Organizational Unit:

School of City and Regional Planning

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/70772

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Organizational Unit

College of Design

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Organizational Unit

Eco Urban Lab

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https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1122

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 22

Sustainable Funding Mechanisms for Recreational Trails

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-03) Bray, Vincent Micah

Recreational trails are a crucial component of public infrastructure in communities across the United States, having significant social, environmental, and economic impacts in urban, suburban, and rural settings. In addition to benefits derived from recreation, trails also play an important role for commuters seeking alternative modes to motorized vehicles. Furthermore, recreational trails have provided communities with outdoor space to foster resiliency in the face of lockdowns and quarantines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite growing national importance, deficits in funding for operations and maintenance (O&M) have led to deferred maintenance backlogs that reduce the value added by recreational trails while worsening negative environmental impacts. This work proposes a value capture (VC) approach to funding trail O&M that dedicates state sales tax revenue generated from retail trade and food and accommodation services supported by recreational trails to trust funds that can be distributed to state and local trail managing entities. State-level estimates are generated using economic data from the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to estimate sales tax revenue from activities and industries supported by trails. VC estimates are further analyzed to assess the scale and stability of this funding approach before identifying methods for implementation of this approach. Findings of this study include: 1) total estimated state sales tax revenue of $10.64 billion in 2020 USD suggests that VC could greatly expand O&M funding for trails at the state level; 2) not all states may see growth in economic activity supported by recreational trails as demographic shifts occur between states; and 3) successful implementation of VC would likely require legislative protections to prevent reduction of appropriations or diversion of funds to other state accounts.
Cluster-based Delineation of Megaregions in the United States: Identifying administrative boundaries that reflect meta-communities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of government

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-05-04) Miller, Bryce Curtis

Coordination and collaboration through governance at meta-urban scales have the potential to significantly improve quality of life while reducing the bureaucratic burden on society. Megaregional research and delineation has largely focused on scholarly inquiry into specific relationships using narrow datasets or on private efforts to identify market opportunities with opaque analysis methods. This work aims to provide a megaregion delineation that is transparent, data diverse, and comprehensible to a degree that the resulting boundaries are well suited to administrative implementation. The process developed leverages a combination of cluster analysis and metropolitan planning organization locations to identify sub-regions that share morphological characteristics and functional relationships. Recommendations are made for subsequent research into four areas: new data sources, process refinements, applications for megaregional planning, and implementation principles for megaregional government.
Analyzing the difference between bike share trips made on regular and electric bicycles

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-09-11) Borsch, Adam

In 2017, JUMP Bicycle Company introduced dockless electric bicycles in several cities in the United States. Two of these cities were Austin, TX, and Atlanta, GA, both of which already had bikeshare companies operating with traditional non-electric bicycle fleets. This makeup of two unique sources of data for non-electric and electric bikeshare in these two cities presents a unique opportunity to study the difference between trips made on a pedal-assist bicycle and a standard bicycle that are a part of an urban bikeshare network. To conduct this work, the researchers collected three months of data in each of the cities and analyzed the data by comparing trip counts, mapping the origins and destinations and the routes of the trips, and finally analyzing the distance and other characteristics of the trips. The results of the study found an increase in the number of bikeshare trips taken in both cities, however, many of these new electric bicycle trips come at the expense of existing bikeshare trips. The geographic area covered by the trips increase greatly when electric bicycles trips are compared to regular bike trips in both cities, however, the average trip lengths stayed constant. Results suggest the introduction of electric bikeshares is a promising prospect to increase mobility and will need to be incorporated into transportation plans for cities moving forward.
What metropolitan-level factors affect Latino-owned business performance?

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11-07) Doyle, Jessica L. H.

An estimated 1.54 million Latinos are self-employed in unincorporated businesses, while the 2012 national Survey of Business Owners counted 3.3 million Latino-owned firms, with a total of $474 million in annual sales or receipts. This entrepreneurship is all the more remarkable given that Latinos traditionally begin their businesses with lower levels of personal capital and have historically had more difficulty obtaining formal startup capital from third parties such as banks or government agencies. While this observation holds true at the national level, different metropolitan areas may provide business environments more or less hospitable to Latino-owned businesses, due to such factors as industry mix, availability of financing, demographics, and local political expression of “welcoming” or anti-immigrant sentiment. This dissertation examines the question of what metropolitan-level factors affect Latino-owned business formation and performance. It finds that Latino entrepreneurs nationwide face persistent obstacles in the form of obtaining financing for both new and existing businesses, which can be addressed at the local level. However, certain concepts currently prominent in research about ethnic entrepreneurs, such as the makeup and geographic concentration of the “ethnic enclave” and the importance of prior history of immigrant settlement in the metropolitan area, may be less applicable to Latinos who come from a broader range of countries and settle in less dense metropolitan areas.
Investigating the potential of on-demand ride service and its impact on mode choice and accessibility

