November 4, 2009
More than 200 experts from the world of goods movement converged on the National Urban Freight Conference, which was organized by the METRANS Transportation Center, to discuss critical issues ranging from traffic to logistics to pollution. METRANS, a research partnership between USC and Cal State Long Beach, is directed by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Genevieve Giuliano.
November 2, 2009
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development alumna Anupama Mann recently received the Gill-Chin Lim Award for the best dissertation on international planning for her thesis, "A Megaproject Matrix: Ideology, Discourse and Regulation in the Delhi Metro Rail." The award is given by the Global Planners Educators Interest Group at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
October 17, 2009
The New Planner, an online publication for and by student members of the American Planning Association, featured an article in its Fall 2009 issue written by Alan Huynh, a senior in the urban planning program at SPPD. His article is titled "The Importance of Transportation Demand Management."
October 14, 2009
KPCC-FM interviewed SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little in a story on the feasibility of a tunnel for the 710 freeway through Mt. Washington. "The tunnel is feasible from an engineering and financial standpoint, and if by taking the surface route off the table you could make that move forward, it seems to me to be a good thing to do," said Little, who directs the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "I think tunnel-boring has come a long way. This isn't the old excavation method. It's a very elaborate but well established process."
October 1, 2009
The Wall Street Journal mentioned SPPD Adjunct Professor Erroll Southers in a story about efforts to revive a national Registered Traveler program. According to the story, the resurrection of such a program could depend on Southers, who was recently nominated to head the Transportation Security Administration. Southers would have to support the decision to implement such a program, the story noted.
September 28, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education featured SPPD Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Kodama and his work in transportation planning. Kodama was recently named executive director of the Orangeline Development Authority, charged with planning a high-speed rail system that will link 14 cities through Southern California. The story highlighted Kodama's transportation planning class, in which he requires his students to travel an assigned route on a commuter train and write an essay about the experience. Kodama also requires his students to develop their own public transit projects, which they discuss with transportation professionals and present to the class. Board members viewed Kodama's teaching background as a plus when they chose him to direct the project, said the development authority's chairman. "I've been involved with a lot of different transportation projects and they all find their ways back into the classroom," Kodama said. "Teaching is enjoyable and rewarding -- and I get to see where some of the students end up. I still run into quite a few of them."
September 16, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development hosted members of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce this summer in the first stop of the Texas delegation's three-day Los Angeles tour aimed at exchanging information with local civic leaders and experts.
September 16, 2009
Erroll Southers MPA '98 has been nominated by the Obama administration to run the Transportation Security Administration. Southers is an adjunct professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and he also serves as associate director of the USC Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.
August 10, 2009
The Daily Breeze reported that the Obama administration plans to appoint SPPD Adjunct Professor Erroll Southers as head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In the position, Southers, MPA '98, would oversee a workforce of 50,000 airport screeners. Southers is a former FBI agent and previously served as deputy director of the California Department of Homeland Security, the story noted.
August 3, 2009
More than 160 leading experts, ranging from USC faculty to government officials and business executives, gathered at USC to address pressing infrastructure challenges facing the Southwest Megaregion, which encompasses Southern California and portions of Nevada and Northern Baja, Mexico. The conference was part of an America 2050 forum, sponsored by the Regional Plan Association, the USC Bedrosian Center and the USC Keston Institute.
July 17, 2009
La Opinion quoted Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer and Professor James Moore about Los Angeles traffic. The public transit system should be expanded to provide more capacity, Moore said. Schweitzer believes that the best strategy would be to invest in more light-rail lines and carpool lanes, the article noted.
July 7, 2009
The Orange County Register noted that SPPD Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Kodama has been named executive director of the project to develop a maglev train system for Southern California. Planners envision an elevated, 110-mile train line between Irvine and Palmdale, with overall costs estimated in the $12 billion range, the story stated.
June 30, 2009
The New York Times noted that Professor Genevieve Giuliano of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC doctoral student Mohja Rhoads selected the finalists for a Times essay contest on the worst roads in America.
June 28, 2009
The Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about a proposed high-speed train from Southern California to Las Vegas. Some have criticized the plan for locating the terminus in Victorville, 80 miles from Los Angeles, the story noted. "I don't think the Victorville connection is anybody's first priority for doing California's high-speed rail," he said. Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
June 15, 2009
The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Professor Peter Gordon about congestion pricing. "The fairest and most cost-effective option in urban transportation is rational pricing of highway space," Gordon wrote. "[P]eople in all walks of life value the time they save if and when they choose to pay the toll."
June 9, 2009
The New York Times reported that Professor Genevieve Giuliano and SPPD doctoral student Mohja Rhoads will select the finalists for a Times essay contest on the worst roads in America. "I'm bringing in a couple of celebrity judges from the outstanding transportation program at UCLA's crosstown rival, the University of Southern California," the columnist wrote. "P.S.: Don't tell them we think so highly of them, we don't want them getting big heads."
May 2, 2009
The Age (Australia) quoted Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid about the fading luster of the Hummer car brand. "In the 2000s, we saw the Hummer as the epitome of glamour and excessive living," Currid said. "Now, if they're not scorned, they're laughed at. I think the Hummer is considered quite gauche among the set that used to drive them."
April 2, 2009
Los Angeles' "transportation transformation" was the subject of a recent panel discussion hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The event took place at the downtown headquarters of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was the third event in the SPPD Dean's Speaker series, which has focused on the revitalization of Los Angeles.
January 26, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development marked its 80th anniversary by hosting a special colloquium Jan. 16 at the Davidson Conference Center. During the conference, Dean Jack H. Knott noted that SPPD remains dedicated to advancing academic theory and making a vital impact in the world.
