Request for New Course
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
REQUEST FOR NEW COURSE
DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL: _______GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY___COLLEGE:
ARTS AND SCIENCES
CONTACT PERSON: ______YICHUN XIE____________________________________________________________________
CONTACT PHONE:
487-7588
CONTACT EMAIL:
YXIE@EMICH.EDU
REQUESTED START DATE: TERM__WINTER ____YEAR__2013____
A. Rationale/Justification for the Course
Planning for transportation is now, and will be in the future, a critical component in the revitalization of the nation's
economy. One of the planning profession’s over-arching analytical tools is alternatives analysis. Alternatives analysis is a method
for forecasting and comparing effects of different future scenarios that are designed to address a community problem or an
opportunity. Information learned is used with other information to negotiate support for a path to a decision and possible
implementation. Alternatives analysis is enshrined in various pieces of federal legislation as a requirement for receiving federal
funds for major urban investments.
One of the basic tools of planning for transportation infrastructure is the use of alternatives analysis through computerized
modeling. In the last three decades transportation models have become increasingly sophisticated and now serve as a primary
source of information for decision-making on transportation spending and construction. This course provides skills necessary for
being an effective transportation planner. It introduces students to the most common modeling software through lectures and
exercises. Combined with other courses in the undergraduate Certificate in Transportation Planning, it enhances their career
choices in the field of transportation planning and engineering.
B. Course Information
1. Subject Code and Course Number:
URP 460
2. Course Title:
Transportation Modeling Systems
3. Credit Hours:
3
4. Repeatable for Credit? Yes_______
No__X____
If “Yes”, how many total credits may be earned? _______
5. Catalog Description (Limit to approximately 50 words.):
This course provides skills necessary for being an effective transportation planner. It introduces students to the most common
modeling software through lectures and exercises. Combined with other courses in the undergraduate Certificate in Transportation
Planning, it enhances their career choices in the field of transportation planning and engineering.
6. Method of Delivery (Check all that apply.)
a. Standard (lecture/lab) X
On Campus
X
Off Campus
b. Fully Online
c. Hybrid/ Web Enhanced
7. Grading Mode:
Normal (A-E)
X
Credit/No Credit
8. Prerequisites: Courses that MUST be completed before a student can take this course. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title.)
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New Course Form
GEOG 441, Transportation Geography and Planning
GPLN/GEOG 276 Principles of Geographic Information Systems
9. Concurrent Prerequisites:
Code, Number and Title.)
Courses listed in #5 that MAY also be taken at the same time as a student is taking this course. (List by Subject
None
10. Corequisites: Courses that MUST be taken at the same time as a student in taking this course.
(List by Subject Code, Number and
Title.)
None
11. Equivalent Courses. A student may not earn credit for both a course and its equivalent. A course will count as a repeat if an equivalent
course has already been taken. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title)
GEOG 560 Transportation Modeling Systems
12. Course Restrictions:
a. Restriction by College. Is admission to a specific College Required?
College of Business
Yes
No
X
College of Education
Yes
No
X
b. Restriction by Major/Program. Will only students in certain majors/programs be allowed to take this course?
Yes
No
X
If “Yes”, list the majors/programs
c. Restriction by Class Level Check all those who will be allowed to take the course:
Undergraduate
Graduate
All undergraduates_______
All graduate students___
Freshperson
Certificate
Sophomore
X
Masters
Junior
X
Specialist
Senior
X
Doctoral
Second Bachelor__X______
UG Degree Pending_____
Post-Bac. Tchr. Cert._X____
Low GPA Admit_______
Note: If this is a 400-level course to be offered for graduate credit, attach Approval Form for 400-level Course for Graduate
Credit. Only “Approved for Graduate Credit” undergraduate courses may be included on graduate programs of study.
Note: Only 500-level graduate courses can be taken by undergraduate students. Undergraduate students may not register for
600-level courses
d. Restriction by Permission. Will Departmental Permission be required?
Yes
No
(Note: Department permission requires the department to enter authorization for every student registering.)
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Sept. ‘09
X
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New Course Form
13. Will the course be offered as part of the General Education Program?
Yes
No
X
If “Yes”, attach Request for Inclusion of a Course in the General Education Program: Education for Participation in the Global Community
form. Note: All new courses proposed for inclusion in this program will be reviewed by the General Education Advisory Committee. If this
course is NOT approved for inclusion in the General Education program, will it still be offered? Yes
No
C. Relationship to Existing Courses
Within the Department:
14. Will this course will be a requirement or restricted elective in any existing program(s)? Yes X
No
If “Yes”, list the programs and attach a copy of the programs that clearly shows the place the new course will have in the curriculum.
