integrating a set of inexpensive, commercial computer components to deliver a ready-to-install system that can extend the transportation grid of a city. They will also learn how to program the system to give bike riders and pedestrians in their community new power. Specifically, the system they build can give bicyclists and pedestrians a virtual push-button, allowing them to place a call for a green light prior to reaching an intersection, thus giving them the actual green light when they …

A Cross-Sector Capabilities, Resources, And Needs Assessment: Research To Support The Drafting Of The Oregon Cybersecurity Center Of Excellence Proposal, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Rebecca Craven, Jess Daly, Elizabeth Gray

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Oregon’s Senate Bill 90 (SB90), signed into law and effective as of July 1, 2017, requires the Oregon Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OSCIO) to draft a proposal for an Oregon Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE). SB90 specifies that the CCoE must include information sharing and incident response support functions, and liaise and participate in cybersecurity initiatives nationwide; the Center also bears responsibility for drafting both a Cybersecurity Strategy and Cyber Disruption Response Plan. The CCoE has also been identified as the body responsible for carrying out strategic initiatives on behalf of the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council (OCAC). …

Electric Boost: Insights From A National E-Bike Owner Survey, John Macarthur, Michael Harpool, Daniel Scheppke, Christopher Cherry

TREC Project Briefs

Electric bicycle (e-bike) use is a rising phenomenon in North America, as a growing number of manufacturers produce a variety of bicycles which can accommodate the needs of diverse populations. With the growth of the e-bike industry, e-bike users are an increasingly integral part of both the transportation network and recreational trail system. However, little research has been conducted on e-bikes within North America, especially on the individuals who have purchased e-bikes.

Addressing Bicycle-Vehicle Conflicts With Alternate Signal Control Strategies, Sirisha Kothuri, Andrew Kading, Andrew Schrope, Kelly White, Edward Smaglik, Chris Aguilar, William Gil

TREC Final Reports

Over the last decade there has been increased interest in promoting active and sustainable transportation modes such as bicycling and walking especially in urban areas, as a means to alleviate congestion, lower emission levels and improve personal health. In urban areas, intersections are locations where a variety of modes converge, thus increasing the propensity for conflicts. Many bicycle-vehicle crashes occur at intersections. A common crash type involving bicycles at intersections is the “right-hook” where a right-turning vehicle collides with a through bicyclist. Intersections are also the source of increased stress for many bicyclists where the interactions with cars are more …

Overcoming Barriers For The Wide-Scale Adoption Of Standardized Real-Time Transit Information, Sean J. Barbeau

TREC Final Reports

In the last few years, a real-time counterpart to GTFS, GTFS-realtime [10], has begun to emerge, with agencies sharing their real-time data in this format. Previously, real-time transit information had only been shared in proprietary formats specific to each vendor or agency. GTFS-realtime offers the opportunity for application developers to create a mobile app that can function across a large number of cities and agencies, and for practitioners and researchers to be able to easily study and compare actual system performance across different transit systems using the same tools, without the overhead of manually transforming data into a consistent format. …

The Contribution Of Transportation And Land Use To Citizen Perceptions Of Livability In Oregon Mpos, Rebecca Lewis, Robert Parker

TREC Final Reports

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of this project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: …