December 21, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Genevieve Giuliano about the expected departure of L.A.'s Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Roger Snoble. "The next person is going to have to be hardheaded about the market for some of these capital investments," Giuliano said. If not, the cost of running and building rail could drain agency coffers, she noted. Guiliano is senior associate dean for research and technology at SPPD and director of the METRANS Transportation Center.
December 12, 2008
Eight USC students conducting research on transportation projects ranging from toll roads to airport runway incursions have been recognized with scholarships from two Southern California chapters of the Women's Transportation Seminar. Two of those students are from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
November 30, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer about the light rail extension set to join Union Station with East Los Angeles. Rail lines mean access, which is valuable, Schweitzer said. Rail means a bump in property values, with land around the line becoming "perpetually valuable," she added.
November 6, 2008
Dr. Louise Nelson Dyble, associate director for research at the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, recently received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Michael Robinson Award for her article, "Revolt Against Sprawl: Transportation and the Origins of the Marin County Growth-Control Regime."
October 29, 2008
During an Oct. 21 panel hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry said that the goal of downtown's revitalization effort is to restore "the excitement of an earlier time." The changing downtown landscape was the focus of the panel discussion, which took place inside City Hall. The event was part of the SPPD Dean's Speaker Series.
October 28, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid about double-decker tourist buses in Los Angeles. The buses are a gambit by L.A.'s biggest tour operator to broaden the areas in which tourists roam, the story stated. "The double-decker buses aren't the silver bullet," Currid said. "But great cities are great cities because of all the little things adding up. The cumulative effect of all the little things actually adds up to something important."
October 22, 2008
METRANS celebrates 10 years of research and education on metropolitan transportation. For the past decade, the center has aimed at "generating the highest quality basic and applied research," according to METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano, professor and senior associate dean at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
September 8, 2008
SPPD Associate Professor Catherine Burke wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times about improving mass transit with "podcars." These personal rapid transit vehicles would provide on-demand, private, nonstop travel on small, overhead guideways above existing roads, Burke wrote. "Podcars offer a new kind of service, providing the convenience of an auto without the negatives for the individual - costly to purchase plus high costs for gasoline, insurance, maintenance and parking. For society, podcars would reduce the use of petroleum as well as pollution, congestion, accidents, injuries and deaths," she noted. "With governments in Europe and South Korea already supporting this development, the U.S. needs to get onboard and begin test runs on the podcar designs being created in this country."
August 14, 2008
SPPD Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer was quoted in a widely carried story about Americans driving less. People are driving less not only because of high gas prices, but because the things they do at the destination have also become more expensive, Schweitzer said.
August 14, 2008
SPPD Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer was quoted in the Seattle Time about the recent dip in American gas consumption. Gas prices aren't the only deterrent to driving, Schweitzer said. "Not only is it expensive to get anywhere, but you have to pay more for whatever you do when you get there," she noted.
August 12, 2008
SPPD Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about transportation policy and the presidential election. "I think both sides of the political spectrum agree that Americans' consumption patterns have to change," Schweitzer said in a story on USC's Election 2008 Web site, cited by the Times. "For example, we had President Bush's 'addicted to oil' comments in his State of the Union address a few years ago. Barack Obama has transit in his platform, and John McCain's platform includes advanced transportation technologies to deal with both energy and climate change. Everybody sees the writing on the wall clearly enough; the devil is in the implementation."
June 11, 2008
A study by Genevieve Giuliano was cited in a Los Angeles Times story on traffic congestion in southern California. "People say they want less traffic, but they don't want to be forced to alter their habits," the story stated. The mandatory changes required for the 1984 Olympics worked because the changes required were temporary, according to Giuliano's study.
May 2, 2008
Prof. Peter Gordon wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times about the future of Los Angeles transportation. "As more people drive, they will have more range and more options. Origins and destinations disperse. And as they disperse, more people want their autos," Gordon wrote. "There is only one intervention that will slow it down: Make driving and parking more expensive, which brings us back to tolling and pricing."
May 1, 2008
Prof. Peter Gordon wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times about city planning and traffic congestion in Los Angeles. "Lifestyle choices and the demographic composition of our population are ever-changing," Gordon wrote. "It is the job of builders to figure out how to respond, and those who get it right make sales and money. Those who get it wrong suffer losses and end up in another line of work. The only thing that stands in the way is politics. When politicians get involved, as they increasingly want to do, the process favors large and well-connected developers."
April 30, 2008
Prof. Peter Gordon wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times in favor of congestion pricing to alleviate Los Angeles traffic problems. The congestion pricing wouldn't be like that of London, Gordon wrote. "Compared with London, our jobs and our traffic are dispersed. A pricing scheme for L.A. should be 'dynamic,' meaning that it has to be sensitive to time-of-day traffic conditions. We already know about matinee prices and early-bird specials: Prices adjust to demand specific to the time of day. There are predictable cycles of daily demand for almost all freeways, so prices must adjust. (And we must stop using the term 'freeways.')"
April 28, 2008
Prof. Peter Gordon wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times supporting the conversion of some carpool lanes on Los Angeles freeways into toll lanes. "[N]ot pricing road access is demonstrably unfair," Gordon wrote. "[W]e know that if price does not ration, something else will. When we refuse to price highway access, rationing of available road space is done by overcrowding, and everyone complains about the resulting congestion," he added. "Forgoing the pricing option leads to trouble, but some always believe they can resort to something 'fairer' instead. They never have."
April 29, 2008
Prof. Peter Gordon wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times stating that building more subways in Los Angeles won't decrease traffic congestion. Some predict that higher gas prices will lead to more people riding transit, Gordon wrote. "I disagree because I remember the oil shocks of the 1970s. If you look at only the annual transit data over those years, you cannot find the shocks. People coped by demanding (and getting) smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. This is beginning to happen again."
