Planning for Complementarity: An Examination of the Roll and Opportunities of First-Tier and Second-Tier Cities Along the High-Speed Rail Network in California, Research Report 11-17

The coming of California High-Speed Rail (HSR) offers opportunities for positive urban transformations in both first-tier and second-tier cities. The research in this report explores the different but complementary roles that first-tier and second-tier cities along the HSR network can play in making California more sustainable and less dependent on fossil fuels while reducing mobile sources of greenhouse gas emissions and congestion at airports and on the state’s roadways. Drawing from case studies of cities in Northern and Southern California, the study develops recommendations for the planning, design, and programming of areas around California stations for the formation of transit-supportive density nodes

Analysis of Policy Issues Relating to Public Investment in Private Freight Infrastructure, MTI Report 99-03

The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies (IISTPS) at San José State University conducted this study to review the issues and implications involved in the investment of public funds in private freight infrastructure. After thorough legal research, the project team reached the following conclusions: LEGAL ANALYSIS: The California legislature has the legal power to invest public funds in privately-owned freight infrastructure projects State Highway funds, excepting gas tax revenues, may be used for investment in freight infrastructure projects. Gas tax revenues are restricted to highway use by current interpretations of the California Constitution. A challenge to this interpretation is not recommended. Gas tax revenues may be invested in roadway segments of freight infrastructure projects. RECOMMENDATIONS An analytical system of guidelines should be developed to score and evaluate any proposed freight infrastructure project. Economic development must be included in these scoring guidelines. Public agencies should maintain political contacts in order to control the political short-circuits of the planning process. The California Department of Transportation should develop a Freight Improvement Priority System for the purpose of prioritizing all freight improvement projects

Teaching metaheuristics in business schools

In this work we discuss some ideas and opinions related with teaching Metaheuristics in Business Schools. The main purpose of the work is to initiate a discussion and collaboration about this topic,with the final objective to improve the teaching and publicity of the area. The main topics to be discussed are the environment and focus of this teaching. We also present a SWOT analysis which lead us to the conclusion that the area of Metaheuristics only can win with the presentation and discussion of metaheuristics and related topics in Business Schools, since it consists in a excellent Decision Support tools for future potential users.Metaheuristics, Teaching Business

High-Speed Projects in the United States: Identifying the Elements for Success-Part 1, MTI Report 05-01

For almost half a century, high-speed ground transportation (HSGT) has held the promise of fast, convenient, and environmentally sound travel for distances between 40 and 600 miles. While a number of HSGT systems have been developed and deployed in Asia and Europe, none has come close to being implemented in the United States. Yet this is not for lack of trying. There have been several efforts around the country, most of which have failed, some of which are still in the early stages, and a few of which might come to pass. The goal of this study was to identify lessons learned for successfully developing and implementing high-speed rail (HSR) in the United States. Through a broad literature review, interviews, and three specific case studies—Florida, California, and the Pacific Northwest—this study articulates those lessons and presents themes for future consideration

Towards a Method of Participatory Planning in an Emerging Metropolitan Delta in the Context of Climate Change

The Parana River is the third largest river in the American continent, after the Mississippi and the Amazon. Instead of flowing directly to the sea, it flows to the Rio de la Plata (located between Argentina and Uruguay) through a complex delta system. This delta is a large and heterogeneous territory that spreads over three provinces of Argentina and that is characterized by different dichotomies along its extension. On the one hand, the islands of the delta are young alluvial lands in constant transformation due to the processes of sedimentation, and are subjected to pulses of floods influenced by the Paraná River streamflow, droughts, precipitations and strong southeastern winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Although these alluvial territories seem to be pristine, they have been moderately altered as a result of the development of economic activities. On the other hand, along the edges of the delta, we find the older territories of the mainland, created in the Pleistocene and less dynamic. Here is a network of cities of dissimilar sizes, that establishes the wealthiest corridor of the country. Conurbations such as Rosario (located in the province of San ta Fe) and the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (located in the homonym province), exert different pressures over the territory, generating an increasing impact on the delta system. In other words, this delta shows a contrast between the wild and dynamic condition of the islands and the more stable but strongly urbanized edges. Nevertheless, this dichotomy is not the only one that can be found in the delta. On the contrary, there are other oppositions regarding economic, policy and social realms, expressed through a polarized, unsustainable and unplanned land use, which turns the area into a vulnerable place, given the uncertain context of climate change. Although this delta can be considered an extreme and particular case, many of the conflicts that can be found in this area replicate in other deltas around the world. Urbanizing deltas are subjected to pressures related to urban growth and climate change, within a context of uncertainty and unpredictability. Those pressures interact at multiple scales and temporalities, affecting the components of the systems, as well as the relations between them and with the environment. This complexity reveals the need for the society (including governments, institutions, civil organizations, academia, etc.) to enhance the adaptability of the system of the delta, in order to cope with changes without losing their substantial characteristics. This research is focused on the study of the complexity of self-organizing processes that emerge in metropolitan areas located in (or near) delta territories, in order to link climate adaptation with urban development from an actor-oriented perspective. This aim is motivated by understanding urbanizing deltas as complex adaptive systems formed by physical components, social actors and their mutual relations, which are in constant adjustment within the system and with the environment, in an atmosphere of uncertainty. In such a complex context, small changes can trigger qualitative impacts, that force the system to adapt in order to return to a new dynamic equilibrium. For example, in urbanizing deltas, extreme climatic events can cause tragic consequences when the context is not capable of adapting to that circumstances, generating effects at all scales. This vulnerability makes necessary to prepare to possible disruptive events though innovative planning methods towards increasing the system´s adaptive capacity. For that purpose, and adopting a bottom-up criterion, this research bases on the understanding of the self-organizing processes that emerge in urbanizing deltas to design and implement a methodology that can be applied at the local level, to generate an impact at other scales. The method designed in this thesis also includes the development of scenarios in order to think about possible future events and reflect on the necessary policy and actions to make the system respond to changes in a more adaptive way. The scenarios, as well as all the indicators analysed along the process, are developed through participatory workshops, after an analysis of the actor-network of the area, and also of the local, provincial and national regulations. The method designed and implemented throughout this research is applied at the local level of the case study, and is flexible enough to be adapted for replicating it in other parts of the Argentinean Delta, in order to contribute to the increase of the systems´ adaptive capacity through the generation of initiatives at the local level that can generate an aggregate impact at higher levels

