Research Projects | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Equity in Travel Behavior

Principal Investigator: Anne Brown

Shared mobility—including bikeshare, scooters, and ride-hail—offer a critical opportunity for transportation professionals. This project will develop five distinct curriculum resources to engage students in key equity considerations and questions ... 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

Using Maps and Online Tools to Operationalize Equity in Shared Mobility Services

Principal Investigator: Amanda Howell

Co-Investigator: Anne Brown

This project translates research into practice through developing two practitioner-ready tools using findings from NITC project #1401 “Mobility for the People: Evaluating Equity Requirements in Shared Mobility Programs”. In “Mobility for the Pe ... 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

Statistical Inference for Multimodal Travel Time Reliability

Principal Investigator: Avinash Unnikrishnan

Co-Investigators: Miguel Andres Figliozzi , Subhash Kochar

Travel time reliability – or the consistency and dependability of travel times from day to day, and at different times of day – is a key metric that significantly affects people’s travel behavior. Since businesses rely heavily on transportation ... Read More

New Mobility For All: Can Targeted Information And Incentives Help Underserved Communities Realize The Potential Of Emerging Mobility Options?

Principal Investigator: Nathan McNeil

Co-Investigator: John MacArthur

Low-income residents, immigrants, seniors, and people with disabilities – these are people who stand to gain the most from new tools and services that reduce transportation costs and travel time. However, issues of affordability, technology adoptio ... Read More

Assessing Economic Impact of Disaster-Induced Transportation Disruptions Using A University Community Partnership Framework

Principal Investigator: Divya Chandrasekhar

Transportation systems play a critical role in maintaining supply chains for effective post-disaster recovery. The March 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns coincided with a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in Salt Lake City, Utah, resulting in supply chain disruptions ... Read More

GIS Training in Transportation And Environmental Justice for Promoting Student Success in STEAM Education

Principal Investigator: Joowon Im

Co-Investigator: Alan Klein

Transportation can have a significant impact on vulnerable ecologies, especially in rapidly urbanizing regions such as Dallas/Fort Worth. In order for future professionals to balance the needs of sensitive environments with the mobility of people and ... Read More

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

Principal Investigator: Kate Hyun

Co-Investigators: Caroline Krejci , Kathy Lee

As we get older, transportation provides a vital link between home and community. Without reliable and easy ways to get around, many older adults (especially those who live alone) have limited access to essentials like groceries and medicine, let alo ... Read More