Syllabus
Community
and Regional Planning 445/545
Transportation
Policy Planning, Fall 2009
Time: 3:40-5:00
PM Tuesday and Thursday
Location:
130 College of Design
Instructor: Phil Mescher, AICP
Office of Systems Planning
Iowa Department of
Transportation
E-mail: pmescher@iastate.edu
Phone: 239-1629
Office Hours: Immediately
before/after class.
By appointment 352 or 380 Town
Engineering
Class Web Site: http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/crp445/
Class
FTP Site: ftp://www.ctre.iastate.edu
Username:
crp445
Password:
crp445
Course Description: Transportation policy decisions should be
based on their outcomes (e.g. increased safety, reduced costs for users,
economic prosperity, quality of life, “environmental justice”,
and environmental quality.) Policy and planning decisions should also be based
on valid and current information and the use of appropriate management
information systems and analytical tools. This course will introduce a number
of transportation policy topics and the tools necessary to perform policy
analysis. Students will be required to complete a semester project involving a current
transportation policy issue and apply some of the tools and techniques covered
in the course. The focus of the course will be on policy analysis at the state
and metropolitan levels, mainly from a public sector perspective. Discussion on
many current transportation related news topics is encouraged!
Grading:
• Mid-Term Exam:
20%
• Class
attendance and participation: 10%
(mainly based on quality and quantity of class participation/discussion and
weekly Hot Topics assignments.) *
• Five short
issue papers/literature reviews (2-3 pages): 25%
(5% each--one issue paper will be required
for each of the major issue categories covered during the course.) (Graduate students will do a brief
presentation to the class on each of their papers.)
• Final class
term paper/formal presentation: 30%
(Term papers and presentations may be done
individually or in teams of two students; more will be expected of teams than
of individuals)
• Final Exam: 15% (comprehensive)
Distance learning students enrolled in the
class will have their attendance and participation grade based upon e-mail and
other interaction with the instructor.
Weekly HOT TOPICS
*As part of the class participation grade
each student is required to identify a “hot transportation policy topic” in the
news and write a brief description of the topic as well as your thoughts on the
issue. A couple of short paragraphs will do just fine. These are due at the
beginning of class each Tuesday, except for exam dates and holidays. We will
likely discuss many of these during class.
Note: Graduate students enrolled in the class will be expected
to prepare and present a more extensive and thorough term paper than
undergraduates and to produce higher quality issue papers. They will also be
expected to lead discussions on transportation policy issues at times during
the semester.
Schedule, Textbooks and
The class schedule by week is shown in the
first table below. Generally, the course is organized as a set of classes that
cover a major topic. The last two weeks of class will involve 15-20 minute presentations
by individual students or teams of two (teams larger than two persons will not
be allowed). Both exams will be short answer/short essay format and the final
will be comprehensive. The exams will
stress understanding concepts rather than memorizing facts. Questions about
student final presentations will be included on the final. Questions from the
readings will appear on both exams.
There will be three textbooks for the
course. They are:
• William L. Garrison and Jerry D. Ward, “Tomorrow’s
Transportation: Changing Cities, Economies,
and Lives”, Artech House, 2000.
• Vukan R. Vuchic, “Transportation for Livable Cities”,
Center for Urban Policy Research Press,
• Edward Weiner, “Urban Transportation Planning In the
Overview”, US Department of Transportation, 1997. (PDF on class web site)
The Vuchic book is relatively inexpensive,
so you should try to purchase it. Both books will be placed on reserve. These
two textbooks’ authors have very different views of what transportation policy
should be in the
“V”. We’ll read them both in their entirety.
The Vuchic book will be read in order, but we’ll skip around a good deal in the
Garrison book. The Weiner book will be used mainly at the beginning of the
class for historical background.
Other readings will be assigned as
appropriate. They will either be on the Internet, handed out in class, or put
on reserve.
