Urban Studies Commons^™

Planning In Gateway And Natural Amenity Region Communities: Understanding The Unique Challenges Associated With Transportation, Mobility, And Livability, Danya Rumore, Philip Stoker, Zacharia Levine, Lindsey Romaniello

TREC Final Reports

Communities outside of major public lands and other natural amenities throughout the western United States face a variety of transportation and planning-related concerns associated with rapid growth and increases in tourism. Surprisingly, while the unique transportation and planning-related challenges of these western gateway and amenity region (GNAR) communities have, to some extent, been documented in recreation and tourism research, these concerns have largely been overlooked in planning scholarship. To begin to address this gap, this report presents key descriptive findings from a study aimed at examining the unique transportation, mobility, and access to opportunity-related challenges being experienced by GNAR communities …

Life-Space Mobility: How Transportation And Policy Can Support Aging In Place For Older Adults, Ivis Garcia Zambrana, Alan Kenneth Delatorre

TREC Project Briefs

Research on older adults frequently explores the notion of "aging in place"—providing older adults the opportunity to continue to live in their own homes and communities. However one’s ability to stay or leave, particularly in old age, often depends on the built environment. An accessible neighborhood that prioritizes mobility affords the ability to meet basic needs like goods, services, and social activities.

This life-space mobility is rarely applied in the field of urban planning and architecture. A NITC project led by Ivis Garcia Zambrana of the University of Utah and Alan DeLaTorre of Portland State University sought to operationalize this …

Can Ridehailing Deliver Equity? Lessons For New Mobility Planning, Anne Brown

PSU Transportation Seminars

Modes including ridehailing, bikeshare, and e-scooters offer the potential to revolutionize how people travel. But as cities and agencies work to integrate these new services into the existing transportation landscape, the equity implications of these modes remain murky.

This talk presents research on ridehail travel and equity from Los Angeles and compares the equity outcomes of ridehailing to the previous status quo embodied by taxis. The research highlights both the promise of new mobility services and the remaining obstacles to delivering equitable access. Findings yields implications for policies that cities and planners can advance to ensure that new travel modes …

Life-Space Mobility And Aging In Place, Ivis Garcia Zambrana, Alan Kenneth Delatorre, Ja Young Kim, Julianne Reno, Keith Diaz Moore, Jordan Pieper, Jason Wheeler, Nicole Zinnanti, Brenda Jose

TREC Final Reports

Research on older adults explores the notion of “aging in place”—providing older adults the opportunity to continue to occupy familiar surroundings, to live in their own homes and communities. But oftentimes one’s ability to stay or leave, particularly in old age, depends on the built environment. Mobility is the ability to meet the basic needs to access goods, activities, services, and social interactions as they relate to quality of life. Thus, mobility is essential to older adults due to their limited, or gradually reducing, physical and cognitive abilities. In transportation research, mobility is often regarded in terms of travel behavior …

Webinar: Engaging Youth To Choose Car-Free Mobility, Autumn Shafer

TREC Webinar Series

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s riders, bikers, walkers, voters, and transportation planners. As more transit agencies begin to offer free fare passes to public middle and high school students, it is important to have good communication strategy in place to encourage transit usage so they don't miss out on the potential to affect behavior change.

Thus, transit agencies need to develop age-appropriate messaging strategies and tactics that promote youth car-free mobility.

This webinar will present results from a NITC research project that sought to create and evaluate communication messaging that fosters more positive attitudes, intentions, and behaviors related to transit and …

Making The Seemingly Impossible Project Real Through Local Improvement Districts, Andrew H. Aebi

PSU Transportation Seminars

The planning process identifies community needs but often needs the creative use of financial leverage to make those projects a reality on the ground. Timing is important on Local Improvement District (LIDs), and the window of opportunity is often short.

For Portland's Bureau of Transportation, managing the public's desire for streets in good condition with room to walk and bike safely and accommodating freight movement and population growth can be a tall order. Add in the need to work with water, sewer and underground utilities, and things get complicated.

When needs exceed resources, smart strategies can help fill the gap. …

How Av Could Shape Our Cities - Research From The Netherlands, Gonçalo H. A. Correia

PSU Transportation Seminars

Automated driving has become a hot topic of research in different fields of science. Despite the great advancements in the vehicle technology itself, researchers are now concerned in figuring out what will be the impacts of these vehicles in life as we know it. These impacts can be rather broad from traffic safety to the economy. In this lecture, Goncalo will focus on the research that is being done at TU Delft, a leading university in automated vehicles’ (AVs) impacts research, focusing on urban areas and how mobility, and even the city itself, can change with fully-automated vehicles. Goncalo Correia …

