Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
Filtering by
- All Subjects: urban planning
Description
It has been identified in the literature that there exists a "spatial mismatch" between geographical concentrations of lower-income or minority people who have relatively lower rates of car ownership, lower skills or educational attainment and who mainly rely on public transit for their travel, and low-skilled jobs for which they more easily qualify. Given this situation, various types of transportation projects have been constructed to improve public transit services and, alongside other goals, improve the connection between low-skilled workers and jobs. As indicators of performance, measures of job accessibility are commonly used in to gauge how such improvements have facilitated job access. Following this approach, this study investigates the impact of the Phoenix Metro Light Rail on job accessibility for the transit users, by calculating job accessibility before and after the opening of the system. Moreover, it also investigates the demographic profile of those who have benefited from improvements in job accessibility----both by income and by ethnicity. Job accessibility is measured using the cumulative opportunity approach which quantifies the job accessibility within different travel time limits, such as 30 and 45 minutes. ArcGIS is used for data processing and results visualization. Results show that the Phoenix light rail has improved job accessibility of the traffic analysis zones that are along the light rail line and Hispanic and lower-income groups have benefited more than their counterparts.
ContributorsLiu, Liyuan (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis advisor) / Wentz, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Kuby, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The development of microsimulation approaches to urban systems modeling has occurred largely in three parallel streams of research, namely, land use, travel demand and traffic assignment. However, there are important dependencies and inter-relationships between the model systems which need to be accounted to accurately and comprehensively model the urban system. Location choices affect household activity-travel behavior, household activity-travel behavior affects network level of service (performance), and network level of service, in turn, affects land use and activity-travel behavior. The development of conceptual designs and operational frameworks that represent such complex inter-relationships in a consistent fashion across behavioral units, geographical entities, and temporal scales has proven to be a formidable challenge. In this research, an integrated microsimulation modeling framework called SimTRAVEL (Simulator of Transport, Routes, Activities, Vehicles, Emissions, and Land) that integrates the component model systems in a behaviorally consistent fashion, is presented. The model system is designed such that the activity-travel behavior model and the dynamic traffic assignment model are able to communicate with one another along continuous time with a view to simulate emergent activity-travel patterns in response to dynamically changing network conditions. The dissertation describes the operational framework, presents the modeling methodologies, and offers an extensive discussion on the advantages that such a framework may provide for analyzing the impacts of severe network disruptions on activity-travel choices. A prototype of the model system is developed and implemented for a portion of the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona to demonstrate the capabilities of the model system.
ContributorsKonduri, Karthik Charan (Author) / Pendyala, Ram M. (Thesis advisor) / Ahn, Soyoung (Committee member) / Kuby, Michael (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Transportation network connectivity has been linked to positive urban outcomes, including increased rates of active transportation, reduced reliance on automobiles and other social and economic benefits. While many stakeholders in greenfield development processes have emphasized the positive benefits of connectivity and connectivity has increased in many U.S. metros in the past two decades, many street networks remain fragmented and local connectivity remains far below that of historic patterns. This paper explores barriers to and influences on connectivity outcomes in new community construction in the Phoenix metropolitan area, employing mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Interviews were conducted with members from various stakeholder groups in the subdivision development process. Case studies were developed with space syntax and network analysis measurements to illustrate the influence of variables and stakeholders on the planning process. Participants illustrated a complex political and economic reality surrounding the concept of connectivity, with site conditions and development market dynamics playing the clearest roles in shaping connectivity. The result is subdivisions are achieving moderate levels of connectivity and improving from historic patterns of dendricity but remain entrenched in planning paradigms built around self-contained sites and the policy and market limitations for robust connectivity beyond individual developments.
ContributorsSchumerth, Noah John (Author) / King, David A (Thesis advisor) / Kuby, Michael (Committee member) / Lindsay, Lucas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Walking and bicycling bring many merits to people, both physically and mentally.
However, not everyone has an opportunity to enjoy healthy and safe bicycling and
walking. Many studies suggested that access to healthy walking and bicycling is heavily
related to socio-economic status. Low income population and racial minorities have
poorer transportation that results in less walking and bicycling, as well as less access to
public transportation. They are also under higher risks of being hit by vehicles while
walking and bicycling. This research quantifies the relationship between socioeconomic
factors and bicyclist and pedestrian involved traffic crash rates in order to establish an
understanding of how equitable access to safe bicycling and walking is in Phoenix. The
crash rates involving both bicyclists and pedestrians were categorized into two groups,
minor crashes and severe crashes. Then, the OLS model was used to analyze minor and
severe bicycle crash rates, and minor and severe pedestrian crash rates, respectively.
There are four main results, (1) The median income of an area is always negatively
related to the crash rates of bicyclists and pedestrians. The reason behind the negative
correlation is that there is a very small proportion of people choosing to walk or ride
bicycles as their commuting methods in the high-income areas. Consequently, there are
low crash rates of pedestrians and bicyclists. (2) The minor bicycle crash rates are more
related to socio-economic determinants than the severe crash rates. (3) A higher
population density reduces both the minor and the severe crash rates of bicyclists and
pedestrians in Phoenix. (4) A higher pedestrian commuting ratio does not reduce bicyclist
and pedestrian crash rates in Phoenix. The findings from this study can provide a
reference value for the government and other researchers and encourage better future
decisions from policy makers.
However, not everyone has an opportunity to enjoy healthy and safe bicycling and
walking. Many studies suggested that access to healthy walking and bicycling is heavily
related to socio-economic status. Low income population and racial minorities have
poorer transportation that results in less walking and bicycling, as well as less access to
public transportation. They are also under higher risks of being hit by vehicles while
walking and bicycling. This research quantifies the relationship between socioeconomic
factors and bicyclist and pedestrian involved traffic crash rates in order to establish an
understanding of how equitable access to safe bicycling and walking is in Phoenix. The
crash rates involving both bicyclists and pedestrians were categorized into two groups,
minor crashes and severe crashes. Then, the OLS model was used to analyze minor and
severe bicycle crash rates, and minor and severe pedestrian crash rates, respectively.
There are four main results, (1) The median income of an area is always negatively
related to the crash rates of bicyclists and pedestrians. The reason behind the negative
correlation is that there is a very small proportion of people choosing to walk or ride
bicycles as their commuting methods in the high-income areas. Consequently, there are
low crash rates of pedestrians and bicyclists. (2) The minor bicycle crash rates are more
related to socio-economic determinants than the severe crash rates. (3) A higher
population density reduces both the minor and the severe crash rates of bicyclists and
pedestrians in Phoenix. (4) A higher pedestrian commuting ratio does not reduce bicyclist
and pedestrian crash rates in Phoenix. The findings from this study can provide a
reference value for the government and other researchers and encourage better future
decisions from policy makers.
ContributorsWu, Feiyi (Author) / Nelson, Trisalyn (Thesis advisor) / Salon, Deborah (Committee member) / Kuby, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020