Transportation & Communities Summit 2019

How do we talk about equity? How do we get the conversation started? Join us for a hands-on, interactive discussion on group dynamics, tools, and active engagement towards creating an equitable transportation system.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Discuss national best practices around transportation equity and planning, drawing from the instructor's work at TriMet and the U.S. DOT
• Review tools available to transportation professionals for understanding the impacts of transportation investments on different population groups
• Understand the importance of change management in creating an “equity lens” within a public organization

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This session is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

How can you be a better storyteller? People tend to remember what they feel rather than what they know. Local communication experts will explore the power of character-rich storytelling driven by data for transportation researchers, planners, engineers, and stakeholders. The media ecosystem is constantly evolving, and there are different strategies that challenge the traditional pathways and amplify the voices of communities. What are some of the more successful strategies you've seen that circumvent the traditional pathways? Join the panelists for an interactive roundtable session, and leave feeling more confident in telling the story of your transportation project or research.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This session is eligible for 1.5 hours of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

For the second year in a row, we'll be hosting "pecha kucha style" rapid presentations on the latest and greatest in multimodal transportation research and implementation.

We'll never forget 2017 performance from Brian Davis of Lancaster Streetlab, giving a Shakespearean lament of "The Pedestrian's Tale." See video snippet here (YouTube).

The 2019 "Lightning Talks" lineup:

• Assessing Viability of Carsharing for Low-Income Communities
  Farah Naz, University of Texas at Arlington
  This study utilizes a mixed methodology including mathematical modeling and qualitative focus group to understand the needs, accessibility, affordability, and willingness to use car-sharing within transportation Environmental Justice (EJ) population. For quantitate analysis, the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data was used to investigate the effects of individuals’ socio-economic characteristics, travel behavior and technology access on car-sharing usage. The focus group assess awareness of and sense of low-income communities’ willingness to use car-sharing.
• Autonomous Vehicles and Active Transportation Safety
  Jean Crowther, Alta Planning + Design
  Even with a long-term promise of dramatic gains in traffic safety, the near-term cost of sharing the road with “learning” AVs disproportionately impacts persons who walk, bicycle, or access transit. Alta’s presentation examines the near-term risk of testing AVs in real-world shared-road environments in relation to the long-term expectations of widespread traffic safety benefits, and explores strategies for mitigating safety risks and preserving the livability of the transportation network.
• Polycentric Development
  Reid Ewing, University of Utah
  This study asks 1) how polycentricity is defined and quantified in planning practices and 2) its transportation benefits. We first conducted a comprehensive review of 126 regional transportation plans (RTPs) across the U.S. Then, using spatial regression and propensity score matching, we identified activity centers in 28 regions and compared travel outcomes between households in centers and those of matched households outside of centers. 
• The Effects of Transit and Compactness on Regional Economic Outcomes
  Torrey Lyons, University of Utah
  A pervasive assumption in transportation planning is that public transit can act as a moderator on the relationship between spatial mismatch and unemployment and poverty. However, there is little empirical evidence for this assumption. We examine 113 US regions and test whether transit does, in fact, have an observable effect on regional economies. We find that transit is negatively related to unemployment, poverty, and income inequality.
• Transportation and Planning Challenges in Gateway and Natural Amenity Communities
  Philip Stoker, University of Arizona
  Small towns and cities outside of national parks, major public lands, and other natural amenities throughout the western United States attract tourists and new residents from all over the world because of the quality of life and unique experiences they provide.  It is therefore not surprising that such gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities—including places such as Jackson, Wyoming, and Moab, Utah—are becoming increasingly popular places live and visit.  This Pecha Kucha presentation will illustrate some of the planning and transportation challenges these communities face which we learned about from in-depth case studies and a national questionnaire. 
• Transportation Experiences Among Former Offenders: Informing a Facility Location Intervention
  Anne Nordberg, University of Texas at Arlington
  Inmates released from detention face a patchwork of logistical hurdles including court-mandated obligations, scarce resources, and mental health services. Transportation networks and services provide the mobility necessary for this population to successfully re-enter society. With a “bottom-up” approach, we reviewed offender experiences of transportation and housing during re-entry. The results will be discussed in relation to our larger project, developing a facility location problem for housing and services to minimize the average travel time.
• Using Gamification to Provide Transport Behavior Incentives
  Scott Kuznicki, Modern Traffic Consultants
  Current efforts to drive modal change often fail to meet expectations due to a lack of interest and participation from road users.  Punitive measures such as congestion pricing drive dissent more than cooperation, limiting the usefulness of such schemes.  Gamification, on the other hand, has been proven to engage users and drive participation if tied to rewards.  Using a gameplay-based platform, coupled with a system of points, would allow transport agencies to display the contrast between modes related to external costs not typically considered by users, excite users with the prospect of being rewarded for offsetting those costs through choice, and provide high-value incentives without expending precious transportation revenue.
• Virginia, Have Your Diets Worked?
  Peter Ohlms, Virginia Transportation Research Council
  Although Virginia has some of the nation’s leading (and award-winning) examples of road diets, public opposition continues to emerge when localities propose new Complete Streets retrofits. Will more data help? 

