Transportation Livability Hub

Comparing Active Transportation Approaches in China and Europe

In the last of the livability seminar series, OTREC's visiting scholars program welcomed Shawn Turner from the Texas Transportation Institute. Shawn's research spans the gamut of intelligent transportation systems data to bicycle and pedestrian issues.  Most recently, Shawn participated in the International Scan on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility.  His presentation compared his experiences on the scan in Europe to those in China.  During his presentation, he posed three challenges to Oregon:

• How does active transportation contribute to economic development?
• What is the tipping point for behavior and behavioral change?
• Can vanity play a role in social acceptance?

His presentation was followed by a discussion with local agencies, faculty, students and partners along with a 10-mile tour of innovative bike infrastructure in Portland.  Thank goodness the weather held up!

Rick Willson on Transit Oriented Development 2.0

As a part of OTREC's visiting scholars program, Professor Rick Willson from Cal Poly Pomona presented on the the next generation of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) on February 12.  In a nutshell, TOD is "the intersection of good transit planning and good development planning."  The initial implementation of TOD in California focused on vertical mixed development, fixed rail and property within a quarter mile.  It was a good step in the right direction of creating more livable and sustainable communities.  However, it had some shortcomings such as using cheap right of way, dispersed origin-destination, and counter incentives. New legislation in California and other states focused on vehicle-miles traveled greenhouse gas emissions reduction provides an opportunity to update TOD to use the lessons learned and improve on some shortcomings.  If you missed Prof. Willson's recent seminar, you can view the streaming video and access presentation online. (Image Credit: Rick Willson)