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Full-Text Articles in Infrastructure

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen Aug 2022

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …


Evaluating Barriers To And Impacts Of Rural Broadband Access, Javier Valentín-Sívico Aug 2022

Evaluating Barriers To And Impacts Of Rural Broadband Access, Javier Valentín-Sívico

Doctoral Dissertations

"The lack of adequate broadband infrastructure persists in many rural communities. Beyond funding, additional barriers persist, such as digital literacy and community-level self-efficacy. As a result, the first contribution articulates barriers at the organizational level. This work proposes a framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior to highlight stakeholder dynamics that have constrained Regional Planning Commissions from advancing broadband infrastructure in rural areas. One approach to address these barriers is to provide stakeholders with analytical tools to evaluate the benefits and costs of various broadband options for their community since there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. To this end, …


Blockchain And Distributed Autonomous Community Ecosystems: Opportunities To Democratize Finance And Delivery Of Transport, Housing, Urban Greening And Community Infrastructure, William Riggs, Vipul Vyas, Menka Sethi Jul 2022

Blockchain And Distributed Autonomous Community Ecosystems: Opportunities To Democratize Finance And Delivery Of Transport, Housing, Urban Greening And Community Infrastructure, William Riggs, Vipul Vyas, Menka Sethi

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report investigates and develops specifications for using blockchain and distributed organizations to enable decentralized delivery and finance of urban infrastructure. The project explores use cases, including: providing urban greening, street or transit infrastructure; services for street beautification, cleaning and weed or graffiti abatement; potential ways of resource allocation ADU; permitting and land allocation; and homeless housing. It establishes a general process flow for this blockchain architecture, which involves: 1) the creation of blocks (transactions); 2) sending these blocks to nodes (users) on the network for an action (mining) and then validation that that action has taken place; and 3) …


Estimating The Economic Impacts Of Transportation-Related Supply Chain Disruptions In The Post-Earthquake Environment, Divya Chandrasekhar, Sua Kim, John Downen, Joshua Spolsdoff Jul 2022

Estimating The Economic Impacts Of Transportation-Related Supply Chain Disruptions In The Post-Earthquake Environment, Divya Chandrasekhar, Sua Kim, John Downen, Joshua Spolsdoff

TREC Final Reports

Transportation systems play a critical role in maintaining supply chains for effective post-disaster recovery. Modeling the potential economic impact of transportation-related disruptions, therefore, is an important step to promoting pre-event community wide recovery and resilience planning. But existing supply chain and economic impact models are cost prohibitive and overly sophisticated for use by public sector entities with limited resources. There is also limited understanding of how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) adjust to post-disaster transportation disruption and how this experience influences their future preparedness for similar events. This project had two objectives: (1) to analyze the economic impact due to …


Contracting Strategies: A Different Approach To Address Long-Term Performance, Maria Calahorra-Jimenez Jul 2022

Contracting Strategies: A Different Approach To Address Long-Term Performance, Maria Calahorra-Jimenez

Mineta Transportation Institute

For cost-efficiency, public safety, and sustainability, improving long-term performance in highway projects is imperative for public administrations. Project delivery and procurement methods provide an opportunity to align design and construction processes with this goal. While previous studies have explored whether project delivery methods impact the long-term performance of highway projects, these studies did not focus on how core elements within project procurement relate to long-term performance. Thus, to fill this gap, this research explores how and to what extent long-term evaluation criteria are considered in design-build best-value procurement of highway projects. To this end, the team conducted content analysis on …


Analyzing The Use And Impacts Of Oakland Slow Streets And Potential Scalability Beyond Covid-19, Gordon Douglas, David Moore Jul 2022

Analyzing The Use And Impacts Of Oakland Slow Streets And Potential Scalability Beyond Covid-19, Gordon Douglas, David Moore

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report presents the results of a mixed-methods study of the 2020-2022 Oakland Slow Streets program. An official response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the program used signs and temporary barricades to limit thru-traffic on 21 miles of city streets to create more and safer space for walking, cycling, and outdoor recreation. Researchers collected data throughout the summer of 2021 on seven designated slow streets plus one cross street and one control street for each – a total of 21 street segments representing conditions in seven different neighborhoods across Oakland. Data collection comprised in-person passerby counts, observations and photographs of local …


