Roadway crashes claim more than 30,000 lives each year in the United States, and they continue to affect the lives of people adversely. This problem becomes even more challenging when aging populations are considered due to their vulnerability and fragility to crashes. This is especially a major concern in Florida since the crash risk for the aging populations is increasing day by day proportional to the population growth of aging Floridians. This study investigates the spatial and temporal patterns of aging-involved crashes using Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based methods with a case study on three urban counties in Florida. These counties are selected based on the high aging-involved crash rates, as identified by the Safe Mobility for Life Coalition of Florida. Among the methods studied, a network distance-based kernel density estimation method, namely SANET, is identified as a very effective tool since it provides an unbiased distribution of the crashes by calculating the actual distances between the crashes over the roadway network. GIS-based results are also supported with a binary logistic regression analysis in order to identify the significant factors affecting the aging-involved crashes. Results indicate that high risk locations for aging-involved crashes show different spatial and temporal patterns than those for other age groups. These pattern specific differences include the following: (a) Intersections have an adverse effect on the 65+ populations more than other adult age groups, (b) Aging-involved population crashes occur during the mid-day rather than the peak hours, which is not a similar pattern for other adult age groups, especially for the working populations, and (c) Weekdays have more aging-involved crashes than the weekends contrary to the other age group crashes. Investigating these distinct patterns thoroughly can lead to better aging-focused transportation plans and policies. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2015. / July 8, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Eren Erman Ozguven, Professor Directing Thesis; John Sobanjo, Committee Member; Ren Moses, Committee Member.

To respond to the research question, “by what processes do new industries emerge?”, the author identified different models of innovation development and industry emergence. Relevant streams of literature included economics, innovation, sociology, economic sociology, and institution theory. A functional goal innovation development theory, referred to as the accumulation model, states that many organizations, from both the public- and private-sectors, collect and accumulate resources in three major social functions. Previous research defined the model state-of-the-art at a high level of abstraction, identifying the three main components (industry infrastructure elements), depicted as separate boxes with arrows between them. This research uses grounded theory extension to identify microscopic processes, delving within and between the three macroscopic infrastructure elements. The industry context of this research was the emerging human suborbital space transportation (“space tourism”) industry. Data came from secondary sources, archival data, and primary sources. This research collected more than 8,400 pieces of secondary and archival data from news aggregator web sites, distilled them into approximately 600 significant events, and categorized them within the accumulation model framework’s three main components: Institutional Arrangements, Resource Endowments, and Proprietary Functions. Industry structure and disruptive innovation studies provided additional analytical perspectives. Primary data, collected via 40 interviews of industry members, filled in and validated data gaps. The combined analyses resulted in a deeper understanding of the industry emergence process. Observations of the sequence of events, and of linkages between events and actors, allowed the author to propose a set of processes, describing how the accumulated industry resources resulted in industry emergence. Description of these processes required modifications to the original framework. Furthermore, this research analyzed a high-profile prize event that initiated the industry emergence, to propose a supplemental set of processes, describing how prizes influence industry emergence. The current research proposes that institutional activities contribute primarily to the accumulation of sociopolitical legitimacy, and resource endowment activities contribute primarily to cognitive legitimacy. Both forms of legitimacy are a significant moderator of interactions between the three infrastructure elements. Furthermore, prizes positively contribute to sociopolitical legitimacy, positively moderate the creation of cognitive legitimacy, and positively moderate many steps in the business development cycle. The proposed processes identify the steps of legitimacy creation and industry emergence. This research provides new insights into the industry emergence and evolution processes, for entrepreneurs, managers, policy-makers, and for developing countries on the African continent.

