Infrastructure Commons^™

Progress Reimagined: A Generation Z Perspective On Belfast In Relation To The Unsdgs., Lucy Love Haman, Rebecca F. Macleod, Emilee E. Ernster, Camryn Moore, Erin Miller, Daron Baltazar, Ricardo Jackson

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This research explores a contemporary outsider view of Belfast, through the eyes of Generation Z visiting college students, in relation to how three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are carried out (Good Health and Well-Being, Climate Action, and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). To learn through firsthand accounts, the researchers utilized ethnographic and phenomenological methods, as interacting with locals to gather community inputs, surveying different groups in the city, Abstract: recording quotes said by citizens and displayed at billboards, and For Peer Review applying personal sensory experiences. It was found that a political deadlock plays a major role in the …

Using Satellites To Map The Urban Heat Island Effect And Using Products To Generate Public Action In Harrisonburg, Trevor Brooks, Timothy A. Kreps

ASPIRE 2023

The Urban Heat Island effect (UHI) is a phenomenon where urban centers are hotter than their surrounding rural counterparts. Ever since it was first discovered there have been a variety of methods of mapping this effect from using terrestrial sensors to satellites. This study attempts to evaluate different mapping methods, specifically two different satellite methods (ECOSTRESS and MODIS). As well as a community driven mapping method that involved terrestrial sensors attached to cars. This study then discusses remedies to the UHI and documents efforts to remedy it through a partnership between researchers, the community, and the city of Harrisonburg as …

Final Report: California Tribal Nations Transportation Planning Needs Assessment Study, Seetha Reddy, Ashley Parker, David Reinke, Kaely Colligan

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The Tribal Transportation Planning Needs Assessment Study was a collaborative project conducted by Caltrans and the Mineta Transportation Institute, San Jose State University. The primary goal of the project was to identify the current state of transportation planning activities and partnerships within Tribal governments in California, so that Caltrans can meaningfully engage more actively with Tribal governments early in the planning process and better meet the transportation needs of Tribal communities. The study focused on the 109 federally recognized Tribal Nations in California, and collected data through a survey questionnaire. The key task undertaken by the study team was to …

Attention-Based Data Analytic Models For Traffic Flow Predictions, Kaushal Kumar, Yupeng Wei

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Traffic congestion causes Americans to lose millions of hours and dollars each year. In fact, 1.9 billion gallons of fuel are wasted each year due to traffic congestion, and each hour stuck in traffic costs about $21 in wasted time and fuel. The traffic congestion can be caused by various factors, such as bottlenecks, traffic incidents, bad weather, work zones, poor traffic signal timing, and special events. One key step to addressing traffic congestion and identifying its root cause is an accurate prediction of traffic flow. Accurate traffic flow prediction is also important for the successful deployment of smart transportation …

Public-Private Partnership (P3) Success: Critical Success Factors For Local Government Services And Infrastructure Delivery, Antonio M. Lopez, George M. Marakas

Engaged Management ReView

The Public-Private Partnership (P3) approach is a viable option to address the slow growth and burgeoning need to deliver infrastructure projects and services by state and local governments. This study focuses on identifying critical success factors (CSF) that influence the success of P3s for local government service and infrastructure delivery. A framework is presented for integrating relationship and project management CSFs identified from previous literature into P3s. In addition, public agency entrepreneurial orientation is introduced as a potential CSF – a focus that has been absent in previous P3 CSF literature. To empirically assess the influence of these CSFs on …

Aclp - Updated Estimates Of State Bead Allocations - As Of January 2023, New York Law School

Reports and Resources

No abstract provided.

