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Objectives: To introduce students to urban transportation policy and planning issues. Emphasis will be on understanding current issues in transportation policy from a historical and political perspective. Case studies will be discussed as a means of providing an overview of how policy is being implemented. A special emphasis will be placed on the policy issues facing transportation planners and policymakers in the present era.

Readings:

• Course Packet (available at PSU Bookstore). Required for all students.
• Various web documents, found online (note: to save paper costs, please do not print these documents from any PSU lab: read them online or photocopy the printed versions available on reserve). Required for all students.
• Vuchic, Vukan, Transportation for Livable Cities (CUPR Press, 1999). Required for all students.

Course Requirements:

Discussion Questions (Subscribe to UrbTrans, by typing SUBSCRIBE URBTRANS YOUREMAILADDRESS and e-mailing the message here. [Do not
    include a subject header or signature material.])
Take-Home Midterm Exam
Take-Home Final Exam
Topical Readings:  Select two topics from the Resource List and read a total of 6-8 articles of interest to you; be prepared to discuss the topics throughout the
    term and on the final day of class.

Graduate Students Only: Special Project (from Options A-F)

One-On-One Meetings

  Graduate students are required to meet with the instructor at least once during the term to go over matters related to their project and to the class in general.

  Undergraduate students are invited to meet with the instructor at least once during the term to discuss their progress in the class. An appointment schedule will be handed out in class twice during the term.

Grading:

Undergraduates:

Discussion Questions:              20%
Take-Home Midterm Exam:    30%
Take-Home Final Exam:          30%
Topical Readings                     20%

Graduates:

Discussion Questions:              10%
Take-Home Midterm Exam:    25%
Take-Home Final Exam:          25%
Topical Readings:                    10%
Project:                                   30%

Tentative Schedule:
 

Date	Topics and Readings
9/28/00	Introduction  Current Transportation Trends  History of Transportation Policy and Planning
10/5/00	History of Transportation Policy and Planning (cont'd) Jones, Urban Transit Policy, Ch. 2-3; 6-7 in course packet Weiner, Edward, Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: An Historical Overview at, http://www.bts.gov/tmip/papers/history/utp/toc.htm , Preface and Ch. 1-2 Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Ch. 1
10/12/00	The Decline of Mass Transit Taken for a Ride video Bianco, Martha, "The Decline of Transit: A Corportate Conspiracy or a Failure of Public Policy:  The Case of Portland, Oregon," Journal of Policy History, Vol. 9, No. 4: 450-474, in course packet Richmond, Jonathan, "The Mythical Conception of Rail in Los Angeles," Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Vol. 15, No. 4, Winter 1998, 294-320, at http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/professional/myth.pdf Adler, Sy, "The Transformation of the Pacific Electric Railway: Bradford Snell, Roger Rabbit, and the Politics of Transportation in Los Angeles," Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1, September 1991, pp. 51-86. Slater, Cliff, "General Motors and the Decline of Streetcars," Transportation Quarterly, Vol. 51. No. 3 Summer 1997, pp. 45-66, at http://www.lava.net/cslater/TQ.HTM Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Ch. 2 Midterm take-home exam sent out via e-mail this week.
10/19/00	Rise and Fall of the Interstate Era Divided Highways video Weiner, http://www.bts.gov/tmip/papers/history/utp/toc.htm Ch. 3-8 Jones, Ch. 9-10, in course packet Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Ch. 3
10/26/00	Central City Decline, the Environment, and a New Paradigm for Transportation Weiner, http://www.bts.gov/tmip/papers/history/utp/toc.htm, Ch. 9-14 Take-Home Midterm Exam DUE
11/2/00	Overview of Transportation Problems Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Chs. 4-5
11/9/00	Transportation Policies for Livable Cities Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Ch. 6
11/16/00	Implementing Transportation Policies for Livable Cities Vuchic, Transportation for Livable Cities, Ch. 7-8
11/23/00	THANKSGIVING BREAK (Final take home exam sent out via e-mail during this week)
11/30/00	Visions for the Portland Metropolitan Area Oregon's Transportation Planning Rule, at http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/OARS_600/OAR_660/660_012.html Bianco, M. and S. Adler, "The Politics of Implementation: The Corporatist Paradigm Applied to the Implementation of Oregon's Statewide Transportation Planning Rule," forthcoming in Journal of Planning Education and Research, at http://www.upa.pdx.edu/MB/TPR.html Metro's Regional Transportation Plan Draft, at http://www.metro.dst.or.us/metro/transpo/highcap/rtp/rtp.html Portland Central City Transportation Management Plan, at  http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/codes/cityportland/index.html
12/7/00	Current Trends and Topics Be prepared to discuss the Topical Readings you chose from the Resource List Take-Home Final Exam DUE

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Questions about this course?
E-mail me at biancom@pdx.edu.

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