Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Reaching Non-Work Destinations: Accessibility And Its Impacts On Travel Behavior, Sai Sun

Theses and Dissertations

As people’s daily activities are diverse, having access to various opportunities is important. However, the existing body of accessibility literature places great emphasis on job accessibility; research on non-work accessibility is limited. To fill the gap, this dissertation examines accessibility to four types of non-work opportunities (healthcare, retail, recreation, and food services) by three transportation modes (automobile, transit, and walking) as well as their impacts on travel in the Milwaukee region. This dissertation examines accessibility disparities across different racial/ethnic groups and income groups in Milwaukee County by comparing weighted average accessibility and overlaying spatial distribution of accessibility with population distributions. …

Transportation Network Company (Tnc) Ridehailing Travel Patterns In Chicago’S Economically Disconnected Areas, Kelly Marie O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

Transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft position themselves as a complement—rather than a detriment—to existing public transportation. Since the launch of TNCs, however, public transit ridership in major cities has steadily declined. This severely impacts economically disconnected residents, who often do not own automobiles and therefore rely on public transportation. The decline of public transit, coupled with the growth of TNCs, thus begs the question: Do TNC services complement or substitute public transportation in serving economically disconnected urban residents? Using data from the American Community Survey and new TNC data from the City of Chicago, this paper maps …

Transit-Oriented Development And The Implications For Equitable Development: A Case Study Of The Milwaukee Streetcar, Joshua Diciaula

Theses and Dissertations

Many cities across the US have reintroduced the streetcar as an economic development tool, or as an image-branding and tourism-promoting amenity, while public transportation benefits are largely afterthoughts. The purpose of this research is to investigate the Milwaukee Streetcar as a transit-oriented development strategy, the distribution of benefits and burdens, and its implications for equitable development. Guided by semi-structured interviews and content/discourse analysis of planning/policy documents through an equity lens, this study analyzed Milwaukee’s initial downtown streetcar routes against the potential extension lines into the more transit-dependent communities of Bronzeville and Walker’s Point. The findings suggest that the initial routes …

Transit Access Equity In Richmond, Va, Rachel Jordan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the extent of public transit access equity issues in Richmond, VA. The City of Richmond has an established public transportation network system, and the thesis explores the level of access for urban residents to use existing public transportation services. Technologies and programs have begun to emerge across the United States to help solve transit accessibility challenges. The thesis assesses the level of transit access equity that exists in Richmond and introduces technologies and services that could help improve accessibility and equity. The thesis uses a mixed methods approach that will consist of …

The Cost Of Jaywalking On Traffic Congestion In An Intersection In Greater Cairo: A Case Study, Hussein Gawdat

Theses and Dissertations

There have been many studies focusing on different types of traffic delays, pedestrians’ interaction at signalized intersections and economic losses as a result of these delays. However, there is a huge gap in the current literature, regionally and globally, in studying the traffic delays associated with jaywalking. In Egypt, jaywalking is considered a common phenomenon, however, population increased drastically over the past decades in Greater Cairo leading to more congested streets. This research provides a case study that investigates the economic effect of jaywalking on traffic flow in Mashaal, a sample location in Greater Cairo, due to traffic congestion. The …

Analyzing Transportation Services For Older Adults In Southeastern Wisconsin, Elizabeth Jean Saunderson

Theses and Dissertations

Older adults are important users to consider in the evaluation of transportation services. Many older non-drivers take fewer trips than their driving peers. It is important that transportation services meet the needs of older adults to provide greater access to this subset of the population. This thesis applies the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the thirty-one non-private transportation services that exist in southeastern Wisconsin. The AHP structure uses multiple criteria to evaluate and rank several alternatives based on a stated goal. An optimization model using the LINGO solver introduces a fuzzy scale level to the AHP and assigns weights …

Freeway Removal In Milwaukee: Three Case Studies, Alex Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

A growing number of cities are choosing to remove parts of their urban freeway network to make room for alternative land uses. This study examines the history of two freeway spurs in Milwaukee—the Park East Freeway and Interstate 794—which were both targeted for demolition. Park East was demolished in 2002, but Interstate 794, which was considered for partial demolition on two separate occasions, was eventually rebuilt. This study asks what the cases of Park East and I-794 can tell us about the attributes of a successful freeway teardown project. This study traces the history of both freeways from the 1950s …

Perceptions Of Bike Sharing In Underserved Communities Within Milwaukee And The Twin Cities, James Hannig

Theses and Dissertations

Despite becoming increasingly more popular in cities across North America, many bikeshare systems have received criticism for not reaching minority and low-income populations. Several bikeshare operators have implemented measures to reach these populations including removing financial barriers, placing stations in underserved neighborhoods, and partnering with various community organizations. However, until recently, few have explored how people in these underserved areas perceive bike sharing.

Feedback was solicited from key community partners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota to better understand how bike sharing is perceived in underserved communities and to determine whether other models could better address the transportation needs …