Connected Simulation For Work Zone Safety Application, Vahid Balali Jul 2022

Connected Simulation For Work Zone Safety Application, Vahid Balali

Mineta Transportation Institute

Every year, over 60,000 work zone crashes are reported in the United States (FHWA 2016). Such work zone crashes have resulted in over 4,400 fatal and 200,000 non-fatal injuries in the last 5 years (FHWA 2016, BLS 2014). Apart from the physical and emotional trauma, the annual cost of these injuries exceeds $4 million-representing significant wasted resources. To improve work zone safety, this research developed a system architecture for unveiling high-risk behavioral patterns among highway workers, equipment operators, and drivers within dynamic highway work zones. This research implemented the use of a connected virtual environment, which is an immersive hyper-realistic …


Developing A Feasible Business Model For Expanding The Ev Market To Lower Income Californians, Samer Sarofim, Aly Tawfik Jul 2022

Developing A Feasible Business Model For Expanding The Ev Market To Lower Income Californians, Samer Sarofim, Aly Tawfik

Mineta Transportation Institute

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a valuable tool in addressing the climate and energy challenges placed on our transportation systems. However, while national and international market shares of EVs have been rising with exponential rates, access to EVs of low-income populations has been significantly slower. This research developed a business model for expanding the EV market to low-income Californians. The team developed the model from qualitative data from various stakeholders, including Electric and Solar Companies, Professional and Community-Based Organizations, State Agencies, research institutions, and more, which enabled insights regarding various barriers that hinder the adoption of EVs. The team also used …


Manual For Asphalt Pavement Repair And Resurfacing Preparation, Dingxin Cheng, Gary Hicks, Roger D. Smith Jul 2022

Manual For Asphalt Pavement Repair And Resurfacing Preparation, Dingxin Cheng, Gary Hicks, Roger D. Smith

Mineta Transportation Institute

Timely repairs of pavement defects are essential in protecting an important investment and asset that public agencies have. These repairs may be made as durable “stand-alone” repairs of isolated problems, or as part of preparations for a total resurfacing. This manual provides basic information on the planning, materials and construction aspects of common pavement repairs such as crack sealing, crack filling, and patching, as well as a broader look at other preparations needed for total resurfacing a pavement, whether the resurfacing is a surface treatment or a thin hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlay.


Long-Term Wildfire Reconstruction: In Need Of Focused And Dedicated Pre-Planning Efforts, William S. Harris, Jin Ouk Choi, Jaewon Lim, Yong-Cheol Lee Jun 2022

Long-Term Wildfire Reconstruction: In Need Of Focused And Dedicated Pre-Planning Efforts, William S. Harris, Jin Ouk Choi, Jaewon Lim, Yong-Cheol Lee

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Wildfire disasters in the United States impact lives and livelihoods by destroying private homes, businesses, community facilities, and infrastructure. Disaster victims suffer from damaged houses, inadequate shelters, inoperable civil infrastructure, and homelessness coupled with longterm recovery and reconstruction processes. Cities and their neighboring communities require an enormous commitment for a full recovery for as long as disaster recovery processes last. State, county, and municipal governments inherently have the responsibility to establish and provide governance and public services for the benefit and well being of community members. Municipal governments’ comprehensive and emergency response plans are the artifacts of planning efforts that …


Why We Should Reuse Wastewater, Bridget Sarver Jun 2022

Why We Should Reuse Wastewater, Bridget Sarver

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

As population and industry grow, the need to reuse wastewater is growing. Aquifers are often the dominant water supplies to surrounding areas. The levels of those aquifers are declining each year. Water loss affects many things like water wells, lakes, and rivers. Lakes and rivers that are used as water sources are seeing a decline in levels. Low water levels and drought occur because of the changing water cycle. Heavy rain and runoff can help refill lakes and rivers; however precipitation does not always fall back on the area that it evaporated from. By reusing wastewater, we will be saving …


