Infrastructure Commons^™

Oral Presentations: Social Sciences I, Olivia Maurer, Kaden Grace, Ryan Wallace

Mississippi Undergraduate Honors Conference

Video provided above is of Olivia Maurer's presentation.

Video of Kaden Grace's presentation is available here.

Video of Ryan Wallace's presentation is available here.

Dirtiest Cities In The Mountain West, 2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr., Caitlin J. Saladino

Environment

This fact sheet presents rankings of the dirtiest cities in the Mountain West, as originally reported by LawnStarter in “2021’s Dirtiest Cities in the U.S.” The original report examines various measures for 200 major U.S. cities. Twenty-five Mountain West cities are included in the original report and are showcased here.

Comprehensive Performance Assessment Of Passive Crowdsourcing For Counting Pedestrians And Bikes, Wen Cheng, Yongping Zhang, Edward Clay

Mineta Transportation Institute

Individuals who walk and cycle experience a variety of health and economic benefits while simultaneously benefiting their local environments and communities. It is essential to correctly obtain pedestrian and bicyclist counts for better design and planning of active transportation-related facilities. In recent years, crowdsourcing has seen a rise in popularity due to the multiple advantages relative to traditional methods. Nevertheless, crowdsourced data have been applied in fewer studies, and their reliability and performance relative to other conventional methods are rarely documented. To this end, this research examines the consistency between crowdsourced and traditionally collected count data. Additionally, the research aims …

A Geographical Contribution On Interurban Passenger Rail Transportation In The United States, Matthieu Schorung

Mineta Transportation Institute

Why does the rail infrastructure of the United States lag behind those of many other developed countries? Where is U.S. high-speed rail? This research approaches this in a dilemma by exploring Amtrak’s traditional rail services and high-speed rail projects in the nation to understand the workings of public rail transportation policies, what they contain, and how they are developed and pursued by the different stakeholders. This research utilizes case studies and a multiscale approach to analyze the territorialization of intercity rail transportation policies. The analysis demonstrates the emergence of a bottom-up approach to projects, notably apparent in the California HSR …

Inventorying San Francisco Bay Area Parking Spaces: Technical Report Describing Objectives, Methods, And Results, Mikhail Chester, Alysha Helmrich, Rui Li

Mineta Transportation Institute

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most progressive transportation regions in the deployment of high-capacity transit and use of policies to encourage active transportation. Yet like many other metro regions, there remains a dearth of knowledge on the abundance and location of parking infrastructure supply. Parking infrastructure remains one of the least catalogued infrastructure but is perhaps the most spatially dominating set of assets. This research estimates the extent and location of parking supply, including on-street and off-street spaces for the nine-county Bay Area. This parking space inventory is the most detailed assessment of parking infrastructure produced …

A Review Of Environmental Vulnerabilities Related To Nepal’S Graduation Process From Least Developed To A Developing Country Status, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai, Basu Sharma

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal has long aspired to graduate from the Least Development Country (LDC) to Developing Country category as defined by the United Nations system. Nepal had met two of the three graduating criteria and could have technically graduated from the LDC status in 2015. However, based on the Nepal government’s request to defer the review, the new 2021 assessment by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) recommended that the country should graduate from the LDC status by 2026. The graduation requires not only meeting pre-defined development-related thresholds, but also maintaining sustained improvements in at least two consecutive assessments in …

Why T.R.I.P Matters?, Jumoke Akinrimsi, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Lamar Bates, Arrington Evans, Kelly Evans, Lawrence Green, Trina Louise, Melissa Mason, Freddy Mejia, Lachelle Waller

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

Through the work of the House and Senate chief patrons: Delegate Delores L McQuinn (HB 142) and Senator George L. Barker (SB 342) changes to the Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) intended to increase funding to reduce the impact on public transit fares on individuals with low-incomes were signed into law during Virginia’s 2022 legislative session. House Bill (HB 142) and Senate Bill (SB 342) builds on 2020 legislation establishing TRIP to promote improved transit service in urbanized areas 1 of the Commonwealth with a population of more than 100,000 and to reduce barriers to transit use for low-income individuals. …

