Feiyang Zhang, USC MPL 2016

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. from January 8th to January 12th, 2017. Several METRANS Region 9 representatives attended the event, and they took advantage of the opportunity to hold the first, in person meeting of the newly awarded Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) University Transportation Center (UTC) by holding its first official, in-person meeting there.

METRANS, specifically the University of Southern California as lead, was recently awarded USDOT Region 9 UTC, working with seven other member institutions to conduct cutting-edge research in the field of transportation. In addition to USC, member institutions include California State University-Long Beach (CSULB), University of California-Davis (UCD), University of California-Irvine (UCI), University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH), Northern Arizona University (NAU), and Pima Community College (PCC).  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview several of the participants.

 “The inaugural meeting went very well,” shared Edward Smaglik, professor at NAU. “As a first-time partygoer at the UTC dance, NAU is excited to work with this group of well-accomplished individuals!” He also pointed it out that with its relatively rural location, NAU would play a unique role in improving the mobility for underserved populations on the nearby Native American reservations.

The Region 9 UTC has identified several major research topic areas, including Technology for Improved Mobility, Improving Mobility for Disadvantaged Populations, Improving Resilience and Protecting the Environment, and Managing Mobility in High Growth Urban Areas.  I asked Marlon Boarnet, the Chair of Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis at the Price School, USC, and an Associate Director of METRANS for his thoughts.  He said that “the new Region 9 center is uniquely positioned to examine all aspects of transportation.  Collectively, the partners have internationally leading expertise that includes passenger and freight travel, across all modes, with a focus that includes modeling, technology, policy analysis, and equity and social justice.”

The new center will address a wide range of issues in the transportation industry, but I was curious to ask what might be the most unique contribution this center can make. Daniel Sperling, a professor at UC Davis said, “Passenger transport is on the cusp of three revolutions: vehicle automation, vehicle electrification, and shared use.  These innovations are centered in California. Researchers in the Regional 9 Center are at the forefront of analyzing how these innovations might evolve, and the role of policy is in directing the changes toward the public interest”.  As a recent graduate of the USC Master of Planning program, with a focus on transportation, I found this to ring true to what I was taught; although technology is developing rapidly, new technology will not necessarily guarantee a better future without proper policy guidance. Just as Professor Sperling said, the Region 9 UTC could play a significant role in maximizing the benefits of transportation technology while mitigating its negative effects.

For those who are interested in transportation, now is a great time to start following the researches and programs of the Region 9 UTC. Please don’t hesitate to come to our events to learn more about our research and to share your ideas!

Author Feiyang Zhang  

Feiyang Zhang is a recent graduate from the University of Southern California. Currently, he is interning at the Research & Analysis Department at the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), where he is responsible for research, data management and providing GIS services. He interned at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) over the past year, where he worked with city planners and engineers to implement better bicycle and pedestrian facilities. His areas of interest include transportation planning, urban design and environmental planning. Specifically, he is passionate about using data analysis and visualization to inform planning decisions and to promote sustainability.  He can be reached at [email protected].