Risk Factors Associated With Crash Injury Severity Involving Trucks, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Sarvani Duvvuri, Sonu Mathew Jun 2022

Risk Factors Associated With Crash Injury Severity Involving Trucks, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Sarvani Duvvuri, Sonu Mathew

Mineta Transportation Institute

Nearly 499,000 motor vehicle crashes involving trucks were reported across the United States in 2018, out of which 22% resulted in fatalities and injuries. Given the growing economy and demand for trucking in the future, it is crucial to identify the risk factors to understand where, when, and why the likelihood of getting involved in a severe or moderate injury crash with a truck is higher. This research, therefore, focuses on capturing and exploring risk factors associated with surrounding land use and demographic characteristics in addition to crash, driver, and on-network characteristics by modeling injury severity of crashes involving trucks. …


Impact Of Dedicated Bus Lanes On Intersection Operations And Travel Time Model Development, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Kevin Obike, Melissa Anderson Jun 2022

Impact Of Dedicated Bus Lanes On Intersection Operations And Travel Time Model Development, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Kevin Obike, Melissa Anderson

Mineta Transportation Institute

Over the years, public transit agencies have been trying to improve their operations by continuously evaluating best practices to better serve patrons. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) oversees the transit bus operations in the Washington Metropolitan Area (District of Columbia, some parts of Maryland and Virginia). One practice attempted by WMATA to improve bus travel time and transit reliability has been the implementation of designated bus lanes (DBLs). The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) implemented a bus priority program on selected corridors in the District of Columbia leading to the installation of red-painted DBLs on corridors of H Street, …


Evaluation Of Polymer Binder Technisoil G5® In Concrete Mixture, Shadi Saadeh, Pritam Katawal Jun 2022

Evaluation Of Polymer Binder Technisoil G5® In Concrete Mixture, Shadi Saadeh, Pritam Katawal

Mineta Transportation Institute

Plastic is everywhere, and with its increasing use in so many everyday materials, the production and demand of plastic has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the accumulation of a mammoth amount of plastic waste and adverse effects on the environment. To optimize the huge amount of materials required by the pavement industry each year and reuse recycled plastics, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has been common practice. This research studied the use of a binder completely made from recycled waste plastic named Technisoil G5® and compared it with performance grade PG 70-22 mix containing virgin aggregates and …


Evaluation Of Sustainability Determinants To Develop A Sustainability Rating System For California Infrastructure Construction Projects, Joseph Kim, Patricia Mccarthy Jun 2022

Evaluation Of Sustainability Determinants To Develop A Sustainability Rating System For California Infrastructure Construction Projects, Joseph Kim, Patricia Mccarthy

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study evaluates the important sustainability determinants that affect factors’ success in meeting their sustainability goals when conducting infrastructure construction projects in California. The study implemented the online survey method to evaluate the sustainability characteristics that infrastructure industry professionals currently are aware of under the current situation in California. A data set of 25 validated survey responses is used for statistical data analysis using analysis of variables, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and two sample t-tests. The analysis results showed that the median response values for the six major sustainability categories do not show any significant difference. The results also showed that no …


Between The Commons And The Cosmos: The Sacred Politics Of The Bri In Southeast Asia And Beyond, Orlando Woods Jun 2022

Between The Commons And The Cosmos: The Sacred Politics Of The Bri In Southeast Asia And Beyond, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores how political ecology can advance existing understandings of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its effects, and how the BRI can contribute to recent shifts in the study of political ecology. It argues that the idea of infrastructural overlap can sensitize discourse to the ways in which the materializations of the BRI, as a series of infrastructural megaprojects, intersect with other infrastructural formations, such as the environment and religion. By focusing on the effects of the BRI on resource- dependent communities located between the ‘commons’ and the ‘cosmos’ we can appreciate the sense of existential crisis …


Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy May 2022

Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT Significant research has demonstrated that active transportation infrastructure is essential for the growth and livability of San Francisco: it increases access to economic opportunities, promotes overall improved public health, encourages mobility without contributing to roadway congestion, prevents traffic injuries and fatalities, and supports the sustainability goals of the city. Despite the fact that communities of color will benefit the most from active transportation infrastructure development, historical disenfranchisement in tandem with a lack of diverse representation within public participation contributes to an inequitable distribution of walking and biking investments throughout the city of San Francisco. While research shows that Black …