Healthy Communities: Flooded With Injustice?, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Mel Borja, Krystle Dorsey, Tiffany Garner, Edgar Greer, Denise Harrington, Paula Robinson, Jalesha Smith, Dominique Thaxton, Jeffery Wilson Phd

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

"HB1276 Comprehensive plan; Healthy Communities Strategy" authorizes defined localities to incorporate a healthy communities strategy into the next iteration of their local comprehensive plan and to engage the public in the process. In the absence of a predetermined definition, this report adopts the American Planning Association (APA) guidance as a standard, that a healthy community is a place where “all individuals have access to healthy built, social, economic, and natural environments that give them the opportunity to live their fullest potential regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, income, age, abilities, or other socially defined circumstance.”1 This report will discuss how …

Exact Algorithms For Practical Instances Of The Railcar Loading Problem At Marine Container Terminals, Manwo Ng, Dung-Ying Lin

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

With the growth in global trade and its environmental footprint, sustainable modes of freight movement are increasingly important in today’s globalized world. This study focuses on on-dock rail, where the rail terminal is located within the marine container terminal. On-dock rail has in recent years become an essential mode of transportation to move containers out of congested marine container terminals. This study contributes to the literature by presenting tailored exact solution algorithms for a recently proposed optimization model to optimize the loading of double-stack trains. In particular, a 3-stage solution framework is presented for the case when rail cars have …

Mitigating The Impact Of Climate Change On Egyptian Cities: Sustainable Building And Construction As A Strategy/ التخفيف من أثر تغير المناخ في المدن المصرية: استراتيجية البناء والتشييد المستدام, Mina Abdelmelek, Sahar El Ghandour, Sahar Ibrahiem, Tasneem H. Madi, Zeinab Nadeem

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Egypt faces a wide range of challenges, including the high increase in population, the Nile water crisis, desertification and the issue of solid waste and encroachment on agricultural lands, and the current negative impacts of the natural and built environments. The construction sector consumes 28% of the total energy produced in Egypt. The high energy consumption and rise in energy prices along with the aforementioned issues are few of several key factors that urge the need to study how consumed energy could be reduced in the construction sector and consequently limit the sector’s impact on the environment (Navigant Energy Germany …

Are Santa Clara County Cities Prepared For A Zero-Emission Light Duty Vehicle Future? A Program Evaluation, Benjamin Edelberg

Master's Projects

This research built on the work of Chi-Pei Fang who explored this issue in “Ability of the Bay Area Cities to Accommodate Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Process Evaluation” (Fang, 2021). Fang recommended that follow-on projects focus on an individual city. This paper moved in that direction, but instead of focusing on a specific city in the California Bay Area, it focused on Santa Clara County (SCC) and the cities within. Additionally, this paper broadened the focus to include all zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), a category which not only includes electric vehicles (EVs) but also hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

The Disproportionate Impact Of Covid-19 On The Housing Stability Of Hispanic/Latino Renters In California, Cyndi Valdez

Master's Projects

How and why did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the housing stability of Hispanic/Latino renters in California? How were communities, such as those in Santa Cruz County, affected by Shelter in Place Orders? What measures were taken to help alleviate the financial burdens caused by the pandemic?

Ending Homelessness In Santa Clara County: A Program Evaluation Of Homefirst Services’ Rapid Re-Housing Program Using Client Feedback, Karen Gomez

Master's Projects

This research was designed to evaluate whether HomeFirst Services’ RRH Program has proven to be more effective than traditional approaches in eliminating homelessness for its participants in Santa Clara County, California. Research was based on the Program Satisfaction Survey conducted at the end of the participants’ program enrollment in comparison with data collected for clients in other HomeFirst Services programs. The research question that is being answered from this survey is whether or not the HomeFirst Services RRH Program is fulfilling the clients’ needs. This questionnaire has been able to help HomeFirst Services understand the factors that help satisfy program …

