TRANSPORTATION and the ENVIRONMENT, Fall 2015
34:970:553
10:762:483
Bob Noland
449 Civic Square
rnoland@rutgers.edu
Kelcie Ralph
358 Civic Square
kelcie.ralph@rutgers.edu
Office hours: by appointment only, please send an email to arrange
Learning Objectives
To provide an understanding of the complex interrelationships between
transportation and the environment, to discuss the various environmental impacts
caused by the provision and use of transportation, to analyze causes and to
discuss technology and policy solutions to environmental problems. The course
will focus on the economics of environmental, land use and transportation policy
and how these affect environmental outcomes.
At the conclusion of this course, students will understand:
• The environmental impacts associated with all modes of transportation;
• How individual behavior affects the environmental impacts of transportation;
• Technical and policy solutions to mitigate environmental impacts of
transportation;
• Social and economic impacts associated with environmental effects of
transportation and the mitigation of those effects;
• The sources of climate change, the consequences of climate change, and
links to transportation policy; and,
• Energy and resource issues associated with transportation, including issues
associated with alternative fuels.
Assignments and Assessment
1.
2.
3.
4.
Research paper and presentation: 35%
Discussion papers: 20%
Take home exam: 35%
Class participation: 10%
Percentages are subject to change!
The number of Discussion Papers that you will be responsible for is dependent on
the number of students registered for class. Currently, there are 24 registered in
the class and you will work in teams of two to present the discussion papers. If
we end up having fewer (or more) students, this will change.
All readings and resources are on Sakai.
Course Outline and Readings
Sept 2: Week 1
Overview of environmental problems in transportation
Brief overview of various environmental issues associated with transportation and
introduction to topics covered in course.
US transportation and environmental laws and policy
Transportation and environmental legislation and policy framework. Includes
discussion of NEPA, CAA, ISTEA and additional transportation policies with
connection to environment (for California this includes AB32 and SB375).
Readings:
Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, The
Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues, FHWA-HEP-07-039
MAP 21 summaries from FHWA and the National League of Cities
Sept 9: Week 2
Environmental and resource economics issues in transportation
Issues associated with resource extraction (oil, natural gas) are discussed. Basic
background is given on environmental economics and optimal extraction of
resources.
Readings:
Ridley, Matt, and Bobbi Low. “Can selfishness save the environment?”, The
Atlantic Monthly, September 1993.
Mankiw, Gregory. “The Pigou Club Manifesto”, Greg Mankiw’s Blow, 2006
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/pigou-club-manifesto.html
Maring, Gary, and Marianne Mintz, “The rapidly improving US Energy Outlook has
positive implications for transportation”, TR News, May-June 2014.
Sept 16: Week 3
Air pollution: Transport sources, technology solutions, modeling and social
costs
Overview of health impacts associated with criteria air pollutants. Transport
sources of these pollutants and technology solutions. Environmental and social
costs.
Readings:
Giles, et al., 2011, From good intentions to proven interventions: Effectiveness of
actions to reduce the health impacts of air pollution, Environmental Health
Perspectives, 119(1): 29-36.
EPA, What are the six common air pollutants? – web link.
Drum, Kevin, America’s Real Criminal Element: Lead, Mother Jones, Feb. 2013
Reference Resources:
US EPA, 2011, Our Nation's Air - Status and Trends through 2010
US EPA, 2001, EPA Guidance: Improving Air Quality through Land Use Activities,
Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA-420-R-01-001
Discussion papers:
1. Amekudzi, Adjo and Michael D. Meyer, 2006, Considering the Environment In
Transportation Planning: Review of Emerging Paradigms and Practice in the
United States, Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 132: 42-52.
2. Proost, Stef, and Kurt Van Dender, 2012, Energy and environment challenges
in the transport sector, Economics of Transportation, 1: 77-87.
Sept 23: Week 4
Climate change: Policy and Impacts
Background on the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change
on communities and populations. Discussion of transportation policies to mitigate
and adapt to climate change.
Final project assignment handed out.
Readings:
Transportation Resarch Board, 2011, Policy Options for Reducing Energy Use
and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from US Transportation, Special Report 307.
