Dear Readers,
On behalf of everyone at METRANS, we want to wish each of you a bright and warm holiday season. This year has presented disruptions to nearly every aspect of our operations. Our researchers, educators, and administrators have all had to adapt to new modes of working, while maintaining the same level of outputs and professionalism. Additionally, our students have had to adjust to remote learning. Though the challenges have been immense, we have been able to successfully carry forward our research, education, and outreach activities.
While we look forward to the day when we can finally resume in-person classes, conferences, and seminars, we are grateful for the technology that has made it possible for us to conduct our operations remotely. The work that METRANS does, solving transportation problems and envisioning the transportation future, is more vital now than ever. We are glad that you, our subscribers and stakeholders, have joined us on our journey. As you read through this month’s newsletter, I would like to enlist your service. If you come across an article that interests you or resonates with you, please take a moment to share the article on social media. We are excited about the work we are doing, and we hope that you will help us spread the word.
Thank you again for your involvement with METRANS. We wish you peace and joy during the holidays, and we hope that the new year will be filled with opportunity and prosperity.
-METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano
|
|
CalSTA Secretary David Kim Visits USC Sol Price |
|
David Kim, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and USC alumnus, recently attended Adjunct Associate Professor Eric Shen's "Transportation Studio," a graduate course within the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, to speak on “the Fast-Changing Supply Chain Ecosystem: Understanding Goods Movement and Developing Multi-Modal Transportation Strategies in Urban Settings.” |
|
With a long career encompassing both private and public transportation sectors, Kim has put his USC Master of Public Administration to beneficial use. After earning his MPA in 1994, he rose within the public sector ranks from a Senior Legislative Assistant, later becoming Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs in the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009. Since then, he has served in positions such as Vice President of Government Affairs for Hyundai Motor Company, the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and FHWA’s Associate Administrator for Policy and Governmental Affairs. |
|
MetroFreight Researchers Join ITDP and VREF
in International Discussions via MOBILIZE
|
|
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a global nonprofit focused on sustainability and improving social inclusion, has a reputation for supporting innovative and creative solutions during challenging times. In collaboration with the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), ITDP hosted “MOBILIZE: Building Collective Action for the Next Decade," a virtual transportation summit with an eye toward problem solving and bringing together international guests to visualize solutions and pathways to bring about equitable and low-carbon sustainable transport systems. The summit has previously been hosted in an array of countries such as Brazil, Tanzania, Chile, and China—and went virtual this year, opening the door for even more diversity in speakers and attendees who took part from around the globe. Optimistic leaders from around the world view 2020 as a crucial opportunity to reimagine systems, cities, and policies, and to fix problems that have existed for years. This year has created an urgency that can be harnessed for action in some of the most pressing matters in transportation such as equity, sustainability, and public health.
|
|
Not Going Back to Normal - UCLA ITS Highlights Ways
to Improve Transportation Post-Pandemic
|
|
The UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) hosted its annual Lake Arrowhead Symposium with the subject “Not ‘Back to Normal’: Mapping a Just Transportation Recovery from COVID-19,” which explored changes the transportation industry has experienced within the context of the pandemic. UCLA is a partner in the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center, led by METRANS. Since its inception in 1991, the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium has served as a forum for stakeholders from the public and private sectors and academia to tackle the connections between transportation, land use, and the environment. This year, it moved forward in a virtual format and has been archived as a remote learning series.
|
|
METRANS Advisory Board Meeting Assesses Top Priorities |
|
The METRANS Transportation Center held its second Advisory Board meeting of the year in November 2020. METRANS was founded in 1998 as the first transportation-focused center in Southern California dedicated to fostering high quality transportation research, training the future transportation workforce, and educating the public and industry on best practices and cutting-edge information. The METRANS Advisory Board includes distinguished leaders from major transportation industry and agency partners, including the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). Board members offer invaluable insight and guidance in service of METRANS’ mission to solve the transportation problems of large metropolitan regions.
|
|
METRANS, PSR, NCST Host USC's Geoff Boeing for Global Urban
Street Network Models and Indicators Webinar
|
|
On October 27, METRANS, the Pacific Southwest University Transportation Center (PSR), and the University of Southern California’s Undergraduate Planning at Price organization (UP), launched the fourth and final research webinar for the Fall 2020 webinar series. UP is a student-led organization whose vision is to build a community of equity-oriented undergraduate students, promote academic and professional development, foster critical dialogue, and provide relevant programming for undergraduate students, in particular, at Price.
At the webinar, titled “Street Network Models and Indicators for Every Urban Area in the World,” Dr. Geoff Boeing showcased his ongoing research. Boeing is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis at the Price School of Public Policy and the Director of USC’s Urban Data Lab.
|
|
Professor Loukaitou-Sideris Examines How to Combat
Sexual Harassment on the "Public Transit Journey"
|
|
A commonly cited concern found among transit riders is the danger of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a common occurrence in everyday transit environments (e.g., train stations, train wagons, buses, and bus stops). Each step of the journey until the transit riders reach their destination is a potentially hazardous situation. UCLA Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and her team define these settings as the “public transit journey." They researched the parameters of sexual harassment experiences on this journey by college students. The research project, “Public Transportation Safety Among University Students,” was funded in part by the Pacific Southwest Regional University Transportation Center (PSR UTC).
|
|
PSR Researchers Boarnet and Painter Explore Job Accessibility
and Residential Movement Along Transit Lines
|
|
In an era of growing calls for racial and economic justice, researchers are increasingly interested in the role that gentrification and displacement may play in exacerbating existing inequalities for disenfranchised communities. Gentrification is the concept of neighborhoods changing by bringing in new businesses, improving housing, and attracting wealthier residents. Gentrification leads to the displacement of poorer residents in these neighborhoods by creating higher rents and pricing them out of their own homes. While existing research on this concept has yielded inconclusive data, it has sparked interest in the field of mobility as a tangential factor in gentrification. USC Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis Department, Marlon Boarnet, and USC Professor and Chair of the Public Policy Department, Gary Painter, recently published the final report for the PSR research project, “Residential Moves Into and Away from Los Angeles Rail Transit Neighborhoods: Adding Insight to the Gentrification and Displacement Debate.” The project takes a comprehensive look at job accessibility and residential relocation among Angelenos living near transit hubs. The report was co-authored with USC PhD student Evgeny Burinskiy, USC Sol Price postdoctoral scholar Oscar Gerardo Hernandez Lara, San Diego State University Assistant Professor of Urban Planning Madison Swayne, and Allen Prohofsky of the California Franchise Tax Board.
|
|
Recently Completed Research Projects |
|
METRANS researchers from our member institutions have recently completed the following project in the three topical areas of: integrated management of freight and passenger systems, sustainable and efficient urban freight transportation, and urban mobility. To learn more about specific projects, please click on the title to access the research briefs and reports. |
|
The METRANS Transportation Center was established in 1998 as the first University Transportation Center in Southern California. METRANS is a joint partnership of the University of Southern California (USC) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
METRANS' mission is to solve transportation problems of large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. Its three primary objectives are: (1) fostering independent, high quality research to solve the nation's transportation problems; (2) training the next generation transportation workforce; and (3) disseminating information, best practices, and technology to the professional community
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