Because Potato, Candice Evers May 2022

Because Potato, Candice Evers

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This thesis project explores the phenomenological qualities of the internet; asking, since the internet is difficult to grasp, what other modes of investigation might we have available? Using an investigative framework set forth by Jack Halberstam, this thesis declines to come to knowledge solely through understanding the formal, the structural, the highly visible and mainstream. The literature that I have gathered provides a range of modes for interrogating the simultaneously central and inconsequential subject of my thesis itself: the potato. Juxtaposing the physical, political and material conditions of the potato the internet’s least academic mode of knowing: the meme. Analyzing …


"The Pontotoc Dream:" A Case Study Analysis Of Rural Homeownership In Mississippi, Ian Pigg May 2022

"The Pontotoc Dream:" A Case Study Analysis Of Rural Homeownership In Mississippi, Ian Pigg

Honors Theses

Rural communities face issues with affordable housing just like urban communities, but these problems are not often associated with rurality. Using Pontotoc County, Mississippi, as a case study, this thesis seeks to understand the extent of the affordable homeownership issue in rural communities and identify possible policy solutions. This thesis used a qualitative research approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders in the communities of interest within and surrounding Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Using the data collected from these interviews, units of meaning were grouped into categories, which were then grouped into themes. The findings of this …


Strengthening Capacity For Clinical And Translational Science: A Multi-Method Assessment Of Research Capacity Development In A Regional Clinical And Translational Research Network, Lakaija Johnson May 2022

Strengthening Capacity For Clinical And Translational Science: A Multi-Method Assessment Of Research Capacity Development In A Regional Clinical And Translational Research Network, Lakaija Johnson

Theses & Dissertations

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has made significant investments to establish and maintain statewide and regional clinical and translational research (CTR) networks. These networks are designed to accelerate the translation of research discoveries from laboratory and clinical settings to improve community and population health. The National Institute of General Medical Science (NIGMS) Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) [IDeA-CTR] initiative was initiated in 2012 to broaden participation in CTR in regions and territories with IDeA designation, having historically been funded by the NIH at lower levels. IDeA-CTR networks stimulate infrastructural investments in complex …


Investigating The Resilience Of Accessibility To Emergency And Lifesaving Facilities Under Natural Hazards, Chih-Hao Wang, Na Chen May 2022

Investigating The Resilience Of Accessibility To Emergency And Lifesaving Facilities Under Natural Hazards, Chih-Hao Wang, Na Chen

Mineta Transportation Institute

Studying accessibility, including the resilience of city transportation networks, is critical to understand how these networks influence individuals’ mobility and lives. This study developed an analytical research framework to examine the resilience of accessibility to emergency and lifesaving facilities under the threats of natural hazards such as earthquakes and wildfires. With a cumulative-opportunity approach, the authors measured accessibility by counting emergency and lifesaving facilities (including parks, schools, hospitals, roads, and fire stations) that can be reached by driving at the census tract level in San Fernando Valley, CA. With the calculated accessibility, the authors run simulations to collect data showing …


Electric Vehicle (Ev) Infrastructure In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr. Apr 2022

Electric Vehicle (Ev) Infrastructure In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet highlights data on electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations, as originally reported by Zutobi in The 2022 EV Charging Station Report. This report examines the presence of EV infrastructure across the United States. The Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are considered here.


The Rise Of Southern Nevada As A Cluster For Metropolitan Transit Technology Innovations, Arthur C. Nelson Mar 2022

The Rise Of Southern Nevada As A Cluster For Metropolitan Transit Technology Innovations, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Southern Nevada is emerging as the nation’s leader in private sector-driven innovations in transportation technologies. From the humble beginnings of a monorail system serving a portion of major hotel and gaming venues along the Las Vegas Strip, now supplemented by an array of people movers, Southern Nevada continues to attract transit innovations in tunneling, Hyperloop, and driverless vehicle delivery technologies. The region may soon anchor a high-speed rail system connecting Southern Nevada to Los Angeles. The purpose of this briefing paper is to frame the nature of this emerging transportation cluster and the opportunities this creates for Southern Nevada to …


Drainage Law Proposal, J. David Aiken Mar 2022

Drainage Law Proposal, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Legislative Bill 806 would significantly change Nebraska drainage law and bring long-overdue reform to Nebraska water law. This newsletter gives a quick overview of LB 806 and how it would impact the resolution of drainage disputes in Nebraska.