Motivated by disquiet that walking, as both a travel mode and as a segment of public transport trips, is not accommodated well in South African cities, this dissertation has two central aims. The first is to understand better the need for travel by non-motorised modes and within local areas. The second is to contribute to the improvement of local area movement network configuration and management practices. The research is primarily exploratory in nature and was conducted within a 'critical social science' paradigm-in which the research process was driven by a series of questions regarding the critical interrogation of these practices. It explores some of the implications for practice of a post-apartheid urban transport policy discourse that prioritises understanding travel need, managing road space, and accommodating public transport users and pedestrians. Reviews of literature, examination of codes of practice, and interviews with practitioners were conducted to trace the origins and nature of practices in the fields of travel analysis and local network planning and to investigate evidence of relationships between local network planning practices and improved local travel conditions. A household travel survey was administered in metropolitan Cape Town to gather data on travel behaviour across various income bands and in different residential locations. The survey employed an innovative activity-based method, with theoretical origins in time geography. With the use of computer-assisted personal interviewing technology, it involved members of 204 households recording their activity schedule over a 24-hour period. The data were analysed using conventional methods of filtered cross-tabulation, as well as time-space instruments. The research found, inter alia, that as a result of being routinely excluded or underestimated in past surveys, the importance of walking has not been fully understood. Walking would appear to be particularly important in satisfying the travel needs of middle-and low-income households, and walking distance findings would appear to refute assumptions regarding the introverted nature of pedestrian trips that underlie conventional local network configuration practices. In the light of these and other findings the dissertation argues for functionally 'fuzzy' local networks within which pedestrians and cyclists are accommodated on 'permeable' networks of footways, pathways, cycleways and shared roadways, while motor cars are accommodated on variously discontinuous roadway networks. The dissertation also argues for the strategic identification of local areas requiring priority attention, and the preparation of integrated local area plans incorporating co-ordinated and proactive pedestrian planning, bicycle planning and traffic calming.

Many claim that, with regard to transportation infrastructure, only partnerships between public and private entities, which draw on the strengths of both, can achieve the goals of enhancing operational efficiency, increasing service delivery, improving asset maintenance, and stretching scarce federal, state, and local tax dollars. While some completed public-private partnership (P3) agreements on existing toll roads in the United States have seen a measure of success, others have raised critical questions pertaining to the true costs and benefits associated with these agreements for all stakeholders. Of particular concern is an apparent reliance on monetary calculations alone to determine toll road lump sum value. This primary focus on monetary considerations appears to neglect a number of non-monetary variables associated with potential costs and benefits. Four distinct groups of variables to consider in the decision process are presented in the dissertation: Monetary, Monetizable, Quantitative, and Qualitative. The last two groups represent variables of a non-monetary nature, which can reflect the much larger stewardship role that government plays in our society. The objectives of this research are twofold: to formulate a conceptual framework for a decision support system (DSS); and to propose an approach, including a set of analytical methods, that assesses the costs, benefits and other impacts associated with alternative P3 strategies. The primary user of the conceptual framework is identified as the public sector decision maker who has been asked to make recommendations regarding different strategies of toll road operation. Two analytical methods are presented. The first uses cash flow diagrams to calculate the net present value (NPV) for each of three core P3 strategies. The second, weighs the relative importance of quantitative and qualitative (non-monetizable) variables. When used as part of a seven-step process, these two analytical methods help create a decision support system framework that provides stakeholders with a more complete analysis of the costs and benefits associated with the P3 toll road decision process.

The forces which led to widespread suburbanization resulted in the migration of job opportunities, especially in retailing and in industry. This migration in part led to public transit service decline since a substantial share of transit trips in urban areas consisted of work trips, particularly to the CBD. Most planning agencies in small and medium urban areas include transportation improvements as an integral part of their efforts to stimulate economic development in the central city. The extent to which transportation improvements impact the central city in such areas is an important issue for urban planners, transportation engineers, and other professionals involved in attempts to enhance the local economy. While it is extremely difficult to attribute changes in demographic and economic activity to specific transportation improvements, it is posited in this research that general conclusions regarding such changes can be drawn and related to transportation improvements if consistent patterns of changes can be observed in demographic and economic activities among a large number of cities. The objective of this research is twofold: (1) to examine the relationship between transportation, central city and CBD development, and (2) to develop an econometric model that will depict such relationships. This research depicts selected relationships between employment, population, economic activity and transportation using a system of equations in a recursive model. The models are based on a sample of 112 small and medium sized cities with a 1980 population between 50,000 to 500,000, located in 36 different states. The models were tested using data from 11 cities with a 1980 population of 500,000 to 1,000,000 from 10 different states. The consistent results suggest that growth in the basic manufacturing sector is an important factor for central city growth. Increases in manufacturing employment attract more people to the cities, which in turn changes the retail sector. Also transit service improvements help to improve the downtown economy, since a relatively large share of peak trips are by transit and most of these transit trips are work trips, particularly to the CBD. Increased work trips to the CBD will have a positive (although small) impact on CBD sales. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

