OLIS Sustainable Transportation Class

This proposal is to develop a core course on sustainable transportation as part of a nine month, cohort based, graduate certificate program in sustainability (Oregon Leadership in Sustainability--OLIS) at the University of Oregon. The course will become a permanent part of the curriculum thereafter. The proposal envisions making the course materials available for use by other universities, non-profits and community groups who are interested in a comprehensive look at sustainable transportation issues and practices from an applied perspective. The course will emphasize applied interdisciplinary transportation solutions that future community leaders in the sustainability field will need to know to be…

This proposal is to develop a core course on sustainable transportation as part of a nine month, cohort based, graduate certificate program in sustainability (Oregon Leadership in Sustainability—OLIS) at the University of Oregon.  The course will become a permanent part of the curriculum thereafter.  The proposal envisions making the course materials available for use by other universities, non-profits and community groups who are interested in a comprehensive look at sustainable transportation issues and practices from an applied perspective.

The course will emphasize applied interdisciplinary transportation solutions that future community leaders in the sustainability field will need to know to be successful. It will cover the institutions of transportation and the impact of smart growth and climate change on best practices; transportation and land use planning; scenario planning; urban design and transportation; traffic impact analysis; transit planning and transit oriented development.  Issues such as complete streets, bike-ped planning; the internal combustion engine and its alternatives; life cycle analysis with respect to carbon emissions; demand management techniques such as congestion pricing and parking innovations are addressed.  Transportation finance and asset management will be part of the course along with innovative policy efforts in Oregon and elsewhere.  In collaboration with the Sustainable Cities Initiative at the University of Oregon, the course will include real-world term projects with community partners. We will reserve several spaces in the class for community members.

The grant will support development of the course during the Fall 2012 term and teaching of the pilot course during the Winter 2013 and Fall 2013 terms. The course will continue as a core course in the OLIS curriculum after the end of the grant to be offered yearly.