Green Ring Wayfinding Map, Lorena Nascimento, Adam Brunelle, Arlene Amaya

Student Research Symposium

Lents is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Portland, with a higher percentage of Latinos and Asians than the average city demographics. The neighbors are either long-term homeowners, people displaced from North Portland due to the gentrification, and new residents seeking economic development areas with an affordable price. The Green Ring Wayfinding Map is a community place-making project that improves neighborhood safety, accessibility, and enjoyment through conversations and collaboration across Lents diversity and geography. After three years of focus groups and surveys with the Lents residents, a Green Ring Wayfinding Map is being created to praise the values, branding, …

The Portland Adu Market: Conditions, Costs, Drivers, Incentives, Northwest Economic Research Center, Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

This report was researched and written by the Northwest Economic Research Center of Portland State University (PSU) in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Solutions (also at PSU) in order to explore the potential for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to increase housing affordability in the Portland metropolitan region. Additionally, this report seeks to broadly assess the efficacy of the City’s SDC fee waiver for increasing affordability by increasing the rental housing supply.

In October and November of 2017, ISS conducted an online survey of ADU owners and occupants, the results of which constitute the most exhaustive collection of data regarding …

How Will Autonomous Vehicles Change Local Government Budgeting And Finance? Case Studies Of On-Street Parking, Curb Management, And Solid Waste Collection, Benjamin Y. Clark

TREC Final Reports

This report is an examination of parking, curb zones, and government service changes in the context of AVs. Given that there are very few actual AVs on the road, the analysis in this report is an attempt to project what we might see, using the current phenomenon as starting points. The report uses a mix of econometric modeling, cost accounting, and case studies to illustrate these projections. The first section of this report looks at the effects of transportation network companies (TNCs)—Uber and Lyft in particular—on parking revenue in the city of Seattle. The results of the study indicate that …

The E-Bike Potential: Estimating The Effect Of E-Bikes On Person Miles Travelled And Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Michael Mcqueen, John Macarthur, Christopher Cherry

TREC Final Reports

Many cities have goals for reducing automotive VMT in order to reduce tailpipe emissions and to reduce congestion. Conventional cycling is a good solution, though its uptake has slowed in recent years in several cities, despite the implementation of greenways, bikeshare, and bike lines (Anderson and McLeod 2017). Electric bicycles (e-bikes) could be an effective new part of the solution to combat mode shift stagnation. The e-bike is a recently introduced mode of travel that is rapidly gaining in popularity throughout the United States.

The e-bike can offer a cheaper alternative to car travel (Popovich et al. 2014) and can …

Preparing Cities For An Automated Future, Benjamin Y. Clark

TREC Project Briefs

This report is an examination of parking, curb zones, and government service changes in the context of AVs. Given that there are very few actual AVs on the road, the analysis in this report is an attempt to project what we might see, using the current phenomenon as starting points. The report uses a mix of econometric modeling, cost accounting, and case studies to illustrate these projections. The first section of this report looks at the effects of transportation network companies (TNCs)—Uber and Lyft in particular—on parking revenue in the city of Seattle. The results of the study indicate that …

How E-Bike Incentive Programs Are Used To Expand The Market, Michael Mcqueen, John Macarthur, Christopher Cherry

TREC Final Reports

The electric bicycle (e-bike) is a low emission mode of transportation that offers communities benefits in the areas of health, planning, time, cost, street safety, congestion, air pollution, noise pollution, and energy security (Blondel, Mispelon, and Ferguson 2011). In a recent study conducted by Portland State University, e-bikes have been found to enable more people to ride a bicycle for longer distances despite physical limitations, difficult terrain, and the presence of cargo (MacArthur et al. 2018). However, overall e-bike adoption in the United States remains limited due in part to high purchase cost (Dill and Rose 2012; Popovich et al. …

Rogue Transfer & Recycling Transfer Station Index: Synopsis, Northwest Economic Research Center

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

Rogue Transfer and Recycling, LLC (“RTR”) is a solid waste and recycling facility that collects and transfers solid waste and recycling materials from the Southern Oregon region. Currently RTR’s revenue and expenses are reviewed by Jackson County, Oregon in periodic rate reviews, with rates being adjusted in interim years by applying the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). RTR requested that Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) conduct detailed research and develop a new indicator – based on independent, reliable, and timely data – that more closely tracks RTR’s changes in total expenses per ton than the CPI. …

Addressing Changing Demographics In Environmental Justice Analysis, Aaron Golub

TREC Project Briefs

Since 1994, every Federal agency has a mandate to develop a strategy for identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on low income populations and minority populations. In transportation planning this means including those communities’ voices in the planning process, and evaluating the social impacts early on.