Program Urban and Regional Planning Major
Required
Restricted Elective X
Program Transportation Planning and Modeling Certificate
Required X
Restricted Elective
15. Will this course replace an existing course? Yes
No
X
16. (Complete only if the answer to #15 is “Yes.”)
a. Subject Code, Number and Title of course to be replaced:
b. Will the course to be replaced be deleted?
Yes
No
17. (Complete only if the answer #16b is “Yes.”) If the replaced course is to be deleted, it is not necessary to submit a Request for
Graduate and Undergraduate Course Deletion.
a. When is the last time it will be offered?
Term
Year
b. Is the course to be deleted required by programs in other departments?
Contact the Course and Program Development Office if necessary.
Yes
No
c. If “Yes”, do the affected departments support this change?
Yes
No
If “Yes”, attach letters of support. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of support, if available.
Outside the Department: The following information must be provided. Contact the Course and Program Development office for
assistance if necessary.
18. Are there similar courses offered in other University Departments?
If “Yes”, list courses by Subject Code, Number and Title
Yes
No
X
19. If similar courses exist, do the departments in which they are offered support the proposed course?
Yes
No
If “Yes”, attach letters of support from the affected departments. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of
support, if available.
D. Course Requirements
20. Attach a detailed Sample Course Syllabus including: Attached
a.
b.
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Sept. ‘09
Course goals, objectives and/or student learning outcomes
Outline of the content to be covered
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c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Student assignments including presentations, research papers, exams, etc.
Method of evaluation
Grading scale (if a graduate course, include graduate grading scale)
Special requirements
Bibliography, supplemental reading list
Other pertinent information.
E. Cost Analysis (Complete only if the course will require additional University resources.
Fill in Estimated Resources for the
sponsoring department(s). Attach separate estimates for other affected departments.)
No additional resources required. (Shared with URP 560 Transportation Modeling Systems.)
Estimated Resources:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Faculty / Staff
$_________
$_________
$_________
SS&M
$_3,000___
$_________
$_________
Equipment
$_________
$_________
$_________
Total
$__3,000_
$___00___
$___00___
F. Action of the Department/School and College
1. Department/School
Vote of faculty: For __________
Against __________
Abstentions __________
(Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)
Department Head/School Director Signature
Date
2. College/Graduate School
A. College
College Dean Signature
Date
B. Graduate School (if Graduate Course)
Graduate Dean Signature
Date
G. Approval
Associate Vice-President for Academic Programming Signature
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Sept. ‘09
Date
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New Course Form
SYLLABUS
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
URP 460 TRANSPORTATION MODELING SYSTEMS
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Telephone:
Office Hours:
Course Description
Planning for transportation is now, and will be in the future, a critical component in the revitalization of the nation's economy.
One of the basic tools of planning for transportation infrastructure is the use of computerized modeling. In the last three decades
transportation models have become increasingly sophisticated and now serve as a primary source of information for decisionmaking on transportation spending and construction.
This course provides skills necessary for being an effective transportation planner. It introduces students to the most common
modeling software through lectures and exercises. Combined with other courses in the undergraduate Certificate in Transportation
Planning, it enhances their career choices in the field of transportation planning and engineering.
Course Objectives
1. To help students understand the relationship between land use and transportation planning and the use of computerized
modeling.
2. To introduce students to common modeling software.
3. To complement other skills and knowledge areas in urban and regional planning.
4. To assist students to acquire analytic techniques in computer modeling of transportation systems.
Outline of the content
In this course students will use transportation demand modeling software to evaluate several transit future year networks
that students design. Students will first conduct an internal scoping process to define the problem or opportunity (generally,
seeking methods for reducing single occupant vehicle use), criteria for evaluating scenarios (the main criteria will be those that
can be measured through the modeling process; supplemented by other criteria that can be obtained from the local transit agency
and from the National Transit Database (NTD)), and development of varied approaches to transit system development scenarios
for addressing the problem or opportunity. The result will be a completed transit needs alternative analysis report to be completed
during the course of the studio. To complete it, students will:
Week 1:
Take their working knowledge of a planning model and prepare a network for transit alternatives analysis;
Week 2:
Understand the model’s new transit components in particular (comparing auto and transit skims for
reasonableness) and understand the process for validation and calibration of the highway and transit
components of the model;.
