Research Projects | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Rural Gentrification and the Spillover Effect: Integrated Transportation, Housing, and Land Use Challenges and Strategies in Gateway Communities

Principal Investigator: Danya Rumore

Co-Investigator: Philip Stoker

Small towns and cities near national parks, public lands, and other natural amenities throughout the west are experiencing rapid growth and increased visitation. These “gateway communities” comprise a significant portion of the rural west, consti ... Read More

Housing Choice, Transportation Equity, and Access to Opportunities in Refugee and Immigrant Communities

Principal Investigator: Diane Mitschke

Co-Investigators: Anne Nordberg , Stephen Mattingly

Mobility directly impacts access to opportunities for all protected classes; however, transportation planning and public transit agencies and housing authorities rarely coordinate affordable housing and the transportation system planning decisions. T ... Read More

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

Exploring the Use of Crowdsourced Data Sources for Pedestrian Count Estimations

Principal Investigator: Sirisha Kothuri

Co-Investigators: Nathan McNeil , Kate Hyun , Stephen Mattingly

Counts provide the foundation for measuring nonmotorized travel along a link or a network and are also useful for monitoring trends, planning new infrastructure, and for conducting safety, health, and economic analyses. For safety analysis, they are ... Read More

Transportation for Seniors (T4S): Developing a New Accessibility Measure to Support Older Adults in a Post-Pandemic World

Principal Investigator: Andy Hong

Co-Investigator: Xiaoyue Liu

Accessibility plays a fundamental role in the day-to-day lives of individuals. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gross inequality in older people’s accessibility to health care and essential services. Months of staying inside, with ... 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

Developing Data and Solution Focused Approaches to Support Homeless Populations on Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)

Principal Investigator: Anne Nordberg

Co-Investigators: Jaya Davis , Stephen Mattingly

People experiencing homelessness frequently rely on public transit systems and facilities as more than a mode of transportation to needed services but also as safe shelters from weather and danger. This is a challenge for many transit agencies and im ... Read More

Toward Automating the Measurement of Urban Design Qualities Related to Walkability

Principal Investigator: Seyed Hassan Ameli

Streets are one of the most significant elements of urban spaces to accommodate public activity and provide access to numerous locations and services. Today, our cities face various challenges, including urban sprawl, air pollution, and obesity. To ... Read More

Developing Strategies To Enhance Mobility And Accessibility For Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Principal Investigator: Kate Hyun

Co-Investigators: Caroline Krejci , Kathy Lee

Transportation is essential for older adults not only to provide a social link between home and community but also to enable access to living essentials, such as groceries and medicine. This study seeks to understand transportation access, opportunit ... Read More

Understanding the Mobility Impacts of Decentralizing Homeless Services in Salt Lake County, Utah

Principal Investigator: Sarah Canham

Co-Investigators: Ivis Garcia , Jeff Rose , Shannon Jones

In 2016, Salt Lake County, Utah initiated the transition of the delivery of homelessness services from a centralized homeless shelter and provider (The Road Home) to a decentralized model of shelter provision and service delivery through four Homeles ... Read More

Data-Driven Optimization for E-Scooter System Design

Principal Investigator: Jianqiang Cheng

The objective of this project is to develop data-driven, decision-making models and computational methods for shared-mobility system design and operation. Specifically, we will use shared e-scooters as a representative system, with the ultimate goal ... Read More

Using Social Network Analysis To Optimize Access To Culturally Responsive And Affordable Transportation For Older (Im)Migrants

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

261 Results