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Welcome to the Fall 2020 edition of the Portland State University Transportation Problems and Policy class blog!

Photo: Joe Broach

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Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from US transportation industry

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Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from US transportation industry has become a central topic within transportation planning and climate action planning circles. This is due to the large percentage (27%) of GHG emissions the transportation industry contributes to the overall US economy. (Greene & Plotkin, 2011) In 2011, Greene and Plotkin were charged with the task of preparing GHG reduction solutions for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Their scope was to conduct a study and propose policy efforts and developing technologies to help reduce greenhouse emissions on a global scale. One of the early considerations Greene and Plotkin identify is that the world is developing and lesser developed jurisdictions will start consuming carbon based fuels at higher rates than what the global economy currently is faced with. Due to this principle national economies including the US will start competing with increased demand for fossil fuels and unknown changes in supply. One of the...
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Restorative Justice an Integral Part of Equity

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In his introduction to Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity , Robert Bullard discusses the long-term and continued impacts of inequitable and prescriptive transportation planning on communities of color throughout the United States. This “transportation apartheid” is still glaringly persistent, as it is in most—if not all—cities in the country, in Portland (Bullard, 2004). From the destruction of historic Albina for the creation of Interstate 5 (I-5) to the gentrification-led displacement and continued community fragmentation that resulted from the construction of light rail to North Portland, the city’s Black community has faced the brunt of these decisions (Gibson, 2007).   This continued pushout of Black households to the suburbs is rife with equity issues in regard to transportation and infrastructure planning. Given that many of the spaces outside of the inner east portion of Portland lack reliable transportation options (from public transit to b...
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Long Term Effects of Transportation Infrastructure on City Form and Implications

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Another class I am taking, Public Space, involves a term-long project analyzing aspects of PBOT’s response to COVID-19 for businesses, the Healthy Business Permit . An expansion of the Safe Streets Initiative, the program offers free, temporary permits and some assistance for businesses to take over sidewalks, parking spaces, or street space in order to effectively operate while complying with statewide public health directives (of course, they are “temporarily” closed right now, due to Governor Brown’s order as a result in a massive increase in cases in the metro and across Oregon). All in all, where the permits have been utilized, the program has been considered successful.   While the initiative is exciting as a broader opportunity to discuss the use of streets as public spaces beyond people moving (and one to discuss the role of PBOT as a steward of some of the most accessible public spaces in the city), it is not without its drawbacks. Due to the nature ...
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