First Reviews of Sustainable Transportation Book

The first reviews of my co-authored book entitled Sustainable Transportation: Indicators, Frameworks, and Performance Management have been published.

The first review (in Danish) is from Prof. Steen Leleur (Technical University of Denmark) and can be accessed by clicking on the image to the left. I appreciate that Prof. Leleur highlighted the chapters on indicators (Chapter 6) and frameworks (Chapter 7). We tried to make these chapters as comprehensive and accessible as possible given their importance to the measurement of sustainable transportation. I believe a unique aspect of the book is the presentation of eight indicator applications (below), which embody the purpose to which the indicators are to be put. These indicator applications are applied to the four case studies in part two of the book to identify how indicators are being used for analysis, communication, and/or decision support. I agree with Prof. Leleur that it would have been nice to have included an index in the back of the book. Unfortunately, we did not have the resources to do this, but I hope this can be rectified in a future edition of the book.

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“Bogen kan varmt anbefales til læsere, der ønsker et nærmere kendskab til transport og bæredygtighed og specielt til læsere, der på en eller anden måde er inddraget i udvikling og implementering af bæredygtig transport” (Steen Leleur). [Translation: The book is highly recommended for readers who want a closer knowledge of transport and sustainability, especially for readers who are in some way implicated in the development and implementation of sustainable transport.]

The second review is from Prof. Joseph Sussman (MIT) and can be accessed from the Journal of Planning Education and Research. During my doctoral research at MIT I had the pleasure of holding many extended discussions with Prof. Sussman on how sustainable transportation should or could be framed within the context of sustainable development. I credit much of the clarity we were able to develop on this complex subject to these early conversations and debates, which I continued with my co-authors during the writing of the book. I was pleased Prof. Sussman believes the book provides “a deeper, more scholarly treatment” of this subject than what we were able to achieve over a decade ago.

“This book represents a milestone along the path of a deeper understanding of both the transportation field and the planet’s need for an effective strategy to work toward a sustainable society. Any serious student of these topics would be remiss in not obtaining this book and reading it with care” (Joseph Sussman).

New Sustainable Transportation Book

I’m pleased to announce the publication of our new book on “Sustainable Transportation: Indicators, Frameworks, and Performance Management.”

This book is the result of six years of collaboration between Dr. Henrik Gudmundsson (Technical University of Denmark), Dr. Greg Marsden (University of Leeds), Dr. Josias Zietsman (Texas A&M University), and I. It draws from decades of collective experience in the areas of sustainable development and sustainable transportation, focused on research, teaching, and practice.

The book is intended to provide students and practitioners with a deep understanding of the basic concepts of sustainability as well as a coherent framework for how to apply them consistently in the context of transportation planning, management, and decision making at different levels.

A version of the book will also be published by Samfundslitteratur for the nordic market.

In the coming weeks we will launch a book website that will contain additional information and updates.

ADD40 and Collaborative Research

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with members and friends of the Sustainable Transportation Committee (ADD40) at the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting in January. During the conference we will hold the inaugural Sustainability Research Subcommittee, ADD40(2), meeting on Tuesday, 14 January, 1:30pm – 3:15pm (Hilton, Kalorama).

As you may know, in ADD40’s Triennial Strategic Plan we made the decision to promote and support research that integrates the three dimensions of sustainability. One important step in achieving this goal will be the extent to which we can develop collaborative research relationships with other TRB standing committees that have an interest in sustainability. Our objective is to try and broaden the scope of TRB research to ensure a more balanced treatment of environmental, social, and economic concerns.

The TRB Annual Meeting presents a unique opportunity for members and friends of ADD40 to reach out to other relevant standing committees and begin the process of reviewing sustainability-related research needs statements and/or developing new statements. To assist with this task, we have developed the adjacent flyer that can be used to inform other committees about our mission and interest in developing collaborative research projects.

During the main ADD40 committee meeting from 8am-12pm on Monday, 13 January (Hilton, Monroe), everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to brief the committee on which TRB standing committees they plan to reach out to during the annual meeting. This will enable the committee to identify the coverage we have at the annual meeting and will provide those in attendance with an opportunity to identify others who may have a shared interest in working with a specific committee.

During the research subcommittee meeting ADD40(2), I look forward to learning about the collaborations that are already underway or are planned and beginning the process of developing several new research thrusts that ADD40 will lead. If you have any ideas for transportation research projects that integrate all three dimensions of sustainability, please either send me an email (rphall@vt.edu) prior to the annual meeting or join us on Tuesday, 14 January.

Analysis of TRB RNS Database for Sustainability Research

As part of my role as the research chair for the TRB Transportation and Sustainability Committee (ADD40), I undertook with the support of my graduate research assistant Erin Puckett, an analysis of the TRB Research Needs Statements (RNS) database (http://rns.trb.org/) to determine the extent to which the topic of sustainable transportation is addressed in the proposed research projects listed in the database.

The intention of this exploratory analysis was to identify the type and scope of projects being proposed and which TRB committees are supporting sustainability-related research proposals in one or more areas. The results from this analysis should help the Transportation and Sustainability Committee (ADD40) determine which proposed research needs to support, which committees to initially engage with, and where opportunities exist to propose new research projects.

Overall, it was found that many RNS records address some area of sustainability, whether openly acknowledged or not. It was much less common to find records proposing research that truly addresses sustainability in a comprehensive way, with emphasis on environmental, social, and economic impacts.

Over the last six years there does not appear to have been a steady increase in the number of records that are related to sustainability (see Figure 4 above). Further, while there seems to be an overarching idea that transportation research should have some sustainability-related focus, individual records do not always address this explicitly in their goals or objectives. Perhaps this is partially due to the lack of an overall guiding definition of sustainability/sustainable transportation that all TRB committees can adopt.

This analysis has led to several recommendations for advancing the research portfolio of the Transportation and Sustainability Committee that are included in the full report. The raw data that was used to support the analysis is also provided below.