2019 STUDENT POSTER DESIGN COMPETITION
We will be hosting our annual Student Poster Design Competition which will highlight the innovative thinking coming out of transportation students. Student Poster Presenters from NITC-funded* universities are eligible for a chance to win a cash prize (and, the glory). Poster submissions are now closed.

SPONSORS OF THE NEXT GENERATION
Thank you to the Student Poster sponsors Ride Report and Jacobs Engineering for supporting this program. Interested in sponsoring the Student Poster Design Competition? Contact Cait McCusker at cmccusker@pdx.edu.

STUDENT POSTERS AT TCS 2019

• Gabby Abou-Zeid, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering, Portland State University
  Walkability in Tucson, AZ
• Jobaidul Alam Boni, Graduate Research Assistant and Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  Evaluating Startup Loss Time of Signalized Intersection Due to Technology Induced Driving Behavior
• Sandeep Chandrasekhar, Master of Science Sports Product Design, University of Oregon
  Head SPAAS Helmet: Safety. Security. Accessibility
• Matt Dixon, Graduate Research Assistant / Candidate, Master of Real Estate Development, University of Arizona
  Good, Bad, and Ugly: Transit Station Accessibility and Commercial Real Estate Rents
• Robert Hibberd, Graduate Research Assistant, Doctoral Student, University of Arizona
  Functional Form in Hedonic Regression: Determining the End of Significance of Transit Proximity Effects on Property Value Uplift
• Shirin Kamali Rad, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  Role of Transportation and Land Use to Health Outcomes in US Metropolitan Areas:  Associations between Transportation, Air Quality and Health
• Abolfazl Karimpour, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona
  Speed Enforcement Strategy for Mixed Traffic Conditions: Analysis of Behavioral Effects and Drivers' Compliance
• Katherine Keeling, Civil Engineering, Portland State University
  Evaluation of Bus-Bicycle and Bus/Right-Turn Traffic Delays and Conflicts
• Sheida Khademi, Graduate Research Assistant/ Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  Housing Assignment to improve community health & safety
• Xiaobo Ma, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona
  Statistical Evaluation of Data Requirement for Ramp Metering Performance Assessment: A Case Study of SR-51, Arizona
• Karen Mason, Master of Community and Regional Planning Candidate, University of Oregon
  E-Scooters in Eugene, Oregon: Recommendations for Regulations
• December Maxwell, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  Healthcare Access and Social Engagement among Older Minority Adults: Experiences of Navigating Transportation Barriers 
• Michael McQueen, MS Civil Engineering Candidate, Graduate Research Assistant, Portland State University
  How E-Bike Incentive Programs are Used to Expand the Market
• Farah Naz, Ph.D. Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  A comparative analysis of paratransit and on-demand ridesharing: riders and their travel pattern 
• Sabina Roan, Master of Urban and Regional Planning Candidate, Portland State University
  Ready Streets: Human Powered Mobility in the Post-earthquake Recovery Period
• Catherine Rohan, Master of Community and Regional Planning Candidate, University of Oregon
  Planning for New Mobility in Gresham, Oregon
• Sarah Robinson, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington
  Solving Transportation Inequities Through Car-Share and Ride-Share Programs: Provider Perspectives
• Kelly Rodgers, PhD Student, Portland State University
  Paradigm conflicts implementing Vision Zero in the 2018 Portland Regional Transportation Plan 
• Afshin Shamsshooli, Doctoral Candidate, University of Texas at Arlington
  Adaptive-optical-comb-enabled integrated multi-species gas analysis platform
• Kate Wihtol, Master of Urban and Regional Planning Graduate, Portland State University
  Living Streets: A pathway toward inclusive, equitable, and accessible pedestrian streets
• Huajie Yang, Graduate Research Assistant, Portland State University
  Effects of light rail transit on transit ridership and traffic congestion at the regional level

2017 STUDENT POSTER WINNERS
We took a year off from the competition in 2018, but here are the winning designs from 2017:

1. Sirwan Shahooei, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Arlington
   Operation Design and Demand Estimation of a Public Transit System for City of Arlington
2. Abolfazl Karimpour, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona
   Short-Term Truck Travel Time Prediction Using a Robust Hybrid Model
3. Sheida Khademi, Graduate Student, University of Texas at Arlington
   Public Health Performance Measures and Their Role in the Regional Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process

*The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) is a U.S. DOT funded program and a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah, University of Arizona, and University of Texas at Arlington.