Improving Energy Stewardship At Michigan Technological University’S Athletic Complexes, Cynthia L. Pindral

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Athletics departments are showcases for universities, serving as a public face and recruitment outlet that communicates university identity to the world. This applied research project examines the state of electrical energy infrastructure at Michigan Technological University with special attention to the Athletic Department and reports on the process for energy decisions in both settings. I take a qualitative research approach analyzing University documents and conducting interviews with informants in Athletics Administration, Facilities, and MTU’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience. Four major barriers to efficiency emerged: (1) lack of University-wide climate action goals, (2) staffing issues due to a large number …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

A Harbour In The Country, A City In The Sea: Infrastructural Conduits, Territorial Inversions And The Slippages Of Sovereignty In Sino-Sri Lankan Development Narratives, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper adopts infrastructure as a lens through which new understandings of the inter-relationships between territory and sovereignty can be advanced. It argues that inverting the terrestrial assumption of territory can lead to “slippages” of sovereignty in which territorial sovereignty is indirectly claimed through the assertion of governance rights. For the purposes of this paper, I explore these inversions through the reclaiming of land from the ocean, and the removal of land by the ocean. Drawing on ethnographic research exploring the effects of China-backed infrastructure megaprojects in Sri Lanka, these territorial inversions are explored, respectively, through the Port City Colombo …

Revised Corporate History Of Northern Pacific Railway Company As Of June 30, 1917. Centennial Edition Including A Foreword With Later Corporate Changes, Rollin R. Davis , Ed.

Zea E-Books Collection

doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1330

From the Foreword: Railroads have been important in American history since the mid-nineteenth century for national unification, the settlement of the American West, the industrial revolution, economic growth, models of complex organization for other large corporations, and the transition of America from rural, agrarian society to urban, industrial society. The railroads’ transformative influence of technological change and social change has been termed “railroadization” (Schumpeter 1939, 1:325-351). Alfred D. Chandler Jr. (1965, 9-12) characterized the railroad industry as the first big business in America. The transcontinental railroads were especially significant. A transcontinental railroad may be defined as a railroad …

Interstate 11: The Road To Prosperity In Nevada, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Interstate 11 (I-11) offers Nevada a unique opportunity to advance the economic development prospects of one of the state’s most economically challenged areas: Elko and eastern Nevada. Although the state used a qualitative system to choose a western route for I-11, this process may not have considered fully the costs of extending I-11 to Canada in a cost-effective manner or in a manner consistent with I-11 purposes, especially avoiding congested areas. This briefing report reviews the history and purposes of I-11; summarizes the I-11 route options; considers how I-11 might extend to Canada in a way that is consistent with …

Undersea Cables: The Ultimate Geopolitical Chokepoint, Bert Chapman

FORCES Initiative: Strategy, Security, and Social Systems

This work provides historical and contemporary overviews of this critical geopolitical problem, describes the policy actors addressing this in the U.S. and selected other countries, and provides maps and information on many undersea cable work routes. These cables are chokepoints with one dictionary defining chokepoints as “a strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region."

Risk-Based Machine Learning Approaches For Probabilistic Transient Stability, Umair Shahzad

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Power systems are getting more complex than ever and are consequently operating close to their limit of stability. Moreover, with the increasing demand of renewable wind generation, and the requirement to maintain a secure power system, the importance of transient stability cannot be overestimated. Considering its significance in power system security, it is important to propose a different approach for enhancing the transient stability, considering uncertainties. Current deterministic industry practices of transient stability assessment ignore the probabilistic nature of variables (fault type, fault location, fault clearing time, etc.). These approaches typically provide a conservative criterion and can result in expensive …

Political, Technical And Economical Contexts Of The Government Of Egypt's Approaches Towards The Nile Basin Countries, Kareem Mohamed Abdel Sattar Abdel Monem

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

How Do California’S Local Governments Fund Surface Transportation? A Guide To Revenue Sources, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Kevin Yong Lee, Serena Alexander