Governing Smart Cities As Knowledge Commons - Introduction, Chapter 1 & Conclusion, Brett M. Frischmann, Michael J. Madison, Madelyn Sanfilippo

Book Chapters

Smart city technology has its value and its place; it isn’t automatically or universally harmful. Urban challenges and opportunities addressed via smart technology demand systematic study, examining general patterns and local variations as smart city practices unfold around the world. Smart cities are complex blends of community governance institutions, social dilemmas that cities face, and dynamic relationships among information and data, technology, and human lives. Some of those blends are more typical and common. Some are more nuanced in specific contexts. This volume uses the Governing Knowledge Commons (GKC) framework to sort out relevant and important distinctions. The framework grounds …

Evaluation Of Left Shoulder As Part-Time Travel Lane Design Alternatives And Transportation Management Center Staff Training Module Development, Zhuohang Deng, Zhiliang Luo, Neil Hockaday, Ahmed Farid, Anurag Pande

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Permanent capacity expansion, such as adding new lanes, is no longer a viable strategy to address traffic congestion in California; hence, ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) strategies, such as part-time use of the shoulder as a travel lane, need to be explored. The use of the shoulder as a travel lane during peak traffic hours has limited applications in the US, and most use the right shoulder as a part-time travel lane even though either the right or left shoulder (but not both) may be used. Caltrans District 5 is exploring the use of Left Shoulder as a Part-time Travel Lane …

Exploring Reusable Takeout Packaging As An Alternative To Disposable Plastics In Maine's Restaurant Industry, Jared Wildwistle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the emergence of plastic over 100 years ago, businesses have increasingly relied on them to protect products. While convenient, the proliferation of plastic packaging is a major contributor to pollutants in the soil, oceans, and bodies of humans and animals alike. Goals in states like Maine seek to reduce the amount of waste and alleviate these issues. However, the deeply embedded popularity of disposable packaging and lack of reliable waste processing capabilities has caused Maine to fall short of its goals. While solutions need to focus on reducing the amount of packaging entering the economy, most businesses rely on …

Recommendations For Sustainable Tourism In Patagonia: An Exploratory Analysis Of Sustainable Tourism In Costa Rica, The Nordic Region, And Thailand’S Communities, Julia K. Lowery

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores different levels of governance and its role towards actualizing sustainable tourism in Patagonia. With the growing threat of climate change, international destinations such as Patagonia are looking to continue building their tourism industries in a sustainable way. Through analyzing case studies of national governance in Costa Rica, multi-national governance in the Nordic region, and community-based tourism in Thailand, we can better understand how each form of governance has the potential to create a sustainable tourism industry. With this understanding of successful governance in my case studies, as well as understanding the historical and political forces that have …

Sros In The State Of Alabama: Primary Functions And The Perception Of Meaningful Work, Adam Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

In response to mass school shootings and other violent acts committed on school grounds, some school systems have turned to introducing or expanding police presence on school campuses. However, police and school culture, expectations, and norms are not always compatible and are sometimes even at odds with each other. Excessive force by School Resource Officers (SROs); law-enforcement officers who work in the school setting, has prompted calls for police reform or complete SRO removal from school campuses. This research project sought to identify the activities of SROs in the state of Alabama, explore the level of meaning SROs perceive in …

Cutting Edge Technology Metros In The Mountain West, 2021, Sofia Takhtadjian, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on cutting-edge technology metros in the Mountain West, as originally reported in the Commercial Cafe report, “Boulder Tops Silicon Valley as Most Cutting-Edge Metro in the U.S.” Of the top 30 cutting-edge metros in the nation, four are in the Mountain West: Boulder, CO (1st nationally); Denver, CO (7th nationally); Salt Lake City, UT (10th nationally); and Phoenix, AZ (27th nationally).

Means Of Transportation To Work In The United States, 1990-2018, Sebastián F. Villamizar Santamaría

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines how people commuted to work in the United States between 1990 and 2018, focusing on disparities with respect to race and ethnicity, sex, marital status, income, and poverty status

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: …

Effect Of Weather Events On Travel Time Reliability And Crash Occurrence, Sonu Mathew, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The magnitude of the effect of adverse weather conditions on road operational performance varies with the type of weather condition and the road characteristics of the road links and adjacent links. Therefore, the relationship between weather and traffic is always a concern to traffic engineers and planners, and they have extensively explored ways to integrate weather information into transportation systems. Understanding the influence of weather on operational performance and safety helps traffic engineers and planners to proactively plan and manage transportation systems. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of adverse weather conditions on travel time …

