Development over the past sixty years has created patterned growth and expansion outward from city centers, separating residences from commercial areas and employment centers. This separation of land uses has increased automobile dependency, which increases vehicle miles traveled and associated greenhouse gas emissions. California Senate Bill 375 mandates the development and implementation of a “Sustainable Communities Strategy” in order to plan regional land use and transportation in a coordinated fashion. In coordination with this effort, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) is developing the Regional Implementation Plan for Smart Growth Development Strategies, which entails the identification of smart growth strategies that offer the greatest potential to reduce vehicle miles traveled and meet the 5% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for the Monterey Bay Area. The major goal of this project was to assist AMBAG in determining the political feasibility of smart growth development strategies and identifying the most feasible strategies for the region. Political feasibility was determined by two factors: 1) support from the public/stakeholders, 2) “low-hanging fruit” potential, and one technical criterion: the potential to reduce vehicle miles traveled and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. The Regional Advisory Committee provided ten months of knowledge and expertise on stakeholder opinions v about strategies, barriers, circumstances for gaining stakeholder support, and resources for implementation. Additionally, survey results from planning directors the “low-hanging fruit” strategies. The quantified VMT/GHG reduction potential of smart growth strategies was another evaluation criteria and was used to inventory quantified reduction measures and their ranges of potential. The analysis identified seventeen strategies that met a set of thresholds for political feasibility. Based on these results, it is recommended that AMBAG consider these strategies in the development of their plan, by addressing the barriers to implementation, the conditions or circumstances for overcoming those barriers and gaining support from stakeholders, and developing the resources to assist jurisdictions with implementation.

abstract: Vehicle type choice is a significant determinant of fuel consumption and energy sustainability; larger, heavier vehicles consume more fuel, and expel twice as many pollutants, than their smaller, lighter counterparts. Over the course of the past few decades, vehicle type choice has seen a vast shift, due to many households making more trips in larger vehicles with lower fuel economy. During the 1990s, SUVs were the fastest growing segment of the automotive industry, comprising 7% of the total light vehicle market in 1990, and 25% in 2005. More recently, due to rising oil prices, greater awareness to environmental sensitivity, the desire to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and the availability of new vehicle technologies, many households are considering the use of newer vehicles with better fuel economy, such as hybrids and electric vehicles, over the use of the SUV or low fuel economy vehicles they may already own. The goal of this research is to examine how vehicle miles traveled, fuel consumption and emissions may be reduced through shifts in vehicle type choice behavior. Using the 2009 National Household Travel Survey data it is possible to develop a model to estimate household travel demand and total fuel consumption. If given a vehicle choice shift scenario, using the model it would be possible to calculate the potential fuel consumption savings that would result from such a shift. In this way, it is possible to estimate fuel consumption reductions that would take place under a wide variety of scenarios. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil Engineering 2013

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Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and its relationship with the built environment has been extensively studied. Most notably, five D variables of the built environment including density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit are the key variables included in this research to explain VMT generation from housing developments. This thesis uses prior research that developed robust statistical models and findings to create a framework to estimate VMT reduction affected by infill housing developed using incentives provided by the state compared to a regional comparator. The regional comparator is typically a suburban single-family housing development in the region. The models recommended for future application of the framework are based on ease of finding the data on variables included in the model and statistical robustness. The application of the framework in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area regions of California shows that infill prototypes developed can generate an 11-27% reduction in VMT per capita. The findings are specific to a synthetic household defined for this study. The research provides ways to apply this framework to other regions of the state along with ideas to consider for future work. These ideas include exploring the VMT reduction potential based on households with different income levels appropriate for the regions, future modeling efforts, and selection of existing models. The findings of this thesis support that the combination of the five D variables can help attribute to a larger VMT reduction than the VMT reduction caused by the change of a single variable. When destinations are clustered, and jobs are available at a reasonable distance to the residence, a significant reduction in VMT is more achievable. The results inform public agencies on which locations are ripe for devoting further resources for incentivizing housing development to reach climate and housing goals.

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Yes / With China being the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and its aviation sector burgeoning, the environmental performance of Chinese airlines has global significance. Amidst rising demands for eco-friendly practices from both customers and regulators, the interplay between airport infrastructure and environmental performance becomes pivotal. This research offers an innovative methodology to gauge the environmental performance of Chinese airlines, emphasizing the distance traveled between airports using weighted additive utility functions. Leveraging neural networks, the study investigates the impact of various airport infrastructural characteristics on environmental performance. Noteworthy findings indicate that ground control measures, automatic information services at origin airports, surface concrete on runways at both ends, and a centerline lighting system in destination airports positively influence environmental performance. In contrast, longer and wider runways at origin airports, increased distances to control towers, and asphalt runways at destination airports adversely affect it. These insights not only underscore the importance of strategic infrastructure enhancements for reducing carbon footprints but also hold profound policy implications. As global climate change remains at the forefront, fostering sustainable airport infrastructure in China can significantly contribute to worldwide mitigation efforts. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 18 Jan 2025.