Grant, Michael, Sarah Siwek, Laurence O’Rourke, Eliot Rose, and Jenny
O’Connell, 2013, A Performance-Based Approach to Addressing Greenhouse
Gas Emissions through Transportation Planning, FHWA-HEP-14-020.
Matute, Juan, 2013, Greenhouse Gas Management: Local Efforts to Curb a
Global Phenomenon, Access Magazine.
http://www.accessmagazine.org/articles/spring-2013/greenhouse-gasmanagement-local-efforts-curb-global-phenomenon/
Sperling, Daniel, 2014, An innovative Path to Sustainable Transportation.
http://www.accessmagazine.org/articles/fall-2014/innovative-path-sustainabletransportation/
Reference Resources:
Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Climate 101: Science and Impacts,
January 2009.
Kahn Ribeiro, S., S. Kobayashi, M. Beuthe, J. Gasca, D. Greene, D. S. Lee, Y.
Muromachi, P. J. Newton, S. Plotkin, D. Sperling, R. Wit, P. J. Zhou, 2007:
Transport and its infrastructure. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution
of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A.
Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New
York, NY, USA.
McCollum, David and Christopher Yang, 2009, Achieving deep reductions in US
transport greenhouse gas emissions: Scenario analysis and policy implications,
Energy Policy, 37: 5580-5596.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Meeting New Jersey’s 2020
Greenhouse Gas Limit: New Jersey’s Global Warming Response Act
Recommendation Report, Dec. 2009.
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M.
Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson, (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009.
US DOT, FHWA, 2013, Handbook for Estimating Transportation Greenhouse
Gases for Integration into the Planning Process.
Discussion papers:
3. Shu, Shi, David C. Quiros, Rui Wang, and Yifang Zhu, 2014, Changes of
street use and on-road air quality before and after complete street retrofit: An
exploratory case study in Santa Monica, California, Transportation Research
Part D, 32: 387-396.
4. Briggs, David J., Kees de Hoogh, Chloe Morris, and John Gulliver, 2008,
Effects of travel mode on exposures to particulate air pollution, Environment
International, 34: 12-22.
Sept 30: Week 5
Travel demand management: policies (1)
Policies to reduce travel demand are covered. This includes pricing (of travel and
fuel), parking, land use, and other demand management policies.
Readings:
King, David, Michael Manville, and Donald Shoup, 2007, For Whom the Road
Tolls - The Politics of Congestion Pricing, Access, no. 31, Fall 2007.
Small, Kenneth A. and Kurt Van Dender, 2007, If Cars Were More Efficient Would
We Use Less Fuel, Access, no. 31, Fall 2007.
Graham, Daniel J. and Stephen Glaister, 2002, The Demand for Automobile Fuel
- A Survey of Elasticities, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 36: 1-26.
Shoup, Donald, 1999, The Trouble with Minimum Parking Requirements,
Transportation Research A (Policy and Practice), 33: 549-574.
Börjesson, Maria, Jonas Eliasson, Muriel B. Hugosson, and Karin Brundell-Freij,
2012, The Stockholm congestion charges – 5 years on. Effects, acceptability and
lessons learnt, Transport Policy, 20: 1-12.
Givoni, Moshe, 2011, Re-assessing the Results of the London Congestion
Charging Scheme, Urban Studies, 49(5): 1089-1105.
Reference Resources:
TRB Special report 298, Driving and the Built Environment: The Effects of
Compact Development on Motorized Travel, Energy Use, and CO2 Emissions,
National Research Council: Washington, DC
Discussion Papers:
5. Metz, David, 2013, Peak Car and Beyond: The Fourth Era of Travel,
Transport Reviews, 33(3): 255-270.
6. Lyons, Glenn, 2015, Viewpoint: Transport’s digital age transition, Journal of
Transport and Land Use, 8(2): 1-19.
Oct 1, 5pm: VTC Distinguished Lecture: Donald Shoup, The High Cost of
Free Parking, Special Events Forum
Oct 7: Week 6
Travel demand management policies: behavior (2)
Travel behavior and how this can affect policy design, including induced travel
and land use interaction effects.