Mineta Transportation Institute

California local agencies raise the revenue to support high-quality transportation services and infrastructure from a patchwork of federal, state, and local sources. To assist policymakers and transportation experts as they explore options for creating a more sustainable funding system, this report presents an overview of the taxes and fees that currently generate revenue ultimately dedicated to paying for transportation at the sub-state—or “local”—level. The discussion covers federal and state as well as local sources. The report also traces the evolving contribution from each level of government for expenditures on California’s local streets and roads and public transit, looking back two …

Examining Resilience : Assessing And Measuring Resilience Within The Context Of Maritime Administrations, Larez Maurice Pinder

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Container Trade And Demand For The West Coast Of Africa : Determining The Competition And Collaboration Between Six Major Ports In The Region, Ngouye Sougoufara

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Covid-19 On Port Terminal Performance In The United States Of America, Ian Michael Sulzer

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reassessing The Case For Development Charges In Canadian Municipalities, Andrew Sancton

Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance – Publications

“Growth should pay for growth.” This slogan—the common justification for development charges—is rarely challenged in municipal circles. The principle that those who cause new urban growth should pay for the infrastructure associated with it has generally been taken for granted, at least for the last few decades. Development charges evolved from post-1945 subdivision agreements and were initially accepted by most developers as a mechanism for enhancing the likelihood that current residents in a municipality would agree to new development. They now add as much as $90,000 to the cost of a new house in some parts of the Greater Toronto …

Taking The Waste Out Of Wastewater: Evaluation And Implementation Of Sustainability Measures At Base Aérea N.°5’S Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abigail Monahan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wastewater treatment is a critical process by which the concentration of pollutants in wastewater are reduced to minimize the resulting effluent’s impact on human health and the environment. Base Aérea N.°5, an airbase located in Monte Real, Portugal, is striving to enhance their wastewater treatment methods to decrease the impact of the treated effluent on the environment. They can reduce the effluent’s impact by implementing more advanced wastewater treatment to decrease the concentration of micropollutants and pathogens in the effluent, and they can reuse the treated effluent to decrease the volume of freshwater they extract. This work seeks to evaluate …

The Role Of Public And Private Sectors: How To Promote National Cybersecurity Strategies And Critical Infrastructure Protection In Southeastern Europe, Larry Cruz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to address the important role of public and private interests in protecting critical infrastructure in Southeastern Europe, providing examples from Serbia. While the public sector does have a role in protecting critical infrastructure needs, it is the private sector which holds major oversight of the critical infrastructures of the region, therefore having an important role in maintaining their functionality and protection. The literature in this field argues for more collaboration and information sharing between the public and private sectors of the region, though the task is not as simple as it appears given the varying aspirations of …

Pandemic Schooling: Lessons In Equity, Advocacy, And Racial Justice, Donna Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It was my fourth year of teaching at a Brooklyn elementary school when the COVID-19 pandemic forced school buildings, and the entire city, to enter a world of lockdown and quarantine. New York City was an early epicenter of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and the virus quickly revealed severe racial and socioeconomic disparities across the city. A disproportionate number of cases, serious illnesses, and death has been experienced by low-income Black and Latinx communities. At the same time, 2020 also ushered in a national racial reckoning following the May murder of George Floyd.

In this thesis, I will provide a …

Interdependent Infrastructure Recovery Using Multilayered Networks And Optimization, Brigham A. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Interdependent infrastructure recovery modeling and simulation are complicated due to various interdependent connections and complexities. Current efforts have identified both operational and restoration interdependency subtypes and coupling strategies that have not been integrated into one comprehensive model. This research presents a model which simultaneously integrates nine interdependency subtypes and four coupling strategies in a multi-objective format to provide the most tailorable and comprehensive network-based recovery model available. This research also created a defense-centric interdependent infrastructure database by modifying the existing CLARC database. This research then addressed assumptions regarding recovery work management in order to address the impact of work crew …