A new report from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), prepared by Portland State University and ICF International, provides an in-depth analysis of national demographic trends and a synthesis of best long-range planning practices borne out of five case studies

Access To Opportunity Project: Final Report, Shawn Flanigan, Emily Lieb, Lisa K. Bates, Raphael Bostic, Sheryl V. Whitney

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project’s goal is to lift up promising approaches, suggest new strategies and encourage honest conversations that result in public policy solutions to income and racial segregation and poverty. The overarching question that motivates this work is:

• What are effective policies and strategies that promote access to high-opportunity amenities for low-income families?

As a first step, the researchers surveyed efforts on the ground in the metropolitan areas encompassing Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Diego, California, to determine whether there were any candidates for deeper study. We selected these three metropolitan areas for several reasons. First, prior interaction revealed that …

2019 Point-In-Time: Count Of Homelessness In Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County, Oregon, City Of Portland, Home Forward, A Home For Everyone, Multnomah County, City Of Gresham, Tiffany Renée Conklin, Cameron Mulder, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

The Count provides important information on the people who were counted living unsheltered, in emergency shelter, and in transitional housing (collectively the “HUD homeless” or “literally homeless” population) the night of Jan. 23, 2019. As always, the date of the Count and the definition of homelessness that determines who is counted were set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Regional Research Institute of Human Services at Portland State University (PSU) led the unsheltered portion of the Count, which is referred to as the unsheltered count. At our request, PSU staff also conducted a separate count …

A Decentralized Network Consensus Control Approach For Urban Traffic Signal Optimization, Gerardo Lafferriere

TREC Project Briefs

Automobile traffic congestion in urban areas is a worsening problem that comes with significant economic and social costs. This report offers a new approach to urban congestion management through traffic signal control.

How Can Interdisciplinary Teams Leverage Emerging Technologies To Respond To Transportation Infrastructure Needs? A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Of Civil Engineers, Urban Planners, And Social Workers’ Perspectives, Noelle Fields, Courtney Cronley, Kate Hyun, Stephen Mattingly, Vivian J. Miller, Saeed Reza Ramezanpour Nargesi, Sheida Khademi, Shamsun Nahar, Jessica Williams, Erin Roark Murphy, Melinda Kitchens, Vanessa Wattron

TREC Final Reports

This study explored how engineers, planners, and social workers interact around issues of transportation and transportation equity, and identified opportunities for enhanced collaboration and training in anticipation of emerging transportation needs for environmental justice (EJ) populations. This study provided the foundation for future educational research, identify strategies for using two Android apps (Safe Activity and My Amble) developed at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and identified opportunities for collaborative solutions within the state of the practice. The study assessed the current level of knowledge amongst professionals (engineers, planners, and social workers) about the training needs of the other …

Improving Transportation Access Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Noelle Fields, Courtney Cronley, Kate Hyun, Stephen Mattingly, Multiple Additional Authors

TREC Project Briefs

This study explored how engineers, planners, and social workers interact around issues of transportation and transportation equity, and identified opportunities for enhanced collaboration and training in anticipation of emerging transportation needs for environmental justice (EJ) populations. This study provided the foundation for future educational research, identify strategies for using two Android apps (Safe Activity and My Amble) developed at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and identified opportunities for collaborative solutions within the state of the practice. The study assessed the current level of knowledge amongst professionals (engineers, planners, and social workers) about the training needs of the other …

Traffic Signal Consensus Control, Gerardo Lafferriere

TREC Final Reports

We introduce a model for traffic signal management based on network consensus control principles. The underlying principle in a consensus approach is that traffic signal cycles are adjusted in a distributed way so as to achieve desirable ratios of queue lengths throughout the street network. This approach tends to reduce traffic congestion due to queue saturation at any particular city block and it appears less susceptible to congestion due to unexpected traffic loads on the street grid. We developed simulation tools based on the MATLAB computing environment to analyze the use of the mathematical consensus approach to manage the signal …

Webinar: E-Bikes For Everyone: Electrifying Communities In New Ways, John Macarthur, Sergio Lopez

TREC Webinar Series

Electric bicycle (e-bike) use is a rising phenomenon in North America. In 2018, John MacArthur of Portland State University conducted a national survey to understand issues facing e-bike owners. Reducing physical exertion, conquering challenging topography and replacing car trips are a few of the most important reasons for buying an e-bike. The electric assist of the e-bike helps to generate more trips, longer trips and different types of bicycle trips. Through analysis it also became evident that e-bikes are making it possible for more people to ride a bicycle, many of whom are incapable of riding a standard bicycle or …

Pedpdx: Addressing Equity Through Citywide Pedestrian Planning, Michelle Marx, Francesca Patricolo

PSU Transportation Seminars

Pedestrian safety and access is an equity issue. In Portland, inadequate pedestrian infrastructure and traffic safety concerns disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color. The City is attempting to rectify these inequities through PedPDX, Portland’s new citywide pedestrian plan (anticipated for adoption in Spring 2019). PedPDX prioritizes sidewalk and crossing improvements and other investments, policies, strategies and tools to make walking safer and more comfortable across the city.

