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600451-00088-1 Report Abstract

Identifying the Local and Regional Travel Effects of Activity Centers in the Austin, Texas Area

Ming Zhang, Wenjia Zhang, and Hao Pang, February 2015

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have become increasingly interested in incorporating innovated land use planning and design into transportation plan-making. Many design ideas are recommended under the umbrella of the New Urbanism; yet in practice they hardly get fully implemented in the standard transportation planning procedures. The project includes two parts. Part one refines the analysis of trip generation as it relates to mixed use development (MXD), with a focus on trip-chaining behavior, an approach taken by CAMPO. Part two looks into the potential of and challenges facing land use intervention as an emission reduction tool. Through the Austin case study, it investigates the regional and local distributional effects of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and Green House Gas (GHG) emission changes pertaining to recommended land use and design innovations.

Keywords: Activity Centers, Land Use, Travel Demand, Emissions, Austin TX

ENTIRE REPORT (Adobe Acrobat File – 1.4 MB)