2nd Annual International Conference Proceedings - Development: Discourses And Critiques, Centre For Business And Economic Research (Cber), School Of Economics And Social Sciences (Sess) Mar 2022

2nd Annual International Conference Proceedings - Development: Discourses And Critiques, Centre For Business And Economic Research (Cber), School Of Economics And Social Sciences (Sess)

Conference Proceedings

The Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS) IBA has organized the 2nd Annual conference on 25th-27th March 2022. The theme for this year invites works from a wide range of disciplines to critique, question and reconsider the experiences of transnational, national and sub-national actors with the development process. What does ‘development’ mean for different actors, and how has this narrative shifted over time? How does development define and redefine power relations and what implications does this have for different groups? How have colonial experiences shaped futures and how does one deconstruct …


Examining The Effects Of A Bike And E-Bike Lending Program On Commuting Behavior, Dillon T. Fitch, Zeyu Gao, Lucy Noble, Terry Mac Mar 2022

Examining The Effects Of A Bike And E-Bike Lending Program On Commuting Behavior, Dillon T. Fitch, Zeyu Gao, Lucy Noble, Terry Mac

Mineta Transportation Institute

In 2015, Google added a new transportation demand management (TDM) program to increase bike commuting to their two main campuses in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, California. An initial survey of employees indicated that bike ownership and worry about maintenance were primary bicycling barriers. With this information, Google began a program that loaned high-quality electric-assisted and conventional bicycles for a period of six months at no cost to interested employees. This research evaluates the effectiveness of the program at changing travel behavior to the corporate campuses by using self-reported and smartphone-integrated travel data. The lending program at Google represents one of, …


Examining The Effects Of Precision Scheduled Railroading On Intercity Passenger And High-Speed Rail Service, John G. Green, Francis J. Miller Mar 2022

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

Mineta Transportation Institute

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 …


Congestion Costs And Scheduling Preferences Of Car Commuters In California: Estimates Using Big Data, Jinwon Kim, Jucheol Moon Mar 2022

Congestion Costs And Scheduling Preferences Of Car Commuters In California: Estimates Using Big Data, Jinwon Kim, Jucheol Moon

Mineta Transportation Institute

On average, California car commuters waste 4–5 minutes per morning commute due to congestion. Multiplied across all California car commuters, those few minutes entail a yearly total of approximately 2.3 billion hours of time wasted, costing 6 billion dollars. The objective of this study is to quantify congestion costs and determine how commuters adapt to the level of congestion they face (i.e., commuters’ scheduling utility functions). To that end, this research developed a model of trip scheduling under congestion to construct California commuters’ travel-time profiles, i.e., the menu of travel times that each individual would likely face according to alternate …


Optimizing Multimodal Transportation Access To Support Commuting Among Low-Income Transit Riders With Social Distancing, Shailesh Chandra, Vivek Mishra Mar 2022

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

Mineta Transportation Institute

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 …


Ecosystem Duties, Green Infrastructure, And Environmental Injustice In Los Angeles, Sayd Randle Mar 2022

Ecosystem Duties, Green Infrastructure, And Environmental Injustice In Los Angeles, Sayd Randle

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In Los Angeles, water managers and environmentalist NGOs champion green infrastructure retrofits, installations intended to maximize the water-absorbing capacity of the urban landscape. In such arrangements, the work of water management is necessarily spread among a more-than-human community, including (but certainly not limited to) humans, plants, soils, and gravels. This article analyzes the human labor within these collaborations, tracking when and how this work gets enrolled in networks of water management and circuits of value. I develop the term ecosystem duties to characterize these exertions and as a useful analytic for assessing emergent dynamics of environmental justice.