Environment

Incentivizing Pro-social Behavior in Governance: The Effects of Revealing Peer Rankings on Voluntary Service

Sofia Villas-Boas
Rebecca Taylor
Elizabeth Deakin
2016

We implement a field experiment at a U.S. university to identify the effect of revealing peers’ rank, in terms of previous voluntary service, on future voluntary service of individual faculty members. We find that revealing a service ranking in the lowest quartile leads to significantly higher response rates than disclosing a median quartile ranking. Beyond informing the department head, sending a direct email to individuals does not have an incremental effect on average voluntary service responses, though it causes significantly higher new response. Finally, we find the above effects are...

Carbon in Motion 2050 for North America and Latin America

Lee Schipper
Wei-Shiuen Ng
Brian Gould
Elizabeth Deakin
2011

This study presents a set of two low carbon transportation scenarios, Globalization and Glocalization, where carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be heavily reduced in North American and Latin America. The scenarios illustrate how different policy assumptions and energy intensities could reduce emissions through backcasting and long-term projection approaches. Three main policy groups, transportation technologies and strategies, land use planning and pricing instruments design, are assumed to trigger modal shifts and trip reductions. In Globalization, strong international cooperation to...

Carbon in Motion 2050” for North America and Latin America

Lee Schipper
Wei-Shiuen Ng
Brian Gould
Elizabeth Deakin
2010

Transportation contributed nearly 25 percent of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2007. The level of emissions depends on the distances people and goods travel, the modes with which they use, the fuel consumed per kilometer moved and the CO2 associated with each fuel. Different developed countries have complied to different levels of emissions reductions targets, while developing countries are not subject to any national agreement to reduce their emissions levels. For the United States, President Obama has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions between 14 percent and 17...

Sustainable Transportation: The Future of the Automobile in an Environmentally Constrained World

Lee Schipper
Elizabeth Deakin
Daniel Sperling
2010

“Sustainable Transportation: The Future of the Automobile in an Environmentally Constrained World” has analyzed the nature of the problems confronting the transportation systems of industrialized countries. We seek to understand how travel and energy use for travel (and freight) is changing, how these changes may affect the environment, and how the environmental problems may in turn affect future travel and freight activity. During its first three years, the study focused on the automobile. During the final two years, we aim to examine other modes of transportation more closely, in order...

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Urban Road Transport in Latin America: CO2 Reduction as a Co-Benefit of Transport Strategies

Lee Schipper
Elizabeth Deakin
Carolyn McAndrews
Werner Rothengatter
Yoshitsugu Hayashi
Wolfgang Schade
2011

We review aggregate trends in CO2 emissions from road transport in Latin America. Comparison with other regions, as well as with automobile ownership and use suggests that road transport the emissions in this region are closely connected to high automobile ownership and use. Examination of detailed estimates of vehicle stocks, use and fuel intensity as well as data from four large metropolises in the region confirms this suggestion. The same data show that it is cars that are the main reason for congestion, high levels of air pollution, and other transport related externalities in urban...

Best Practices for the Public Management of Electric Scooters

Karl Reinhardt
Elizabeth Deakin
2020

This research projects evaluates the social, environmental, and safety impacts of shared electric scooters (e-scooters)’ through a literature review, a nationwide scan of state and local laws and regulations, and a case study of Oakland’s experience with e-scooters, including an analysis of the city’s user survey and our own in-depth interviews. E-scooters offer an enjoyable, low-cost travel option, but are used mainly by young, affluent, white males. To improve equity, cities are requiring e-scooter rental companies to serve low-income and minority communities and some further mandate...

Determinants of Sustainable Mode Choice in Different Socio-Cultural Contexts: A comparison of Rome and San Francisco

Samira Ramezani
Barbara Pizzo
Elizabeth Deakin
2018

This paper is a part two of a study investigating the relative importance of the built environment, socio-demographic, and attitudinal factors on mode choice. A semi-experimental approach that aims to measure causal effects of the built environment is utilized. This paper reports spatial analysis, survey and modeling results for San Francisco, CA, USA and compares the results with a previous similar study in Rome, Italy. Results reveal that the local street network's integration is important in both cities and that in both cases built environment seems to have higher impact on mode choice...

Built Environment versus Personal Traits: an Application of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model (ICLV) in Understanding Modal Choice in Rome, Italy

Samira Ramezani
Barbara Pizzo
Elizabeth Deakin
2015

In spite of numerous applications of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (ICLV) modelling in the field of transportation engineering, there is no published work applying it in studies of the effect of built environment on modal choice. This study uses an ICLV model to investigate the relative importance of built environment versus personal traits. It designs a quasiexperiment to elicit a better understanding of the causal effects of several urban form characteristics on modal choice. Findings suggest that built form can compete with the magnitude of the influence of personal traits, if...

Perception-Based Walkability Index to Test Impact of Microlevel Walkability on Sustainable Mode Choice Decisions

Sungjin Park
Elizabeth Deakin
Jae Seung Lee
2014

This pilot study had two major research goals. The first goal was to develop a perception-based composite walkability index, with which researchers could evaluate the microlevel quality of the walking environment in an objective and systematic way. The second goal was to test the impact of microlevel walkability on mode choices, including walking as a travel option. For the development of a perception-based composite walkability index, a case study was conducted in the station area near the downtown of Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Three surveys were conducted:...

Transforming High-Speed Rail Stations to Major Activity Hubs: Lessons for California

2009

This paper presents findings from domestic and international case studies of developments around high-speed rail stations and derives from these findings some lessons for station area development for California’s high-speed rail system. The paper reviews the case for high-speed rail as a complement to air and highway systems in addressing congestion and providing needed additional services as the population of the State continues to grow. Review of domestic and international experiences reveals that well-planned station-area developments can result in desirable impacts on the communities...