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Sponsor: Caltrans

Framework for participatory evaluation of greenery screens in environmental justice communities

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

Elisa BorowskiElisa Borowski

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-38
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Other Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Summary

A growing strategy to mitigate environmental harms is the implementation of green infrastructure in high-pollution zones, such as greenery screens, vegetation barriers, and living walls. This study synthesizes the outcomes of existing projects and proposes an evaluation framework that centers community participation. Greenery screens and sound walls are intended to mitigate noise and air pollution, which can reduce health disparities and improve quality of life in surrounding communities. Additional co-benefits may be observed when considering the role of this infrastructure during extreme weather events, such as flooding, extreme heat, and poor air quality from wildfires. Within the sustainability framework known as the triple bottom line, some studies have begun to examine the environmental, social, and financial benefits of green infrastructure, but initial findings on the effectiveness of greenery screens remain inconclusive. Expanding this framework to include the principles of equitable evaluation, methodological advancements are needed to account not only for distributional equity, but structural and procedural equity, as well. For example, integrating the cumulative impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act into the infrastructure evaluation process could be one means of addressing structural equity, and practicing living labs where community members collect and interpret data from sensors tracking environmental determinants of health could be a technique to incorporate procedural equity into the evaluation process. The proposed systematic literature review will result in actionable strategies for working in collaboration with low-income communities of color who have been disproportionally harmed by freeway infrastructure to advance environmental justice. Findings from this study will provide recommendations to policymakers and analysts committed to advancing distributional, structural, and procedural equity.

Modeling the impacts of California electric vehicle policies with emphasis on the used vehicle market

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

David Brownstone

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-25
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

Team Departmental Affiliation

Economics

Project Summary

There are now a wide variety of California and U.S. policies designed to support the goal of decarbonizing light-duty vehicles. Existing models of the California vehicle market are not capable of analyzing the impact of all these policies. A key shortcoming is the lack of accurate modeling of the used vehicle market. Low-income households primarily purchase used vehicles, but the supply of used vehicles is largely determined by the decisions of new vehicle owners (primarily high-income households). The price of used vehicles is determined by the interaction between supply and demand. We will build a new model of the California personal vehicle market that accurately models the inter-actions between the new and used vehicle markets. We will use this model to evaluate a wide range of current and proposed policies designed to increase the penetration of electric vehicles. Our model will allow California policymakers to craft policies that reach decarbonization goals at lowest cost while alleviating (or at least not worsening) existing transportation inequities.

Investigating the Impacts of Smart Charging on Electric Vehicle Charging Choices Within an Activity-based Framework

Status

In Progress

Project Timeline

January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026

Principal Investigator

Matt DeanMatthew Dean

Project Team

Michael Hyland

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // PSR UTC Caltrans Match: PSR-23-40
(Subcontract to University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Summary

The objective of this project is to forecast the impacts of spatio-temporal electricity pricing on electric vehicle (EV) charging behavior, drawing on established EV charging models and incorporating considerations such as smart charging acceptance and joint charging-activity time planning decisions. We aim to elucidate how current and future electricity rates may influence EV driver behavior, while accounting for heterogeneity in charging preferences and value of travel time. Using the Los Angeles metropolitan area as a case study, we develop future year scenarios for EV adoption and charging infrastructure access to evaluate the effects of pricing strategies on the demand for public infrastructure and EV-related trips. Our analysis encompasses a range of smart charging policies, including spatially and temporally-varying electricity prices linked to factors such as charging speeds, utility control, location, and enrollment in bill assistance programs. Results, segmented by travel characteristics such as household income, home charger access,and EV range will quantify the impact of EV charging prices on both aggregate and disaggregate network metrics (e.g., vehicle miles traveled and charging cost savings, respectively.) The results provide insights into the broader implications of electricity pricing strategies for EV integration within the transportation network. The findings of this project are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of EV charging behavior and access and inform the development of effective demand management strategies within the evolving landscape of transportation electrification.

Activity-Based Forecasting Model for Planning Applications

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 2000 - September 30, 2001

Principal Investigator

Will Recker

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCB - CALTRANS - 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

Team Departmental Affiliation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

On-line Verses Rolling Horizon Algorithms for Dynamic Service Fleet

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

January 1, 1994 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Amelia Regan

Project Team

Sandra Irani, Xiangwen Lu

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Freight, Logistics, & Supply Chain Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience

Team Departmental Affiliations

Computer Science, Information and Computer Science

Related Publications

published journal article | May 2004

On-Line Algorithms for the Dynamic Traveling Repair Problem
Journal of Scheduling

Read more
conference paper | Jan 2002

On-line algorithms for the dynamic traveling repair problem
Proceedings of the thirteenth annual ACM-SIAM symposium on discrete algorithms

Read more
Phd Dissertation | Jun 2001

Dynamic and stochastic routing optimization: Algorithm development and analysis

Read more

Diversity in the Valuation of Travel Time and Reliability

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

January 1, 1994 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Kenneth Small

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Transportation Economics, Funding, & Finance Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

Team Departmental Affiliation

Economics

Understanding How Land Use Affects Travel Behavior: A Revealed Preference Stated Preference Approach

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 1997 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Marlon Boarnet

Project Team

Mariela Alfonzo

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

Related Publications

published journal article | Nov 2001

The influence of land use on travel behavior: specification and estimation strategies
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

Read more

International Trends in Auto Ownership and Use

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

September 30, 1998 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Lyn Long

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

The Viability of Value Pricing Demonstrations

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 1999 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Kenneth Small

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Transportation Economics, Funding, & Finance

Team Departmental Affiliation

Economics

Impacts of Shipping Changes on the Efficiency of the Freight Transportation Network

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 1999 - July 31, 2002

Principal Investigator

Thomas Golob

Project Team

Amelia Regan

Sponsor, Program & Award Number

Caltrans // UCTC Caltrans Match: UCTC CALTRANS AWARD # 65V430
(Subcontract to UC Berkeley)

Areas of Expertise

Freight, Logistics, & Supply Chain

Team Departmental Affiliation

Computer Science

Related Publications

working paper | Jun 1999

Trucking Industry Perceptions of Congestion Problems and Potential Solutions in Maritime Intermodal Operations in California

Read more
published journal article | Nov 2000

Trucking industry perceptions of congestion problems and potential solutions in maritime intermodal operations in California
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

Read more

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