Organizational Unit:

Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD)

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/70767

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Organizational Unit

College of Design

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https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1117

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 103

Crowdsourced Social Media Monitoring System Development

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-08) Kumar, Amit ; Ross, Catherine L. ; Karner, Alex ; Katyal, Rohan

Crowdsourcing is a relatively new area of research, but it is already generating an enormous amount of interest among both researchers and practitioners, and is finding applications in multiple domains. It is particularly useful for efficient traffic management and increasing public participation. Many state departments of transportation (DOTs) are already using crowdsourced technologies and others are exploring its applications for traffic management. Researchers are using sensor-rich mobile phones and online social networks for fetching data from network users. Despite recent advancements, there remain gaps between the state of the art and practice that need to be bridged. Programs like the Waze Connected Citizens Program and Strava Metro Data Program are success stories in practice. This study explores the implementation of crowdsourced traffic management by Georgia DOT (GDOT) and the challenges specific to them. The reliability of data and filtering high volumes of information were found to be the two primary concerns. The team proposed a system which can potentially tackle those challenges. The system consists of a mobile application and a text mining application that together leverage the existing Twitter technology stack. Based on interviews with traffic management professionals and a visit to GDOT, the report contains recommendations that would improve the workflow at the traffic management center (TMC). Computer vision, data management and social media analytics would be particularly beneficial to decrease operator burden. A system with multiple sources of information integrated into one would be particularly beneficial. We are on the cusp of a revolution with respect to big data and crowdsourcing. This is the ideal time for GDOT to invest in crowdsourcing technologies to reap the benefits in the future.
National MAP-21 Implementation and Monitoring

( 2016-12) Ross, Catherine L. ; Hunter, Michael D. ; Welch, Timothy F.

This report presents an analysis of performance measures adopted by states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in light of the adoption of such measures in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). MAP-21 was signed into law by President Obama on July 6, 2012. It featured a new federal emphasis on performance measurement. This focus promotes transparency of public data and decision-making and attempts to improve the accountability of public spending by better-linking investments to outcomes. MAP-21 identified seven thematic areas for which the Secretary of Transportation determined performance measures should be adopted. These areas include (1) safety, (2) infrastructure condition, (3) congestion reduction, (4) system reliability, (5) freight movement and economic vitality, (6) environmental sustainability, and (7) reduced project delivery delays. The project team studied 377 MPOs across the country and selected 40 MPOs for further detailed analyses. The analyses revealed similar findings to those at the state-level where some MPOs have implemented performance measures as suggested by the federal legislation while many other MPOs have not yet adopted any performance measures. An analysis of measures implemented by all state DOTs and MPOs reveals that agencies have independently implemented a vast number of measures that fall into the seven with the exception of significant deficiencies in freight movement and economic vitality and environmental sustainability measures.
Bringing Freight Components into Statewide and Regional Travel Demand Forecasting: PART 1

( 2016-01) Lee, David Jung-Hwi ; Ross, Catherine L.

Transportation decision makers have the difficult task of investment decision making having limited resources while maximizing benefit to the transportation system. Given the growth in freight transport and its importance to national, state, and regional economies, public-sector agencies need improved capabilities to analyze freight movement. In general, freight modeling is not widely developed and operationalized, at the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) level in particular due to the complexity of freight movement and the lack of availability of detailed truck trip data. This study develops a methodological framework of a tour-based freight demand model at the MPO level using GPS truck data. Methodologically it is a more accurate model compared to trip based models allowing truck trips to be linked, which reflects how truck drivers and dispatchers often make multiple trips within a single ‘trip chain’ or ‘tour’. Disaggregate truck movement data can be obtained via truck global positioning system (GPS) records collected in this study by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The developed framework has been applied to two metropolitan areas in the southeast, one covering the region around Atlanta, Georgia, and the other around Birmingham, Alabama. The report illustrates, with examples, potential uses of the model with multiple performance measures and also shows possibilities of applying the model to corridor analyses, small geographic area analyses, and scenario planning. The report introduces performance measures to compare the results of the two classes of models namely, the tour-based and the trip-based models. The results of six scenarios of the Atlanta metropolitan area are presented and compared along with some important policy implications for practice. The numerical results demonstrate that GPS data is feasible for model calibration and that tour-based models provide conceptually robust forecasts that sustain empirical validation under multiple scenarios. Although the study focuses on the Atlanta Metropolitan area, policymakers at all levels of government in other state DOTs and MPOs can benefit from this study and develop their own truck demand model borrowing the framework used.
Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail: Population Comparison Measuring Changes in Behavior Related to Health

