TREC research addresses complex transportation problems by drawing on multiple disciplines, including engineering, planning, economics and design, from across the Portland State University campus. Use the search box at right to search for a specific project.
Research Highlights
Assessing Cool Corridor Heat Resilience Strategies for Human-Scale Transportation
Ladd Keith Nicole Iroz-Elardo , Kristina Currans
Road pavement is a known contributor to the urban heat island effect. Several vendors are providing engineered pavements coatings – known as “cool pavement” - to reflect light and therefore heat to reduce the thermal load of roads. The City of Tucson is planning a pilot application of a cool pavement in Fall 2021 as a part of its Parks and Connections Bond work; our team has been working with the city and vendor(s) to set up an evaluation framework of the cool pavement.
Few of these cool…
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Key Enhancements to the WFRC/MAG Four-Step Travel Demand Model
Reid Ewing Shima Hamidi
Conventional four-step travel demand modeling is overdue for a major update. The latest NITC report from the University of Utah offers planners better predictive accuracy through an improved model, allowing for much greater sensitivity to new variables that affect travel behavior. Specifically, it accounts for varying rates of vehicle ownership, intrazonal travel, and multimodal mode choices.
Used by nearly all metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), state departments of transportation,…
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