An objective of transport policy is to meet the transportation needs of the economy with a minimum expenditure of economic resources. During the 60's and 70's the distribution of freight traffic in Europe shifted towards road transport despite the price, market access, and capacity restrictions imposed on the trucking industry. In view of this, several EEC Commission proposals and Council of Ministers decisions have suggested reforms towards a more effective structure of the freight transport market in Europe. These proposals notwithstanding, overregulation in the European freight transport market continues to prevent this market from operating with maximum efficiency. Distortions in modal split result in inefficient use of available transport capacities and lead to increased costs in providing transport services. The primary focus of this research is the examination of international freight transport allocation in the EEC and its relation to freight transport regulation. A stochastic model based on consumer theory is employed in this examination. The model assists in the analysis of intermodal competition by examining the elasticities of substitution of transport demand between rail, truck, and inland waterways for 18 commodity groups. Another aim of this dissertation is to examine the deregulation alternative in the European freight transport market. The prevailing premise is that in conditions of perfect competition, static misallocations and deadweight losses are minimized, and, thus a near-optimum allocation of resources is achieved. Assuming post-deregulation price reductions in trucking, the welfare cost of traffic misallocation caused by current transport regulation is calculated. Furthermore, the likely effects of rate, entry, and exit deregulation in the European freight system are examined. The modelling approach used in this research covers the whole EEC mode-commodity system and views transport regulation and intermodal competition from a comprehensive, administrative standpoint. This dissertation by examining the effects of regulation on intermodal freight transport allocation, in intended to contribute to the goal of establishing a common internal market in Europe by 1992.

abstract: United States Air Force airfield PAVER pavement management system enterprise data was reviewed for 67 networks. The distress survey extents and severity fields were joined with treatment costs estimated using RSMeans to determine the costliest distress. In asphalt surfaced pavements Longitudinal/transverse cracking, weathering, and block cracking resulted in the most pavement condition index (PCI) deducts while the costliest distresses are weathering, block cracking and longitudinal cracking. In portland cement concrete surfaced pavements linear cracking, joint seal damage, and joint spalling resulted in the most PCI deducts while the costliest distresses are joint seal damage, linear cracking, and corner spalling. The results of this data were then compared to airfield attributes: Pavement Temperature Group, Dominant American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Soil Classification, Pavement- Transportation Computer Assisted Structural Engineering (PCASE) Climate Zone, and years since last maintenance. Maps showing the Pavement Temperature Group, Dominant AASHTO Soil Classification, and PCASE Climate Zone are included in Appendix A. Alligator cracking is most prevalent at the airfields with PTG 64-34 (Ellsworth, Fairchild, Hill, and Offutt) and 58-22 (Niagara and Vandenberg). Rutting is most prevalent at PTG 64-34 (Ellsworth, Fairchild, Hill, and Offutt). An increasing trend of joint spalling, corner spalling, and corner break with decreasing soil quality (AASHOTO A-1 to A-8 soils). The PCASE Climate Zone Cost Indices the cost index for weathering is approximately double in the moist region over the dry region. The cost index for block cracking is approximately double in the cold region over the hot region. It is recommended that the agency review its pavement performance modeling in the pavement management system to increase the recommendation of pavement preservation treatments and review the use of higher quality materials for pavement maintenance treatments. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2020