Class Schedule by Week:
|
Date |
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
8/24 |
1 |
Course goals and overview |
Introduction to transportation policy
analysis |
|
8/31 |
2 |
Actors and markets in transportation |
Paying for transportation Class Postponed due to Athletic Event |
|
9/07 |
3 |
Transportation safety I |
Transportation safety II |
|
9/14 |
4 |
Transportation safety III |
Transportation safety IV (Paper Topics
Due) |
|
9/21 |
5 |
Environmental quality I * |
Environmental quality II |
|
9/28 |
6 |
Environmental quality III |
Environmental quality IV |
|
10/5 |
7 |
International transportation policies ** |
Mid-term examination |
|
10/12 |
8 |
Economic impacts I |
Economic impacts II |
|
10/19 |
9 |
Economic impacts III |
Economic impacts IV |
|
10/26 |
10 |
Quality of life I |
Quality of life II *** |
|
11/02 |
11 |
Quality of life III |
Finish Quality
of Life |
|
11/09 |
12 |
Equity and environmental justice I |
Equity and environmental justice II |
|
11/16 |
13 |
Transportation security |
Focus on freight - Transportation in the
future**** |
|
11/23 |
|
Thanksgiving |
Thanksgiving |
|
11/30 |
14 |
Student final presentations |
Student final presentations |
|
12/07 |
15 |
Student final presentations |
Final Review ***** Final Paper Due!!! |
|
12/14 |
16 |
Final
Exam Week |
Final
Exam Week |
* Issue Paper 1 Due
** Issue Paper 2 Due
*** Issue Paper 3 Due
**** Issue Paper 4 Due
***** Issue Paper 5 Due
|
Textbook
Chapters and Other |
|
Week 1 G1-2; G14-16; and V1-2; Weiner |
|
Week 2 G8 and V3-4 |
|
Week 3 Safety readings to be assigned |
|
Week 4 Safety readings to be assigned |
|
Week 5 G13 |
|
Week 6 Environmental quality readings to
be assigned |
|
Week 7 None (Exam) |
|
Week 8 Economic impact readings to be
assigned |
|
Week 9 Economic impact readings to be assigned |
|
Week 10 G3-7 and V5-6 |
|
Week 11 G9-12 |
|
Week 12 Equity and environmental justice
readings to be assigned |
|
Week 13 G17-25 and V7-8 |
|
Week 14 None (Student Presentations) |
|
Week 15 None (Student Presentations) |
Lecture Overheads (On Class Web Site)
(Microsoft Power Point Files; some of
these files are very large due to the inclusion of illustrations. Some lectures
on safety and the environment have been removed to save web server space.)
• Week 1
Course goals and overview
Introduction to transportation policy
analysis
• Week 2
Actors and markets in transportation
Paying for transportation: transportation
finance
• Week 3
Transportation safety: overview
Transportation safety: guideways
• Week 4
Transportation safety: vehicles
Transportation safety: human factors,
analysis models, and data
• Week 5
Environmental quality: energy use and
efficiency
Environmental quality: air pollution
• Week 6
Environmental quality: noise
Environmental quality: global environmental issues and
environmental impact models
• Week 7
International transportation system and
policy comparisons
Mid-Term Examination
• Week 8
Economic impact and development: how
transportation relates to economic and land development
Economic impact and development: economic
impacts of transportation operations and
investments
• Week 9
Economic impact and development:
benefit/cost analysis and other analysis models
Economic impact and development: asset
management concepts
• Week 10
Quality of life: transportation and land
use interactions, including congestion
Quality of life: “smart growth”,
neo-traditional communities, and transportation
• Week 11
Quality of life: transportation design
implications in the quest for quality of life
Equity and environmental justice: equity concepts and
impact assessment
• Week 12
Equity and environmental justice: equity
of service
Transportation security
• Week 13
Focus on freight transportation
Future transportation policy issues and trends
Web Links Mentioned In Class for
Transportation Safety Web Sites
National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB)
http://www.ntsb.gov/
Investigates major transportation
accidents, e.g. airline crashes, and issues recommendations.
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
An agency within the US Department of
Transportation that regulates motor vehicle safety and that provides safety
information for consumers.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/fars.html
Web site that allows queries of a database
of fatal highway crashes in the
Federal Highway Administration’s Safety
Programs (FHWA)
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/
A unit of the US Department of
Transportation concerned with funding highways and improving highway safety.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
(IIHS)
http://www.hwysafety.org/
Organization funded by the insurance
industry that promotes highway safety and that provides consumer information.
http://www.iowasms.org/
A consortium of agencies in
http://www.ite.org/
Membership organization web site that
contains information on various highway safety issues, including red light
running, traffic calming, and road safety audits.
Transportation and the Environment Web
Sites
US Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov
Noise Pollution Clearinghouse
http://www.nonoise.org
Asset Management and GASB 34 Web Sites
The Center for Transportation Research and
Education’s GASB 34 Web Site
http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/gasb34/index.htm
Transportation and Quality of Life Web
Sites
Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI)
2001 Urban Mobility Study
http://mobility.tamu.edu/
Walkable Communities,
Inc.
http://www.walkablecommunities.org
Environmental Justice Web Sites
US Department of Transportation
Environmental Justice Web Site
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ej2.htm
Federal Transit Administration Welfare to
Work Web Site
http://www.fta.dot.gov/wtw/