Towards a Method of Participatory Planning in an Emerging Metropolitan Delta in the Context of Climate Change:

The Parana River is the third largest river in the American continent, after the Mississippi and the Amazon. Instead of flowing directly to the sea, it flows to the Rio de la Plata (located between Argentina and Uruguay) through a complex delta system. This delta is a large and heterogeneous territory that spreads over three provinces of Argentina and that is characterized by different dichotomies along its extension. On the one hand, the islands of the delta are young alluvial lands in constant transformation due to the processes of sedimentation, and are subjected to pulses of floods influenced by the Paraná River streamflow, droughts, precipitations and strong southeastern winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Although these alluvial territories seem to be pristine, they have been moderately altered as a result of the development of economic activities. On the other hand, along the edges of the delta, we find the older territories of the mainland, created in the Pleistocene and less dynamic. Here is a network of cities of dissimilar sizes, that establishes the wealthiest corridor of the country. Conurbations such as Rosario (located in the province of San ta Fe) and the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (located in the homonym province), exert different pressures over the territory, generating an increasing impact on the delta system. In other words, this delta shows a contrast between the wild and dynamic condition of the islands and the more stable but strongly urbanized edges. Nevertheless, this dichotomy is not the only one that can be found in the delta. On the contrary, there are other oppositions regarding economic, policy and social realms, expressed through a polarized, unsustainable and unplanned land use, which turns the area into a vulnerable place, given the uncertain context of climate change. Although this delta can be considered an extreme and particular case, many of the conflicts that can be found in this area replicate in other deltas around the world. Urbanizing deltas are subjected to pressures related to urban growth and climate change, within a context of uncertainty and unpredictability. Those pressures interact at multiple scales and temporalities, affecting the components of the systems, as well as the relations between them and with the environment. This complexity reveals the need for the society (including governments, institutions, civil organizations, academia, etc.) to enhance the adaptability of the system of the delta, in order to cope with changes without losing their substantial characteristics. This research is focused on the study of the complexity of self-organizing processes that emerge in metropolitan areas located in (or near) delta territories, in order to link climate adaptation with urban development from an actor-oriented perspective. This aim is motivated by understanding urbanizing deltas as complex adaptive systems formed by physical components, social actors and their mutual relations, which are in constant adjustment within the system and with the environment, in an atmosphere of uncertainty. In such a complex context, small changes can trigger qualitative impacts, that force the system to adapt in order to return to a new dynamic equilibrium. For example, in urbanizing deltas, extreme climatic events can cause tragic consequences when the context is not capable of adapting to that circumstances, generating effects at all scales. This vulnerability makes necessary to prepare to possible disruptive events though innovative planning methods towards increasing the system´s adaptive capacity. For that purpose, and adopting a bottom-up criterion, this research bases on the understanding of the self-organizing processes that emerge in urbanizing deltas to design and implement a methodology that can be applied at the local level, to generate an impact at other scales. The method designed in this thesis also includes the development of scenarios in order to think about possible future events and reflect on the necessary policy and actions to make the system respond to changes in a more adaptive way. The scenarios, as well as all the indicators analysed along the process, are developed through participatory workshops, after an analysis of the actor-network of the area, and also of the local, provincial and national regulations. The method designed and implemented throughout this research is applied at the local level of the case study, and is flexible enough to be adapted for replicating it in other parts of the Argentinean Delta, in order to contribute to the increase of the systems´ adaptive capacity through the generation of initiatives at the local level that can generate an aggregate impact at higher levels

Redefining Transportation Culture: a New Union Station for Los Angeles

From iconic stations like Grand Central in New York City to the small suburban commuter rail station, the architecture of transportation can have a large effect on the perception of a transportation system. Architecture can also play a large part in encouraging a changeover to more of a public transportation oriented culture. The planning of transit hubs and stations should be transitoriented so that it can reach the most amounts of people. However, a changeover to a transit-oriented society would require a city like Los Angeles to overhaul their current transportation system by adding more lines, connections, and increasing station capacity. The opportunity exists in Los Angeles to create a new addition and master plan to revitalize and develop the Union Station area; blending new and old along with integrating a historic symbol with a brand new one and creating a new type of urban neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles. The new public transportation architecture typology will have to do more by encouraging its users to actually use the facility. Through the creation of a “destination” people will be motivated to come to the station for more than just travel, eliminating the notion of a bland passenger processing building. Also through the development and planning of a transit-oriented development, people will be encouraged to actively use the transit system on a regular basis. This type of building will be the central hub for the cities transportation system and along with that it will become a symbol for the whole transportation system of the city

Technology transfer: Transportation

The application of NASA derived technology in solving problems related to highways, railroads, and other rapid systems is described. Additional areas/are identified where space technology may be utilized to meet requirements related to waterways, law enforcement agencies, and the trucking and recreational vehicle industries