The dissertation consists of three essays: 1) Productivity growth in the transportation industries in the United States: An application of the DEA Malmquist productivity index; 2) how does a carbon dioxide emissions change affect transportation productivity? A case study of the U.S. transportation sector from 2002 to 2011; and 3) forecast of CO2 emissions from the U.S. transportation sector: Estimation from a double exponential smoothing model. The first essay reviews productivity growth in the five major transportation industries in the United States (airline, truck, rail, pipeline, and water) and the pooled transportation industry from 2004 to 2011. The major findings are that the U.S. transportation industry shows strong and positive productivity growth except in the years of the global financial crisis in 2007, 2008, and 2010, and among the five transportation industries, the rail and water sectors show the highest productivity growth in 2011. The second essay examines the effects of a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions change on actual productivity in the U.S. transportation sector. This study finds that a CO2 emissions increase from 2002 to 2007 had a negative effect on actual productivity in the U.S. transportation sector, but the CO2 emissions reduction for 2008–2011 increases actual productivity. States mainly showing sustainable growth patterns (decrease in CO2 emissions concurrent with increasing actual productivity) experience higher technological innovation increase than an efficiency decrease. This finding suggests that fuel-efficient and carbon reduction technologies as well as alternative transportation energy sources may be essential factors to both grow transportation and slow global warming. The third essay reviews whether the decreasing trend in U.S. CO2 emissions from the transportation sector since the end of the 2000s is consistent across all states in the nation for 2012‒2021. A double exponential smoothing model is used to forecast CO2 emissions for the transportation sector in the 50 states and the U.S., and its findings are supported by pseudo out-of-sample forecasts validity testing. This study concludes that the decreasing trend in transportation CO2 emissions in the U.S. will continue in most states in the future. / Mountain Plains Consortium (MPC) / U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)

The justification of government support of rural transit on the basis of the presence of increasing returns to scale and the most efficient regional organization of transit is investigated. Returns to density, size, and scope at most levels of output were found. Cost subadditivity, where a monopoly firm can provide service at a lower cost than two firms, was found for many, but not all observations. The presence of natural monopoly in rural transit in a strict sense is rejected. The findings and implications are directly applicable to rural transit in North Dakota and should be helpful in informing future federal policy as well as rural transit policy, service design, and operation in other states.

Several recently published studies have demonstrated that employing planning strategies oriented on improving the internal characteristics of transit service, including frequency, coverage, intermodal integration, and seamless connectivity between all important trip attractors, positively influences ridership and productivity of multimodal bus and light rail transit systems. However, the research has not assessed overall economic outcomes of implementing these strategies, including social benefits and capital costs. Another emerging body of scholarship pointed to transit service contracting and consolidated regional governance as another possible strategy for improving transit feasibility. Again, not all economic aspects of these decisions have been evaluated thus far, and the available assessments of contracting and transit governance models do not consider long-term effects of specific organizational decisions. This study intends to fill these research gaps by investigating the influence of several internal and external transit performance factors on the amount of net benefits generated by 13 U.S. bus and light rail transit systems, observed annually during the 2001 - 2011 period. The evaluation starts with an estimation of net benefits (agency revenues plus non-direct social benefits minus operating and capital costs). Next, a panel regression model is employed to examine the statistical relationship between specific performance factors and the average net benefits generated by the case systems. The results of this study indicate that higher frequency, higher service density, higher ratio of contracted service and the presence of strong regional transit governance positively influence net benefits. The role of network decentralization (volume of service headed outside of the central business district) appears to be insignificant. These results bring additional evidence indicating the positive outcomes of certain internal transit planning strategies, which corresponds with the findings offered by previous research studies. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / September 9, 2014. / benefit-cost analysis, light rail, public transportation, regional governance, transportation economics, transportation planning / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey R. Brown, Professor Directing Dissertation; Keith Ihlanfeldt, University Representative; Andrew Aurand, Committee Member; Michael Duncan, Committee Member; Gregory L. Thompson, Committee Member.