Week 3-4:
Students will become familiar with the nested logit model and modal parameters, and report a complete
understand of the structure and function of the modal split model;
Week 5:
Students will become familiar with coding light rail and heavy rail lines as well as bus services using lanes that
are not affected by traffic congestion;
Week 6:
Run a model of a future scenario to obtain benchmark statistics such as ridership, boardings, and alightings
against which alternative transit scenarios will be compared;
Week 7-8:
Learn how to model transit oriented development, including splitting traffic analysis zones (TAZs), coding
zone centroid connectors, and understanding how the model generated access connectors to the transit system
Week 9:
Define several themes for future scenarios and then model future scenarios containing changed transportation,
land use, and parking systems and various combination of these;
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Week 10-11:
Week 12:
Week 13:
Week 14-15:
Forecast the performance of the transportation system for each scenario;
Make sketch planning estimates of operating expenses of each scenario;
Make sketch planning estimates of capital expenses of each scenario;
Complete the Transit System Alternative Needs Analysis
Student Assignments
Task 1 Synthesis of previous transit alternative plans
• Conduct a literature review of available materials
• Develop a list of references/resources for the project
• Determine the best way to assimilate historical transit modeling attempts to minimize duplication and improve the quality
of the project forecasts
• Deliverable Technical memo documenting task
Task 2 Development of scenario alternatives
• Map out the action plan for the number and themes of the several transit scenario alternatives that will be developed.
• Determine if the regional model or the sub-area model will be used for the study. (note the same model must be used for
all alternatives)
• Determine what calibration/validation will be needed before development of transit alternatives.
• Deliverable Technical memo documenting task
Task 3 Transit alternative scenario testing
• Establish transit line file coding standards
• Perform any needed calibration/validation to the future year scenario
• Code transit alternatives, run and debug the model
• Prepare a run results summary matrix
• Establish a method for storing summary data after each model run for future analysis purposes
• Deliverable Technical memo documenting task. Report to include coding methods used, scenario implementation
documentation, a log of troubleshooting errors/bugs encountered during each scenario development, an appendix of run
result statistical summaries for each model run (highway and transit basic measures), summary of initial findings for each
alternative
Task 4 Preparation and development of alternative forecasts
• Hold internal meeting to determine how to present forecast results to client
• Conduct ground-truthing, reality checking, and sketch planning. The client is not concerned with the methods used to
model. It is all about the forecast.
• Present draft results to client
• Deliverable Technical memo documenting task
Task 5 Final Report and Summary
• Address any concerns/issues from the working group and client
• Finalize technical memos for final report
• Prepare necessary appendices, front-matter, charts, tables, and graphs
• QA/QC report and prepare for printing
• Deliverable Final Report; 20 bound copies and 5 electronic copies
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Method of evaluation and grading
This course will be cross-listed with the graduate course, URP 560 Transportation Modeling Systems.
Exams and other course assignments will be weighted as follows for undergraduate students:
Assignments:
Final project:
60 points
40 points
Final grades will be based on the following scale:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DE
93 or higher
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
less than 60
The required texts are available at the EMU Book Store at the Student Center. Software and additional materials will be provided
in class.
Texts, Manuals, and Software:
1. David A. Hensher (editor). 2007. Handbook of Transport Modeling. Elsevier Science.
2. "Transportation Engineering Online Lab Manual." 2003. Oregon State University.
3. Transportation Planning Extension for ArcGIS (Rapidis).
Additional required readings will be made available through EMU’s e-reserve system:
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Bibliography:
Bowman, J.L. and M.E, Ben-Akiva. 2001. "Activity-based disaggregate travel demand model
system with activity schedules." Transportation Research. 35A, 1-28.
Coombe, D. 1996. "Induced traffic: What do transportation models tell us?" Transportation. 23.
83-101.
Downs, Anthony. 2004. "Still Stuck in Traffic: Coping with Peak-Hour Traffic Congestion."
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Dunn, James A. 1998. "Driving Forces: The Automobile, Its Enemies, and the Politics of
Mobility." Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Hanson, Susan and Giuliano, Genevieve, editors. 2004. The Geography of Urban Transportation,
Third Edition. New York and London: Guilford Press.
Highway Capacity Manual 2010. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board. 2010.
Taaffe, Edward J., Howard L. Gauthier, and Morton O'Kelly. Geography of Transportation.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996.
Papacostas, C.S. and P.D. Prevedouros. Transportation Engineering and Planning (3rd Edition).
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2000.
Trip Generation: 8th Edition. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Transportation Engineers. 2008.
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