university of arizona | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Five "Small Starts" Transportation Projects Receive $100,000 in NITC Funding

Dec 04, 2019

Photo by Andrei Stanescu/iStock

Our National Institute for Transportation & Communities (NITC) research program has awarded grant funding for a new series of Small Starts projects.

The latest Small Starts Grant projects, evaluated by the NITC Advisory Board and selected by NITC's Executive Committee, will explore mobility impacts of construction workzones, transportation equity and barriers for low-income travelers, and the widespread impacts of emerging technologies like e-scooters and ride hailing.

This annual NITC funding program is a unique opportunity to tackle small-scale ($20,000 or less in scope) research projects. In contrast to our larger, annual flagship program ($30–150K), Small Starts enables us to include researchers who:

Bring a diverse, interdisciplinary perspective
Offer a new voice in the field, whether they’re untenured faculty or a researcher who has not received a NITC grant before
Want to kick-start a larger project by first tackling an exploratory study smaller in scope

THE...

Economic and Development Benefits of Fixed Route Transit through Denser Housing: A National Assessment

Nov 06, 2019

Photo by tupungato

Updating and Expanding LRT/BRT/SCT/CRT Data and Analysis

Arthur C. Nelson, University of Arizona

Download the Final Report (PDF)
Download the Project Brief (PDF)
Access the Nationwide Worker Data Repository to Analyze Transit Outcomes and its companion guide (2018 Edition, updated dataset to be published in November 2019 - email us at asktrec@pdx.edu to be notified)

Building upon...

Julian Griffee next to a photo of e-scooter users in a green bike lane

Student Spotlight: Julian Griffee, University of Arizona

Oct 25, 2019

Julian Griffee is a second-year masters student in urban and regional planning at the University of Arizona and a 2020 TRB Minority Student Fellow. He has worked as a planner, volunteered with the Peace Corps in Albania, and worked on bicycle and pedestrian transportation. He is currently a Climate Adaptation Outreach Assistant for the City of Tucson, Arizona.

Tell us about yourself?

My name is Julian Griffee, a current 2nd year M.S. Urban Planning Candidate and Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Fellow at the University of Arizona. Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, I received my B.S. in Geography with a concentration in land use planning from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Professionally, I have worked as a Planner I, have embarked on a Peace Corps service as an Urban and Regional Planning Volunteer to Albania, have interned within the City of Tucson Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Program as well as the Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization in North Carolina, and now I am working with the City of Tucson’s Planning and Development Services Department where I research climate adaptation policies. During my time with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, I assisted in the development...

A view of the ballroom with attendees eating lunch during the Summit keynote

Another Year, Another Summit! Prioritizing Housing, Multimodal Data, and Access to Active Mobility

Oct 09, 2019

The 11th annual Transportation and Communities Summit 2019, held at Portland State University (PSU) on September 19–20, drew attendees from 14 states across the U.S. Over 250 people joined us for the Summit day, and nearly 60 took part in the deep-dive workshop day. We hope the event offered new opportunities for collaboration and synergy between researchers, practitioners, and community members.

Peter DeFazio, the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district, kicked off the day with a video welcome message for the summit attendees, followed on the main stage by TREC director and urban planning faculty Jennifer Dill.

At lunchtime Ben Wellington, the data storyteller behind the popular quantitative analysis blog...

An aerial view of a multifamily housing complex next to a road

The Advantages and Limitations of Land Use Codes for Multifamily Housing Trip Generation

Jul 10, 2019

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Multimodal Trip Generation, Vehicle Ownership and Use: Characterizing The Travel Patterns of Residents of Multifamily Housing

Kelly Clifton, Portland State University

Many cities are reconsidering their reliance on ITE's Trip Generation Manual, now in its 10th edition.

Kelly Clifton, TREC researcher and associate dean for research of Portland State University's Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, is one of the people leading the charge to identify better, more nuanced ways to anticipate transportation demand; especially person (non-car) trips. In an extended series of TREC projects, Clifton and...

Over $1M in Research Funding for New Projects on Micromobility, TOD’s, and Equity in Transportation Access

Jul 10, 2019

The National Institute for Transportation & Communities (NITC) research consortium, led by Portland State University, has awarded $1.035 million in total funding for ten research projects spanning five universities. This year we focused funding on micromobility, traffic, meeting the transportation needs of underserved populations and people with disabilities, and the intersection of transportation and housing.

Is Transit-Oriented Development Affordable for Low and Moderate Income Households (in terms of H+T)?

Led by Reid Ewing of the University of Utah, Nicole Iroz-Elardo and Arlie Adkins of the University of Arizona

Data-Driven Mobility Strategies for Multi-Modal Transportation

Led by Yao-Jan Wu of the University of Arizona, Xianfeng Yang of the University of Utah and Sirisha Kothuri of Portland State University

This multi-university collaboration builds upon previous research led by Yao-Jan Wu in multi-modal traffic monitoring, as well as...

Cars line up to enter Zion National Park

Small Towns with Big City Problems: Mobility Challenges and Solutions in Our Natural Areas

Jun 05, 2019

Photo by kellyvandellen

Planning In Gateway And Amenity Communities: Understanding Unique Challenges Associated With Transportation, Mobility, And Access To Opportunity

Danya Rumore, University of Utah; Philip Stoker, University of Arizona

Western North America boasts an...

NITC Student Spotlight: Adrian Cottam of University of Arizona

Student Spotlight: Adrian Cottam, University of Arizona

May 01, 2019

Adrian Cottam, University of Arizona

Adrian Cottam is a second year masters student in civil engineering at the University of Arizona. He is a graduate research assistant in the Smart Transportation Lab working under NITC researcher Yao-Jan Wu, and is also an officer in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) University of Arizona student chapter.

Tell us about yourself?

My name is Adrian Cottam and I am 22 years old. I was born in Tucson, Arizona and have lived there almost my whole life. I was homeschooled for my entire schooling up through high school, which I graduated from at 16 years old. I received my associates degree from Pima Community College in 2016, and continued on to receive my bachelors of science from the University of Arizona in 2018. I am now finishing up my masters degree in Transportation Engineering in May 2019 at the University of Arizona, where I have already started on my Ph.D. When I’m not in the lab I like to go hiking and hang out with friends, or travel. I love to travel, and I have visited 6 other countries so far.

What (or who) has influenced your career path in transportation?

I have always been passionate about STEM...

Pedestrians cross near a light rail amid mixed-use development

NITC Invites Submissions for 2019 General Research RFP

Mar 05, 2019

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) program has released its 2019 general research request for proposals. Faculty at NITC's partner universities* are invited to submit abstracts by March 29, 2019.

Through funding provided by the U.S. DOT, we will award up to $1,000,000 to research projects that support NITC’s theme: improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities. Our theme includes a few key topics:

Increasing access to opportunities
Improving multi-modal planning and shared use of infrastructure
Advancing innovation and smart cities
Developing data, models, and tools

2019 RESEARCH PRIORITIES

The NITC Advisory Board has provided input into several research priorities that relate to multimodal transportation data and the transportation-land use-housing connection. NITC is prioritizing the funding of proposals that directly addresses research questions related to:

Developing Data, Models and Tools. Agencies are confronting a plethora of new mobility options along with new data sources to support transportation research, planning, and analysis. Several priority research areas have been identified to increase understanding:

Collection of multimodal...

Student Plans to Improve Communities Through Transportation

Feb 21, 2019

THE...

2019 RESEARCH PRIORITIES

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