SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF TRANSIT AND NONMOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE ON COMMUTING BEHAVIOR IN SEVEN CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

Although investment in nonmotorized transportation (walking and bicycling) infrastructure has been increasingly common in recent years, very little is known about the synergistic impact of jointly developed transit and nonmotorized infrastructure systems. This study fills this gap by investigating how transit commuting is affected by the coincidence of transit, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities. Seven representative cities were chosen for this study. Zero-inflated negative binomial and negative binomial regression models were adopted to quantify the synergistic effects between transit stops and three nonmotorized facilities (sidewalks, bike lanes, and bike racks) on commuters. One notable finding is that the presence of transit stops in close proximity to commuters’ origins has a significant impact on choosing public transit as their commuting mode. However, sidewalks and bike lanes are not contributing factors for commuters’ travel mode choice. Bike racks do not directly influence a transit system’s commuting mode share, but when combined with transit networks, they hold the potential to increase transit ridership. The findings of this study can accordingly support transportation authorities and planners in devising forward-thinking, sustainable transportation infrastructure environments, and should be of value to those who plot proactive multimodal transportation plans

The Future of Indiana’s Water Resources: A Report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment

This report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) applies climate change projections for the state to explore how continued changes in Indiana’s climate are going to affect all aspects of water resources, including soil water, evaporation, runoff, snow cover, streamflow, drought, and flooding. As local temperatures continue to rise and rainfall patterns shift, managing the multiple water needs of communities, natural systems, recreation, industry, and agriculture will become increasingly difficult. Ensuring that enough water is available in the right places and at the right times will require awareness of Indiana’s changing water resources and planning at regional and state levels

City of Ivanhoe Comprehensive Plan 2018-2038

the City of Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County, which is in southeastern Texas near the Louisiana border. The land is gently rolling, with an elevation ranging from 100 to 400 feet above sea level. Texas Target Communities developed this document in partnership with the City of Ivanhoe. In the summer of 2016, Tyler County and the City of Ivanhoe collaborated with Texas Target Communities to assess current community conditions and explore future development strategies. The project aimed to enhance community-wide discussion through a public participatory process, resulting in developing a comprehensive plan to help guide the future growth of the County and City. A representative task force of community members engaged in a participatory planning process, including visioning, goal setting, alternative scenario exploration, and strategies for implementation. Using courses on campus, TAMU urban planning students were exposed to the planning process and explored innovative ideas. The result of this collaboration is this document, which provides strategies for the community’s growth utilizing the natural resource and the assets of the City.The Ivanhoe Comprehensive Plan 2017-2037 provides guidance for the future development of the city. In the summer of 2016, Tyler County and the City of Ivanhoe collaborated with Texas Target Communities to assess current community conditions and explore future development strategies., which resulted in this comprehensive plan document.Texas Target Communitie

Understanding Potential Exposure of Bicyclists on Roadways to Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Findings from El Paso, Texas, Using Strava Metro Data

As bicycling on roadways can cause adverse health effects, there is an urgent need to understand how bicycle routes expose bicyclists to traffic emissions. Limited resources for monitoring reveal that bicycle travel patterns may constrain such understanding at the network level. This study examined the potential exposure of bicyclists to traffic-related air pollution in El Paso, Texas, using Strava Metro data that revealed bicycle patterns across the city networks. An initial spatial mapping analysis was conducted to explore the spatial patterns of bicycling and traffic pollutant emission, followed by exploratory descriptive statistics. A spatial bicycle model was then developed to explore factors influencing bicycling activity in El Paso. Analysis results indicated significant associations between greater bicycle volume and both higher levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions and more frequent bus services, implying adverse health concerns related to traffic-related air pollution. The results also indicated significant effects of various environmental characteristics (e.g., roadway, bicycle infrastructure, topography, and demographics) on bicycling. The findings encourage extending this study to provide guidance to bicyclists whose regular trips take place on heavily trafficked roads and during rush hours in this region and to evaluate the net health impacts of on-road bicycling for the general population

Identification of ground-state spin ordering in antiferromagnetic transition metal oxides using the Ising model and a genetic algorithm

We identify ground-state collinear spin ordering in various antiferromagnetic transition metal oxides by constructing the Ising model from first-principles results and applying a genetic algorithm to find its minimum energy state. The present method can correctly reproduce the ground state of well-known antiferromagnetic oxides such as NiO, Fe2O3, Cr2O3 and MnO2. Furthermore, we identify the ground-state spin ordering in more complicated materials such as Mn3O4 and CoCr2O4

Exploring E-bikes in the Era of Electrification: Toward a More Sustainable and Equitable Transportation System

While increasing electrification is vital, additional steps are necessary to maximize its benefits in terms of reducing congestion and promoting sustainable, accessible, and equitable transportation for all. E-bikes, operating at speeds faster than pedal-only bicycles and requiring less physical effort to ride, have the potential to offer transportation alternatives to a diverse range of users. However, many individuals who could benefit from e-bikes face barriers to accessing or using this mode of transportation. In this context, the primary objective of this study is to enhance our understanding of the barriers, concerns, and needs associated with e-bikes. Recognizing that such understanding is crucial for informing relevant policies and initiatives, the research team conducted a comprehensive review of the literature and various other resources and performed a qualitative examination of e-bike uses, potential benefits, barriers, and strategies aimed at addressing these barriers. The researchers also highlighted cases relevant to marginalized population groups, particularly including people with disabilities and older adults

Novel high-Κ dielectrics for next-generation electronic devices screened by automated ab initio calculations

As the scale of transistors and capacitors in electronics is reduced to less than a few nanometers, leakage currents pose a serious problem to the device's reliability. To overcome this dilemma, high-Κ materials that exhibit a larger permittivity and band gap are introduced as gate dielectrics to enhance both the capacitance and block leakage simultaneously. Currently, HfO2 is widely used as a high-Κ dielectric; however, a higher-Κ material remains desired for further enhancement. To find new high-Κ materials, we conduct a high-throughput ab initio calculation for band gap and permittivity. The accurate and efficient calculation is enabled by newly developed automation codes that fully automate a series of delicate methods in a highly optimized manner. We can, thus, calculate>1800 structures of binary and ternary oxides from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database and obtain a total property map. We confirm that the inverse correlation relationship between the band gap and permittivity is roughly valid for most oxides. However, new candidate materials exhibit interesting properties, such as large permittivity, despite their large band gaps. Analyzing these materials, we discuss the origin of large Κ values and suggest design rules to find new high-Κ materials that have not yet been discovered. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved124291sciescopu