Exploring The Use Of Public Transportation Among Older Adults During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A National Survey, Keertana Sureshbabu, Egbe-Etu Etu, Susan Summerville, Ankur Parmar, Gaojian Huang

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Public transportation is an essential part of many older adults’ lives, but the pandemic presented new challenges for the vulnerable population. Adults aged 65 years and older experienced additional challenges, such as limited mobility options (e.g., lack of buses or trains in service due a combination of government lockdowns, fear of contracting or spreading the virus, and driver shortages in certain areas) because of the pandemic, which may have resulted in more age-related declines in perceptual, cognitive, and physical functioning. This study explores how older adults living in major metropolitan cities in the United States used and perceived public transportation …

Does Transit Service Reliability Influence Ridership?, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Raunak Mishra, Sravya L. Jayanthi

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This research focused on analyzing the association between transit service reliability indicators and ridership. Further, the effect of road network, demographic, socioeconomic, and land use characteristics on transit service reliability was analyzed. The analysis was conducted at a bus stop level. Bus arrival/departure and ridership data from the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) was obtained. The road network, demographic, socioeconomic, and land use characteristics were captured within 0.25-mile and 0.50-mile buffers. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to understand the association between road network, demographic, socioeconomic, and land use characteristics and bus transit service reliability measures. The results show that bus …

Fragmented Or Aligned Climate Action: Assessing Linkages Between Regional And Local Planning Efforts To Meet Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets, Serena E. Alexander, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Branka Tatarevic

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Amid the rising climate change concerns, California enacted Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) to tackle transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. SB 375 requires Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to develop a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS), a regional transportation and land use vision plan, to reduce GHG emissions. Meanwhile, a local government can develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP), a non-binding, voluntary plan to reduce GHG emissions that may align with the regional SCS. Recent progress reports indicate California is not making sufficient progress to meet SB 375 emissions reduction targets, which raises important questions: (1) Are the transportation and land use …

Ai-Based Pedestrian Detection And Avoidance At Night Using An Ir Camera, Radar, And A Video Camera, Hovannes Kulhandjian

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

In 2019, the United States experienced more than 6,500 pedestrian fatalities involving motor vehicles which resulted in a 67% rise in nighttime pedestrian fatalities and only a 10% rise in daytime pedestrian fatalities. In an effort to reduce fatalities, this research developed a pedestrian detection and alert system through the application of a visual camera, infrared camera, and radar sensors combined with machine learning. The research team designed the system concept to achieve a high level of accuracy in pedestrian detection and avoidance during both the day and at night to avoid potentially fatal accidents involving pedestrians crossing a street. …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Roadside Transportation-Related Air Quality (Startraq 2021): A Characterization Of Bike Trails And Highways In The Fresno/Clovis Area, Jaymin Kwon, Yushin Ahn, Steve Chung

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The San Joaquin Valley is identified as an area with a high level of particulate matter (PM) in the air, reaching above the federal and state clean air standards (EPA 2019). Many of the cities in the valley are classified as the most polluted cities in the United States for both particulate matter and ozone pollution (American Lung Association, 2021). To resolve this issue, alternative forms of transportation have been considered in transportation planning. In this study, active transportation mode air quality was monitored on selected Woodward Park and Old Clovis trails and urban bike lanes. Real-time aerosol monitors, and …

Complex Adaptive Systems In A Contentious World, Yasmin Merali

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article is about developing and implementing interventions that are systemically viable in a world that is constantly evolving. Geopolitical and economic forces, environmental stressors, and the weaponization of information confront us with an unprecedented level of complexity, requiring new ways of seeing and being when intervening in conflictual situations. I draw on the Complex Adaptive Systems paradigm to explore how world order emerges from the dynamics of network relationships between the players in the cyber-social landscape. This treatment elaborates on mechanisms underpinning resilience, adaptation, and transformation of socioeconomic systems in turbulent contexts. It emphasizes a need to reconsider conventional …