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

The Effects of Commuter Rail on Population Deconcentration and Commuting: A Salt Lake City Case Study

Joanna Ganning
The Wasatch Front is a rapidly growing metropolitan area situated in a region with natural features that extraordinarily limit growth. The Wasatch Front Mountains constrain growth on one side while the Great Salt Lake and the Oquirrh mountains constrain the other. Among the nation’s worst winter inversions occur along the Wasatch Front, whereby high-pressure weather systems trap the air, and all the pollution added by humans, in the valley. The inversions produce red air quality days and… Read More

Improving Trip Generation Methods for Livable Communities

Kelly Clifton Nico Larco
This NITC report offers a multimodal framework for transportation impact analysis – a welcome tool for professionals in many cities seeking more detailed data about non-drivers. Headed by Kelly Clifton of Portland State University and Nico Larco of the University of Oregon, this project is the latest effort in an ongoing collaboration to create more open sourced, widely available data about non-motorized road users. Over the last decades, cities have become more invested in fostering the… Read More