Come learn about the strategies PedPDX is using to address transportation equity in Portland, including establishing a data-based prioritization for citywide pedestrian investments, identifying roadway and behavioral characteristics most closely …

Public Transportation And New Mobility, Chris Pangilinan

PSU Transportation Seminars

New mobility options such as bike share, scooters, and transportation network companies (e.g. Uber) are proliferating across the United States and beyond. Early research has shown that while the private automobile continues to be the main competition for transit, new mobility options may also be siphoning off some riders. In this seminar, we will explore what the role of public transportation should be in this era of rapidly expanding private transportation options. We will also examine how private transportation could be harnessed to help public transportation succeed and allow for cities to meet their mobility goals.

V2x: Bringing Bikes Into The Mix, Stephen Fickas

TREC Final Reports

This project demonstrates how an inexpensive system (hardware and software) can add new functionality to existing signal controllers, giving bicyclists an efficient way to cross a controlled intersection. The system integrates three components: (1) a Bike Connect box that resides near the signal-controller and is connected to it, (2) an application that runs on a Bike Connect device (currently an iPhone) and requests a green light at the correct approach-distance, and (3) a cloud-based publish/subscribe (pub/sub) component that handles cellular-communication between phone app and box. One stumbling block for the project was a means to obtain reliable GPS data to …

New Pedestrian Modeling Tools: Growing Beyond The Portland Region, Kelly Clifton, Jamie Orrego-Onate, Patrick Allen Singleton, Robert J. Schneider

TREC Project Briefs

This project focuses on making our measures, models, and methods more transferable to other locations. Specifically, we re-evaluate, compare and test our pedestrian index of the environment (PIE) measure using data resources more commonly available to planning agencies across the country. Next, we test the results of PIE and its input data in models of pedestrian mode choice for stability of estimation results within a region (intraregional) and between regions (interregional). This research is the next logical step in the MoPeD’s enhancement and is critical to enabling its utility beyond the Portland region. The results of this project show that …

Transferability & Forecasting Of The Pedestrian Index Of The Environment (Pie) For Modeling Applications, Kelly Clifton, Jamie Orrego-Onate, Patrick Allen Singleton, Robert J. Schneider

TREC Final Reports

This project focuses on making our measures, models, and methods more transferable to other locations. Specifically, we re-evaluate, compare and test our pedestrian index of the environment (PIE) measure using data resources more commonly available to planning agencies across the country. Next, we test the results of PIE and its input data in models of pedestrian mode choice for stability of estimation results within a region (intraregional) and between regions (interregional). This research is the next logical step in the MoPeD’s enhancement and is critical to enabling its utility beyond the Portland region. The results of this project show that …

Odot Highway Cost Allocation Study Review: Challenges In Including Regional Revenues, Northwest Economic Research Center, Thomas Potiowsky, Emma Willingham, Katelyn Kelley, Devin Bales

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

This report, written for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) by Portland State University’s Northwest Economic Research Center, outlines the challenges that regional revenue collection poses for ODOT’s biennial Highway Cost Allocation Study (HCAS). The HCAS assesses the relative burdens of light and heavy vehicle classes on state infrastructure, in relation to the amount of revenue that said vehicle classes generate. In other words, it ensures that light vehicles and heavy vehicles are “paying their share” of state transportation expenditures.

Differences in vehicle traffic or differential impacts to vehicle classes are the root cause of most of the problems that …

Webinar: Rethinking Streets For Bikes: An Evidence Based Guide Of Bike-Friendly Street Retrofits, Marc Schlossberg, Roger Lindgren

TREC Webinar Series

There is a growing demand for better infrastructure and fewer barriers to biking and other forms of space-efficient micromobility. Tackling daily trips by bike is easier on the environment, healthier for users and non-users alike, uses precious urbanized public and private land more efficiently, costs taxpayers less to build and maintain infrastructure, and when routes are safe and comfortable, moving by bike is also fun! Complete Streets policies are being adopted across the country, and there is an active conversation around the safety imperative of a Complete Streets approach. Yet, local officials often need both design guidance and the …

The Success Of An Integrated Mobility Strategy: Lessons From The Netherlands For The Pacific West Coast, Lucas Van Der Linde

PSU Transportation Seminars

The Netherlands sets the standard for their multimodal connectivity. It has world's highest use of cycling and an integrated mobility network with an efficient transport system. During this seminar, Lucas will tell more about the Dutch Approach and how this could be applied to the American transportation context.

Lucas will use the case of the Bay area to show this. The Bay Area in California currently faces massive challenges in transportation because of the enormous growth of the region. With the use of a new innovative modelling tool, the Move Meter (http://www.movemeter.com/), Lucas will show the potential of …