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-07-31) Wang, Fangru

The recent advancement in information technologies has facilitated the emergence and growth of travel modes like ride-sourcing, car-sharing, and bike-sharing, providing travelers with unprecedentedly broad travel options. The nature of these options will significantly affect the way how people travel and engage in activities, and therefore lead to transport network impacts. Ride-sourcing, referring to app-based on-demand ride service (ODRS), exhibits similar traits of traditional taxis but provides better real-time information and lowered cost compared to taxis. The fast growth of ride-sourcing also reflects the trend known as Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and can be seen as a litmus test of connected and autonomous vehicles which will further transform the transportation landscape. This dissertation explores three main aspects of ODRS using a three-part analysis: an exploratory analysis of the role of ODRS in urban transportation, a discrete choice modeling to understand the choice of ODRS, and scenario forecasting to quantify the potential impact of ODRS on transport accessibility and equity. The dissertation results indicate the critical role that ODRS has in serving transport-disadvantaged population and multimodal travel and filling in gaps of transit, identify the socio-demographic, built environment, and trip characteristics associated with the choice of ODRS, and reveal the substantial accessibility and equity benefits of integrating ODRS with transit. The dissertation also shows strong performance of machine learning travel mode choices and suggests the further integration of machine learning with travel demand forecasting. The findings unveil the potentials of ODRS in elevating transport benefits of the existing infrastructure and point to strategies of leveraging ODRS and autonomous vehicles to improve transport mobility, accessibility, and equity. The results also reveal challenges of realizing the benefits of ODRS and incorporating ODRS into travel demand forecasting, which will have to rely on data collection, public-private collaboration, and research and practical exploration of synergizing ODRS with other travel modes.
Electronic retail effects on airports and regional development

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-05-04) Hylton, Peter J.

This dissertation is an investigation of the relationship between e-retail logistics (e-fulfillment) and aviation, and of airport staff’s planning responses to e-fulfillment. By its nature, planning requires a thorough understanding of the forces on transportation and land use that can affect areas of planning interest. Electronic retail (e-retail) is one such trend whose rapid growth influences airport activity, demand for industrial real estate, workforce needs, and surface transportation infrastructure. E-retail’s growth alters regions’ attractiveness for logistics development, the strategies needed to promote the industry, and the data and models required to prepare for its transportation, land use, and workforce needs. This study’s objective is to provide guidance to urban and airport planners on the relevant effects on e-fulfillment as well as appropriate planning responses. The dissertation includes a three-part analysis. A location model measures differences between the sales channels in the regional and airport traits associated with logistics activity. A survey of retail shippers is intended to examine associations detected in the logistics model and measure their relative strength by documenting differences in operations and regional needs between DCs and FCs. Interviews with logistics professionals supplement the shipper survey. Analysis 3 examines the extent to which airport staffs are planning for changes in cargo patterns associated with e-fulfillment through planning document reviews and interviews with staff at seven airports served by Amazon Prime Air. Dissertation results indicate that e-retailers choose FC location as a function of customer proximity, airport access, integrator hub proximity, and a variety of regional factors with weaker effects. E-retail activity will continue to generate disproportionate air cargo activity while concentrating logistics facilities in the same regions as large customer bases, integrator air hubs, and international gateway airports. These patterns will impact infrastructure and land needs, and planners should incorporate these trends into their forecasts and strategies. Airport planners are increasingly aware of e-retail’s cargo generation potential, and they are gathering data in an ad hoc manner to understand it. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications of the research for airport and transportation planners, economic development planners, and land use planners. Logistics activity related to e-retail is expected to grow in coming decades, concentrating particularly around logistics hubs and population centers in the Northeast, Ohio River Valley, and major metropolitan areas.
Linking MPBN and system of system thinking: To improve outcomes in urban environments using Chinese worker villages as a test case

