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
How does transportation affordability vary between TODs, TADs, and other areas
Brenda Scheer Reid Ewing
Transit-oriented development, or TOD, could be the “poster child” for sustainable urban development. It concentrates land uses, including commercial and multi-family housing, near transit stations so as to reduce car dependency and increase ridership. The benefits are manifold; increased community health, positive economic impacts, less harm to the environment and potentially greater social equity.
But what about affordability? In exchange for all these benefits, do TOD residents spend more…
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Reducing VMT, Encouraging Walk Trips, and Facilitating Efficient Trip Chains through Polycentric Development
Reid Ewing
A "polycentric" region is a network of compact developments (centers) that are connected with each other through high-quality transportation options. As the antidote to sprawling suburbs, compact centers can encourage all the things that sprawl discourages: public health, environmental sustainability, social cohesion, and economic diversity. But how can metropolitan planning organizations ensure that their regional plans will actually meet these goals?
Polycentric development has been…
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