( 2012-12) Smith, Sarah M. ; Ross, Catherine L. ; Elliott, Michael

The Atlanta BeltLine is one of the largest redevelopment projects currently underway in the United States. It represents an exciting new vision for the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta region. The project will ultimately include the transformation of a 22-mile mostly abandoned freight rail corridor to a new system of parks, trails, and transit. The construction of the BeltLine is creating greater opportunities for residents to have a higher quality healthier life through the creation of new greenspace, walkable neighborhoods, high-quality infill development, transit, and healthy communities. Taken together, the BeltLine components are intended to create a continuous loop of urban regeneration around the core of the city. Linked by transit and greenspace, the BeltLine will connect people with places and with each other. A section of the BeltLine, known as the Eastside Trail, will eventually include lighting, plantings, and other design elements and is intended for walking, bicycling, and other non-motorized movement. This research report examines how an external health determinant such as the construction of the BeltLine Eastside Trail can potentially shape individual behavior patterns in the population living along the corridor. The report also analyzes how this behavioral change can impact public health, specifically by providing an increased opportunity for physical activity, as well as how the creation of greenspace, which provides opportunities for social interaction, can improve mental health.
Health Impact Assessment of Atlanta Regional Plan 2040

( 2012-12) Ross, Catherine L. ; Elliott, Michael ; Rushing, Michelle M. ; Barringer, Jason ; Smith, Sarah ; Frackelton, Alexandra ; Kent, John ; Rao, Arthi ; West, Harry

The objective of this work was to integrate the HIA process into the larger planning process to the greatest extent possible. An HIA will ensure the explicit consideration for the human health impacts in regional transportation and land use planning. Second, it increases the regional capacity for HIA practice through collaboration with community and research partners, and develops a prototypical approach for measuring and improving regional planning outcomes. Ultimately through the HIA process, sustainability, economic benefit, and health were presented as mutually-supportive and attainable goals of transportation and land use planning. Although some examples of comprehensive planning HIAs exist in the U.S., the Plan 2040 assessment is one of the earliest HIAs of a regional comprehensive plan for a major metropolitan area.
Health Benefits of the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail: A Pre-Impact Assessment

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-01-31) Ross, Catherine L. ; West, Harry ; Elliott, Michael ; Smith, Sarah M. ; Marcus, Michelle ; Woo, Myungje ; Lilly, Margaret

The objective of the research is to measure the impact of the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside trail on the physical activity, mental health, behavior, and characteristics of the population located along the Eastside Trail section of the Atlanta BeltLine. This report includes the documentation of the existing behavior of the population prior to the completion of the trail, as well as an inventory of other existing physical and socio-economic conditions existing prior to trail construction.
Estimating the Safety Benefits of Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS)

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-12-31) Ross, Catherine L. ; Elliott, Michael ; Barringer, Jason ; Smith, Sarah M. ; Woo, Myungje ; Kent, John ; Lilly, Margaret

Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS), also commonly known by the original name Context Sensitive Design (CSD), is an alternative approach to the conventional transportation-oriented decision-making and design processes. The CSS approach can be used to design and implement transportation projects that not only result in safe and efficient roadways, but ones that consider and preserve the total context of community values, including scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources.
Aerotropolis Atlanta Brownfield Redevelopment Health Impact Assessment

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-12) Ross, Catherine L. ; Elliott, Michael ; Rushing, Michelle Marcus ; Barringer, Jason ; Cox, Sarah ; Frackelton, Alexandra ; Kent, John ; Rao, Arthi

HIA is a process that uses a variety of methods and approaches to identify and measure potential health impacts, both positive and negative, that may result from a particular policy or project. Furthermore, an HIA seeks to link these impacts to a given segment of the population (for example, children, older adults, people living in poverty, or residents of a particular neighborhood).
Preliminary Assessment for Community Revitalization at 10th and Monroe

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-10) Ross, Catherine L. ; Elliott, Michael ; Woo, Myungje ; Smith, Sarah ; Douthat, Thomas ; Kent, John

The purpose of this report is to assess opportunities and barriers to revitalization and redevelopment at 10th and Monroe. It strives to identify likely stakeholder concerns. Additionally, it interprets the character and physical characteristics of the surrounding areas as a reference point for future development.
Impact of Regional SPLOST on County Infrastructure

( 2011-10) Ross, Catherine L. ; Woo, Myungje ; Boston, Thomas

In response to fiscal constraints on transportation funding and the need to address transportation problems and create regional solutions, Georgia is proposing a 1% regional Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). To accommodate this initiative, Georgia created 12 Special Tax Districts that will affect all Georgia counties. This research (1) provides information on the challenges that other regional initiatives have faced and the strategies utilized in gaining voter support for such initiatives; (2) identifies possible implications that arise from the relationship between existing county SPLOSTs and the proposed regional SPLOSTs; and (3) provides strategies for the successful implementation of this regional initiative by estimating the likelihood that county-specific sales tax referenda for transportation will succeed and by identifying the factors that influence voting outcomes. The study results show that the new regional SPLOSTs may bring minimal or no negative effect on county level transportation projects, since some of the proceeds from the regional SPLOSTs will also be earmarked for local transportation projects. However, the regional SPLOSTs, which propose only transportation projects, may negatively impact other new capital outlay projects at the local level, particularly when both education SPLOSTs and regional SPLOSTs are active in the same county. This implies that the competitive purposes of SPLOSTs will be more critical than those between county-specific and regional SPLOSTs.