Community and
Regional Planning 445/545:
Transportation Policy Planning, Fall 2007
Time: 3:40-5:00 PM Tuesday and Thursday,
Location: 130 College of Design
Instructor: David Plazak, CTRE, Phone:
296-0814 or 294-8103
E-mail: dplazak@iastate.edu
Office Hours: Immediately before class, or by
appointment at CTRE (ISU Research Park Building 4) or
Class Web
Site: http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/crp445/
Class FTP
Site: ftp://www.ctre.iastate.edu/
Username: ctreftp Password:
ftpctre Folder:
CRP 445 545
Course
Description: Transportation
policy decisions should be based on their outcomes (e.g. safety, reduced costs
for users, economic prosperity, quality of life, “environmental justice”, and
environmental quality.) Policy and planning decisions should 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.
Grading:
·
Mid-Term Exam: 20%
·
Class attendance and participation: 10% (mainly based on quality and quantity of
class participation)
·
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.)
·
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)
Notes: Graduate students enrolled in the class will be expected to prepare and present a considerably 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. These discussions will be based on the five issue papers/literature reviews.
Distance learning students enrolled in the class will have their attendance and participation grade based upon e-mail and other interaction with the instructor.
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.
They 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.
The
Vuchic book is relatively inexpensive, so you should
try to purchase it. Both books will be put on reserve. These two textbooks’
authors have very different views of what transportation policy should be in
the
Other readings will be assigned as appropriate. They will either be on the World Wide Web, handed out in class, or put on reserve.
|
Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
1 |
Course
goals and overview |
Introduction
to transportation policy analysis |
|
2 |
Actors
and markets in transportation |
Paying
for transportation |
|
3 |
Transportation
safety I |
Transportation
safety II |
|
4 |
Transportation
safety III |
Transportation
safety IV |
|
5 |
Environmental
quality I |
Environmental
quality II |
|
6 |
Environmental
quality III |
Environmental
quality IV |
|
7 |
International
transportation policies |
Mid-term
examination |
|
8 |
Economic
impacts I |
Economic
impacts II |
|
9 |
Economic
impacts III |
Economic
impacts IV |
|
10 |
Quality
of life I |
Quality
of life II |
|
11 |
Quality
of life III |
Equity
and environmental justice I |
|
12 |
Equity
and environmental justice II |
Transportation
security |
|
13 |
Focus
on freight |
Transportation
in the future |
|
14 |
Student
final presentations I |
Student
final presentations II |
|
15 |
Student
final presentations III |
Student
final presentations IV |
Textbook Chapters and Other
|
|
Week
1 G1-2; G14-16; and V1-2 |
|
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) |
(Microsoft Power Point Files; some of these files are very large due to the inclusion of illustrations.)
Introduction
to transportation policy analysis
Actors
and markets in transportation
Paying
for transportation: transportation finance
Transportation
safety: overview
Transportation
safety: vehicles and operators
Transportation
safety: guideways
Transportation safety: high crash locations and safety analysis
Environmental quality: energy use and efficiency
Environmental quality: air pollution
Environmental
quality: global environmental issues and environmental impact models
International transportation system and policy
comparisons
Economic impact and development: benefit/cost and overall
concepts
Economic impact and development: transportation investments
and economic development
Economic impact and development: analytical tools
Economic impact and development: asset management concepts
and GASB 34
Quality of life: transportation and land use interactions,
including congestion
Quality of life: curing congestion, including through
congestion pricing
Quality of life: transportation design implications in the
quest for quality of life
Equity
and environmental justice: equity concepts and impact assessment
Equity and environmental justice: equity of service
Focus
on freight transportation
Future
transportation policy issues and trends
National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB)
Investigates major transportation
accidents, e.g. airline crashes, and issues recommendations.
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA)
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)
A unit of the US Department
of Transportation concerned with funding highways and improving highway safety.
Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety (IIHS)
Organization funded by the insurance industry that promotes highway safety and that provides consumer information.
A consortium of agencies in
Membership organization web
site that contains information on various highway safety issues, including red
light running, traffic calming, and road safety audits.
US
Environmental Protection Agency
Noise Pollution Clearinghouse
The Center for Transportation
Research and Education’s GASB 34 web site
Texas
Transportation Institute’s (TTI) 2001 Urban Mobility Study
Walkable
Communities, Inc.
http://www.walkablecommunities.org
US
Department of Transportation Environmental Justice Web Site
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ej2.htm