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-30) Tobey, Michael Boynton

Urban environments are composed of a multitude of systems that actively engage with each other to maintain, grow, and define the physical forms of the city. These individual aspects can be divided up into a series of system trees that form distinct entities, but together they corm a complete matrix of systems that influence and affect the urban context. These systems fall under two significant categorizations of flows either those mostly affecting the physical world and those that are more confined to the virtual or non-physical world. Often the boundary between these two systems, or elements within them, are not neatly contained to themselves as they intermingle and create uncertain and stochastic edgeless systems. This paper is to focus on the coupling of the Material – Product – Building – Neighborhood system, and the system-of-systems thinking for logistical systems for a single material pathway.
Advancing strategic focuses through performance-based evaluation – the growth of state dot approaches

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-08-01) Sperling, Elliot Asher

As a result of the enactment of the 2012 national surface transportation legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), performance-based approaches have substantially grown in importance and use. States are examining their existing processes to ensure increases in transportation system performance over time. Certain states have developed internal processes that demonstrate use of a performance-based approach that effectively integrates both planning and programming decisions to meet agency-based objectives and national performance targets, and aligns with agency strategic goal areas. Through this research a national survey was developed and implemented to identify state transportation agency practices, which use multi-objective decision analysis (MODA) approaches to evaluate and prioritize strategic investments across asset categories. Agencies that are more advanced in project evaluation are able to quantify project values before they are funded to ensure that they are in alignment with an agency’s overall goals and, at the same time, demonstrate worthwhile investments to the taxpayers in an environment of fiscal constraint. Recent shifts towards more data-driven approaches in project evaluation are providing far more objectivity and certainty to project sponsors, and have led to more collaborative transportation processes for planning and programming. By linking state-based and national performance goals to evaluation methods, states will be better positioned to improve performance over time for their multi-modal transportation systems and better meet public expectations with the limited amount of resources and funding that are available. With growing uncertainties over future travel demands, the introduction of new technologies, and the phasing out of old technologies, strategic approaches will grow in importance.
Parking policies for resurging cities: An Atlanta case study

(Geomrgia Institute of Technology, 2016-08-01) Pringle, Jeshua D.

Parking policies lie at the intersection of land use and transportation. Although often overlooked by traditional planning and engineering methods, parking can serve as an amplifier for an area’s success or failure. The impact of parking can be revealed through a critical look at the history of parking and its role in decentralizing the urban core. The incorporation of parking into zoning regulations, and a commitment to shaping cities to accommodate the automobile, has contributed to the sprawling development patterns seen across the United States. Parking, and the policies that govern parking, are a reflection of a city’s priorities. Cities that provide ample free parking incentivize travel by automobile; yet, dense urban cores are capable of efficiently supporting travel by alternative modes. On the other hand, cities that manage parking through regulations, technology, and pricing can achieve a better balance in commute mode choice. As cities across the U.S. experience a resurgence of their urban core, the policies that govern parking should be re-evaluated to reflect those cities’ future priorities. This thesis evaluates policies that shape the way parking is managed in cities and assesses the potential impact of these policies in the central business district of Atlanta, GA.
Landscape anthropometrics: A multi-scale approach to integrating health into the regional landscape

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07-20) Rao, Arthi

This research creates a consistent, scalable approach for incorporating health considerations into regional land planning. A prototypical framework is presented for the Atlanta region. Determinants of healthy places from Social/Landscape Epidemiology, Urban Planning and Landscape Ecology are incorporated into defining the landscape and its associated pattern metrics. Key research objectives are to — 1) provide a new method to measuring urban form and health relationships through the use of landscape metrics 2) analyze urban form to understand configuration, mix, spatial distribution and proportions of land uses and socioeconomic factors and their association with health outcomes. Methodologically, this research examines associations between landscape patterns at nested scales (county and tract) with mortality rates across chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Two primary research questions are explored— 1) Are landscape patterns significant determinants of mortality rates? 2) At what scale do landscape patterns matter for reduced mortality rates? Landscape Pattern metrics are generated using GIS software. Random Forest, Hierarchical Clustering and other classification techniques are used to identify preliminary landscape signatures and associations. Hierarchical impacts of county and tract-level determinants on local health outcomes are examined through multilevel logistic modeling. The aim is to present a succinct set of landscape metrics to inform land use planning for healthy communities. The framework developed can be used for multiple applications including Transportation Planning and sustainable Comprehensive Planning at multiple scales.