The Transportation - Land Use Connection
Announcements!
Readings for 2/25
Tuesday
we're going to spend a little time going over who does what and what this smart
growth idea is all about. The topic listed for Tuesday is transportation
efficient land uses. This is pretty much what Steve Tracy was talking about on
Thursday, and I've given you a link to a site that describes lots of the
different policies being tried or promoted.
Then we'll talk about what you think about it:
- Do you think these strategies make a difference? Will they succeed in reducing automobile use?
- If not, are there other reasons for implementing these policies? What kinds of benefits do they generate?
- How widely can these strategies be adopted anyway? What are the forces working against adoption, the forces working for adoption?
-
What parts of this whole smart growth discussion do you find convincing? What do
you find unconvincing?
One
more thing. Here's an interview with Earl Blummenauer from Portland on the
federal reauthorization effort that helps to show how the federal policy is
linked (or not) to these local land use efforts: http://www.ablinc.net/mir/archive/feb2003b.html
Don't
forget your progress report, due on Tuesday!
Week of 2/18
This week we turn to efforts to integrate transportation and land use policy. For more on MPOs and what they do, take a look at "A Guide
to Success for Small Texas MPOs" on my website. On Thursday, Steve Tracy from the Local Government Commission will be talking about smart growth and other kinds of planning efforts in Sacramento.
In the schedule, I've given you a link to the Smart Growth America website - browse the site to get a feel for what smart growth is.
Also, skim my paper, which lays out how the land use - transportation connection fits into smart growth and reviews the available research.
Readings for
2/13
OK, we're about 1/2 day behind. Take another look at Newman and Kenworthy. Think about issues with the analysis and with their recommendations. Also read the Ewing and Cervero article - one of the more comprehensive reviews available. Make note of the various research approaches on the topic and their summary of the findings. You can just skim the Handy and Clifton paper - I will probably present some of our findings in class.
Readings for 2/11
We'll be finishing up with travel behavior theory and talking about a couple of famous aggregate studies of the link between land use and travel patterns. Read all of Newman and Kenworthy. Read pages 24-35 of the Pushkarev and Zupan chapter; skim the rest if you'd like. Things to think about... What do the studies seem to suggest about policy? What kinds of issues do you have to worry about when using aggregate data?
Readings for 2/4
I would like to let you all do more of the talking on Tuesday. To prepare, read both Giuliano and Cervero & Landis and think about the argument each side is making, the kinds of evidence they use to support their arguments, whether the arguments can be reconciled, and what you think about the impact of transportation investments on land use today. The Banister and Lichfield article is optional but helpful in understanding what remains to be answered.
Also come ready to say a couple of sentences about your paper topic.
Readings for 1/28
Today's topic: empirical research on the impact of transportation investments on development. The Srinivasan
and Kockelman and the Handy, Kubly, and Oden papers take different approaches to studying the impact of highway bypasses on small towns in Texas. The Duncan
and Cervero paper looks at the impact of light rail on station area development. There are lots and lots of studies on both topics.
As you read, think about:
- hypotheses, connection to theory
- research design
- findings
Readings for 1/23
Questions for Thursday's discussion:
- How do improvements in information and communications technologies (ICT) fit into the models? How do they affect the location decisions of different kinds of land uses?
- What's going to happen to the need for cities? the desire for cities? What are cities all about anyway?
Readings for 1/21
Today we'll cover the highlights of industrial location theory and central place theory. In both readings, focus on the key ideas of the theory and think about how it matches with the real world and current trends. What role does transportation play in location decisions, and how important is transportation relative to other factors?Today we'll cover the highlights of industrial location theory and central place theory. In both readings, focus on the key ideas of the theory and think about how it matches with the real world and current trends. What role does transportation play in location decisions, and how important is transportation relative to other factors?
Week of 1/14
Reminder that we're not meeting on either Tuesday or Thursday
because of the TRB conference.
This week is a good time to read the Mitchell and Rapkin piece and the
Giuliano article. The Giuliano article gives a useful overview of some of
the theories we'll be talking about on 1/21, discusses the ties to
transportation, and assesses the applicability to the real world. Don't get
bogged down in details, though.
Readings for 1/9
Focus on:
Heilbrun Ch. 2 - concept of agglomeration economies
Heilbrun Ch. 6 - bid-rent curve model, plus growth and change predictions
Muller - read for fun: how does history match theory or not?
Guilano - save for week of TRB, read before 1/21
Also:
Read articles handed out on Tuesday
Read Mitchell and Rapkin during TRB week
1/2/03
The packet of course readings are now available at the ITS office in Academic Surge, on Lauren's desk. Please borrow the packet for just as long as it takes to make a complete copy at Kinko's or elsewhere, then return the packet in its original condition to Lauren. Please be careful to keep the pages in order and in good condition, so that everyone has a chance to make a good copy. Note that this is a one shot deal - the packet includes all the readings for the quarter (except those that will be available electronically).
The syllabus and schedule are now available on the class web page.
12/17/02
The
readings for this class come in two parts: - A packet of readings that will be
available through the ITS office. You can check out the packet for a couple of
hours, enough time to take it to a copy shop and make your own copy. - A bunch
of readings available on-line through the course website, mostly in PDF format,
that you can download and print. DO NOT PURCHASE THE HANSON BOOK FROM THE
BOOKSTORE!