Neste trabalho é estimado o valor do índice de mortes por quilômetro percorrido pela frota de veículos rodoviários no Brasil e em cada estado da federação nos anos de 2004 a 2008. Para determinar os valores da quilometragem anual média dos veículos - parâmetro necessário para estimativa do índice de mortes por veículo - quilômetro - desenvolveu-se um método apropriado tomando como referência a quantidade de combustível vendida pelas distribuidoras em cada estado. Os estados foram classificados em relação a todos os índices associados à mortalidade viária, assim como analisadas as relações entre o índice de mortes por quilômetro e o nível de desenvolvimento econômico dos estados. Constata-se que a situação da mortalidade no trânsito é um grave problema nacional, sobretudo nos estados mais pobres, onde os índices de mortes por veículo-quilômetro atingem números extremamente elevados. O fato positivo é que os números apontam para uma redução contínua do índice de mortes por quilômetro, que passou de 68,26 para 55,87 mortes por bilhão de quilômetros no país entre 2004 e 2008 (queda de 18,15%). Isso se deve ao aumento da quilometragem percorrida, função do aumento da frota, do crescimento econômico e de certa estabilização do número de mortes; este último em decorrência de ações em âmbito nacional implementadas pelo governo federal, bem como de ações específicas levadas a efeito em alguns estados. / This research estimated the value of the rate of deaths per kilometer traveled by the road vehicles fleet in Brazil and in each of the states of the federation, in the years 2004 to 2008. To determine the values of the average annual distance traveled by vehicles - parameter needed to estimate the rate of deaths per vehicle-kilometers - an appropriate methodology has been developed with reference on the amount of fuel sold by distributors in every state. The states were ranked according to all indexes associated with road fatalities, and the relationship between the rate of deaths per kilometer and the level of economic development of states, expressed by the motorization rate and the GDP per capita, is analyzed. It appears that the situation of traffic mortality is a serious national problem, especially in the poorest states, where the rate of deaths per vehicle-km reaches very high figures. The positive fact is that the numbers point to a continued reduction in the rate of deaths per kilometer, which decreased from 68.26 to 55.87 deaths per billion km in the country between 2004 and 2008 (a decrease of 18.15%). This is due to the increase on the distance traveled, a result of the increased fleet and economic growth, and also of some stabilization in the number of deaths; being the last a consequence of nationwide actions implemented by the federal government, and also of specific actions carried out in some states.

Neste trabalho é estimado o valor do índice de mortes por quilômetro percorrido pela frota de veículos rodoviários no Brasil e em cada estado da federação nos anos de 2004 a 2008. Para determinar os valores da quilometragem anual média dos veículos - parâmetro necessário para estimativa do índice de mortes por veículo - quilômetro - desenvolveu-se um método apropriado tomando como referência a quantidade de combustível vendida pelas distribuidoras em cada estado. Os estados foram classificados em relação a todos os índices associados à mortalidade viária, assim como analisadas as relações entre o índice de mortes por quilômetro e o nível de desenvolvimento econômico dos estados. Constata-se que a situação da mortalidade no trânsito é um grave problema nacional, sobretudo nos estados mais pobres, onde os índices de mortes por veículo-quilômetro atingem números extremamente elevados. O fato positivo é que os números apontam para uma redução contínua do índice de mortes por quilômetro, que passou de 68,26 para 55,87 mortes por bilhão de quilômetros no país entre 2004 e 2008 (queda de 18,15%). Isso se deve ao aumento da quilometragem percorrida, função do aumento da frota, do crescimento econômico e de certa estabilização do número de mortes; este último em decorrência de ações em âmbito nacional implementadas pelo governo federal, bem como de ações específicas levadas a efeito em alguns estados. / This research estimated the value of the rate of deaths per kilometer traveled by the road vehicles fleet in Brazil and in each of the states of the federation, in the years 2004 to 2008. To determine the values of the average annual distance traveled by vehicles - parameter needed to estimate the rate of deaths per vehicle-kilometers - an appropriate methodology has been developed with reference on the amount of fuel sold by distributors in every state. The states were ranked according to all indexes associated with road fatalities, and the relationship between the rate of deaths per kilometer and the level of economic development of states, expressed by the motorization rate and the GDP per capita, is analyzed. It appears that the situation of traffic mortality is a serious national problem, especially in the poorest states, where the rate of deaths per vehicle-km reaches very high figures. The positive fact is that the numbers point to a continued reduction in the rate of deaths per kilometer, which decreased from 68.26 to 55.87 deaths per billion km in the country between 2004 and 2008 (a decrease of 18.15%). This is due to the increase on the distance traveled, a result of the increased fleet and economic growth, and also of some stabilization in the number of deaths; being the last a consequence of nationwide actions implemented by the federal government, and also of specific actions carried out in some states.

No description available.