Readings:
Noland, Robert B. and Christopher S. Hanson, 2013, How does induced travel
affect sustainable transportation policy?,chapter 4 in Transport Beyond Oil: Policy
Choices for a Multimodal future, ed. by John L. Renne and Billy Fields, Island
Press: Washington.
Naess, Petter, Morten Skou Nicolaisen, and Arvid Strand, 2012, Traffic Forecasts
Ignoring Induced Demand: a Shaky Fundament of Cost-Benefit Analyses,
European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure, 12(3): 291-309.
Technical Synthesis: Model Uncertainty, Travel Model Improvement Program,
Federal Highway Administration, undated.
Discussion papers:
7. Fagnant, Daniel J., and Kara M. Kockelman, 2015, Preparing a nation for
autonomous vehicles: opportunities, barriers, and policy recommendations,
Transportation Research Part A, 77: 167-181.
8. Greenblatt, Jeffery B., and Susan Shaheen, 2015, Automated vehicles, Ondemand mobility, and Environmental Impacts, Current Sustainable/Renewable
Energy Reports, online, DOI: 10.1007/s40518-015-0038-5.
Oct 14: Week 7
Alternative Transportation Fuels
Alternative fuels that are available and being researched for transportation. Lifecycle analysis to compare different fuel sources, including ethanol, methane,
hydrogen, and electricity.
Project proposals due: in-class presentations of proposals
Readings:
Searchinger, Timothy, et al, 2008, Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases
Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change, Science 319,
1238
Lackner, Klaus S., 2003, A Guide to CO2 Sequestration, Science, Vol. 300. no.
5626, pp. 1677 – 1678
Oct 21: Week 8
Environmental impact assessment in transportation
Overview of policy framework of environmental impact assessment. Defining the
purpose and need for a project, defining realistic alternatives, issues with
forecasting and travel analysis. Decomposing a sample EIS.
Public participation in transportation planning: guest lecturer, Jon Carnegie
Readings:
Sax, Joseph L., 1973, The (unhappy) truth about NEPA, Oklahoma Law Review,
26: 239-248.
Environmental Studies Board, 1971, Jamaica Bay and Kennedy Airport: A
Multidisciplinary Environmental Study, National Academy of Sciences, National
Academy of Engineering, Washington DC.
Steinemann, A., 2001. Improving alternatives for environmental impact
assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 21(1), 3-21.
Oct 28: Week 9
Environmental Issues in Aviation
Focus is primarily on air pollutant and climate impacts of aviation. What policies
are available to mitigate aviation environmental impacts.
Guest lecturer: Jeff Perlman, NJTPA, Climate Change issues for an MPO
Readings:
Brown, Nathan L., 2011, Commercial aviation’s pursuit of alternative sustainable
aviation fuels, TR News, no. 276 (Sept-Oct).
Burkhardt, Ulrike, and Berndt Kärcher, 2011, Global radiative forcing from contrail
cirrus, Nature Climate Change, 1: 54-58.
Williams, Victoria, Impacts of the Aviation Sector on the Environment, for inclusion
in the Handbook of Environmentally Conscious Transportation, ed. Myer Kutz,
2008
Aviation and Climate Change: The Views of Aviation Stakeholders, Feb. 2009
Williams, Victoria, and Robert B. Noland, 2005, Variability of contrail formation
conditions and the implications for policies to reduce the climate impacts of
aviation, Transportation Research D (Transport and Environment), 10: 269-280.
Semple, Kirk, 2015. Engaging in a softer conversation about the roar from New
York’s airports, New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/nyregion/engaging-in-a-softer-conversationabout-the-roar-from-new-yorks-airports.html
Nov 4: Week 10
Maritime and freight transport and globalization
Logistics of freight transportation and technologies for minimizing emissions.
Intermodal transportation including interactions between trucks, rail and maritime
transport. Terminal and port planning issues.
TAKE HOME EXAM HANDED OUT. THIS WILL BE DUE ON MONDAY AT
8:00am.
Readings
Cullinane, Kevin and Sharon Cullinane, 2013, Atmospheric Emissions from
Shipping: The Need for Regulation and Approaches to Compliance, Transport
Reviews, 33(4): 377-401.
