Research Projects | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Assessing Cool Corridor Heat Resilience Strategies for Human-Scale Transportation

Principal Investigator: Ladd Keith

Co-Investigators: 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 ... Read More

Sustaining Multimodal Choices: Examining Travel Behavior for Non-work Trips Beyond COVID-19

Principal Investigator: Yizhao Yang

Co-Investigator: Rebecca Lewis

Abstract Travel by sustainable modes such as public transit, biking, and walking provides positive outcomes for urban residents for the environment and health. Integrating these mode choices into regular travel trips has been challenging for many Am ... Read More

Toward Data and Solution-Focused Approaches to Support Homeless Populations on Public Transit

Principal Investigator: Anne Nordberg

Co-Investigators: Jaya Davis , Stephen Mattingly

No matter where you live, but especially if you live in a big city, you have likely seen people experiencing homelessness (PEH) using public transportation services. PEH use public transportation not only to get from place to place but also as shelte ... Read More

The use and influence of health indicators in transportation decision-making

Principal Investigator: Kelly Rodgers

As a social determinant of health, transportation significantly contributes to well-being through several pathways. Researchers and practitioners have called for health indicators as one way to integrate public health concerns into transportation dec ... Read More

Access to Opportunities: Redefining Planning Methods and Measures for Disadvantaged Populations

Principal Investigator: Arlie Adkins

Co-Investigator: Stephen Mattingly

This project will be made up of two separate studies that together will investigate areas where transportation planning and engineering can better serve disadvantaged and underserved communities. An interdisciplinary team of planning and public healt ... Read More

Integrate Socioeconomic Vulnerability for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Planning

Principal Investigator: Liming Wang

Co-Investigators: John MacArthur , Yu Xiao

This research project develops a novel methodology for assessing transportation network vulnerability and resilience, with a particular focus on incorporating social vulnerability into the analysis. The study addresses a critical gap in existing rese ... Read More

How Can E-bike Purchase Incentives Grow the E-bike Market?

Principal Investigator: John MacArthur

Co-Investigators: Christopher Cherry , Luke Jones

The electric bicycle (e-bike) is a low-emission mode of transportation that offers communities benefits in the areas of health, planning, time, cost, street safety, congestion, air pollution, noise pollution, and energy security, among others. Despit ... Read More

Pedestrian Wayfinding Under Consideration of Visual Impairment, Blindness, and Deafblindness: A Mixed-Method Investigation Into Individual Experiences and Supporting Elements

Principal Investigator: Martin Swobodzinski

Co-Investigator: Amy Parker

Navigating an unfamiliar place is uniquely challenging for people with disabilities. People with blindness, deafblindness, visual impairment or low vision, as well as those who use wheelchairs, can travel more independently in urban areas with the ai ... Read More

Pedestrian Behavior Study to Advance Pedestrian Safety in Smart Transportation Systems Using Innovative LIDAR Sensors

Principal Investigator: Taylor Li

Co-Investigators: Sirisha Kothuri , Xianfeng (Terry) Yang

Pedestrian safety is critical to improving walkability in cities. To that end, NITC researchers have developed a system for collecting pedestrian behavior data using LiDAR sensors. Tested at two intersections in Texas and soon to be tested at another ... Read More

Marginalized Populations’ Access to Transit: Journeys from Home and Work to Transit

Principal Investigator: Marisa Zapata

Co-Investigators: Ivis Garcia , Amy Lubitow , Miriam Abelson

Previous scholarship has shown that low-income individuals who also might identify as racial, ethnic, and gender minorities (such as transgender and gender nonconforming) are more likely to be dependent on public transportation. What remains understu ... Read More

Accessing Opportunities for Household Provisioning Post-COVID-19

Principal Investigator: Kelly Clifton

Co-Investigators: Kristina Currans , Amanda Howell

When the COVID-19 pandemic first swept across North America and led to emergency shutdowns during the spring of 2020, the way people acquired food and household necessities was dramatically impacted. As stay-at-home orders minimized personal travel, ... Read More

Transportation Behavior Among Older Vietnamese Immigrants in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Principal Investigator: Rebecca Mauldin

Co-Investigators: Stephen Mattingly , Rupal Parekh

Nearly 4.6 million immigrants age 65 years and older live in the United States. This population is expected to more than triple in size by 2050. A lack of culturally appropriate transportation solutions for older immigrants and migrants (i.e., (im)m ... Read More

266 Results