Eyring, Veronika, James J. Corbett, David S. Lee, and James J. Winebrake,
2007, Brief summary of the impact of ship emissions, Document submitted to the
Health and Environment sub-group of the International Maritime Organization
US EPA, 2008, EPA Finalizes More Stringent Emissions Standards for Locomotives and Marine Compression-Ignition Engines, Office of Transportation and Air
Quality, EPA 420-F-08-00, 4 March 2008
Discussion Papers
9. Hartgen, David T., 2013, Hubris or humility? Accuracy issues for the next 50
years of travel demand modeling, Transportation, 40: 1133-1157.
10. Nicolaisen, M. S., & Næss, P., 2015, Roads to nowhere: The accuracy of
travel demand forecasts for do-nothing alternatives. Transport Policy, 37: 5763.
Nov 11: Week 11
MOVES and GREET models, in the 3rd floor computer lab.
Discussion papers:
11. Ryerson, Megan S., and Amber Woodburn, 2014, Build Airport Capacity or
Manage Flight Demand? How Regional Planners Can Lead American Aviation
Into a New Frontier of Demand Management, Journal of the American
Planning Association, 80(2): 138-152.
12. Levy, J. I., Woody, M., Baek, B. H., Shankar, U., & Arunachalam, S., 2012,
Current and Future Particulate‐Matter‐Related Mortality Risks in the United
States from Aviation Emissions During Landing and Takeoff. Risk Analysis,
32(2): 237-249.
Nov 18th: Week 12
Environmental Justice
Guest Lecturer: Jeanne Herb or Karen Lowrie, Health Impact Analysis:
Readings:
Litman, Todd and Mark Brenman, 2011, A New Social Equity Agenda for
Sustainable Transportation, Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
Soja, Edward, 2010, Prologue in Seeking Spatial Justice.
Deka, Devajyoti, Social and Environmental Justice Issues in Urban
Transportation, The Geography of Urban Transportation. 3rd Edition.
Nov 25th: Thanksgiving week, no class
Dec 2: Week 13
Noise: impacts and sources
Noise policy in the US and Europe. Factors associated with traffic noise and
mitigation techniques. Economic, health and nuisance impacts of noise,
introduction to hedonic analysis to estimate noise costs. Aviation and airport noise
impacts, including mitigation measures.
Readings:
Nelson, Jon P., 2004, Meta-Analysis of Airport Noise and Hedonic Property
Values: Problems and Prospects, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 38:
1-28.
Reference Resources:
Moudon, A. V. (2009). Real noise from the urban environment: how ambient
community noise affects health and what can be done about it. American journal
of preventive medicine, 37(2), 167-171.
World Health Organization and European Commission, 2011, Burden of Disease
from Environmental Noise: Quantification of Healthy Life Years Lost in Europe,
ISBN: 978 92 890 0229 5.
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway
Traffic Noise in the United States: Problem and Response, April 2006, FHWAHEP-06-020
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of
Environment and Planning, Highway Traffic Noise: Analysis and Abatement
Guidance, June 2010, revised Jan 2011.
Dec 2: Project presentations (2nd half of class)
Dec 9: Week 14
Project presentations
Dec 16: Week 15 (if needed)
Project presentations
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is essential to the success of the educational enterprise and
breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses against the academic
community. Every member of that community bears a responsibility for ensuring
that the highest standards of academic integrity are upheld. Only through a
genuine partnership among students, faculty, staff, and administrators will the
University be able to maintain the necessary commitment to academic integrity.
Full policy is available at:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
A good resource for understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it is
available at: www.plagiarism.org. Be sure to also be familiar with how to cite your
sources. If you don’t understand what plagiarism is, then come speak with
me.
Written assignments for this course will be submitted electronically using TurnItIn
plagiarism detection software. Examples of what this software can detect are on
the course Sakai site. Plagiarism on any component of the course will result
in an F for that component, and possibly an F for the entire course. If you
have previously plagiarized you will be expelled from the program.
Absences from class
Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss any classes,
please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/
to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to
me. Unexcused absences will count against your participation grade.