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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Creating Multimedia Resources for Engineering Curriculum on Management and Operation of Transportation Systems</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2490975</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transportation projects may have environmental impacts including air, water and noise pollution, habitat disruption and land use alterations. As engineers, it is our responsibility to be guardians of public safety and to protect the environment. Transportation projects have great potential in engaging in and promotion of sustainable practices, however in engineering curriculum, we often skip discussions on the long-term performance and resource-conscious considerations of transportation practices. This is mainly due to lack of easily accessible and interactive resources. This project aims to fill this gap, through development of educational multimedia resources that faculty can easily access, adopt and share with their students. This project will integrate essential content on transportation projects with environmental impacts assessment of transportation applications and long-term performance and resource-conscious considerations of materials used for transportation projects. The educational resources will include materials (active learning activities, examples, discussion prompts), short informative videos, resources list for related content, interviews with experts in site-specific environmental considerations and contextual decision-making in transportation design. The multimedia materials will be hosted through the website created by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the Colorado State University.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:03:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2490975</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>RES2025-06: Navigating Possibilities Unlocking Tennessee's Waterways for Interstate Freight Transportation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487459</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The problem of underutilized waterways for freight transportation in Tennessee presents a significant opportunity for the state to realize economic, environmental, and infrastructure benefits (see RES 2023-07). By leveraging its inland waterways and investing in transportation infrastructure, Tennessee can enhance its competitiveness, promote sustainable development, and build a more resilient and prosperous future for its residents and businesses. The focus of the study will be to investigate (i) shippers moving cargo, (ii) the specific cargo class(es) transported, (ii) the current navigable routes by which cargo moves, (iv) the estimated total costs of these cargo movements, (v) challenges encountered in moving cargo on the inland waterways, and (vi) how these waterways can be more effectively utilized for handling identified cargo and commodities. The extent of the problem and the potential benefits for Tennessee are significant, multifaceted, and briefly discussed next. Economic Impact: Tennessee's geographical location positions it as a strategic hub for inter/intra-state commerce. By developing its waterways for freight transportation, the state can capitalize on its central location to facilitate the movement of goods between the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and potentially other  southeastern regions. This can attract businesses seeking efficient transportation routes, expand market access for Tennessee-based industries, as well as connect other industries to Tennessee.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:05:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487459</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Resilience Based Decision Support System for Critical Transportation Corridors</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431338</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A comprehensive methodology for developing a decision-making support tool is proposed that assesses risks for transportation corridors, with a particular focus on infrastructure and services to support the blue economy. Central to this approach is the integration of coastal considerations into the Vulnerability Assessment Scoring Tool (VAST) and its application within vulnerability assessments. By augmenting VAST with a Coastal Category, the methodology aims to illuminate disparities and highlight vulnerable populations, ensuring their representation in decision-making processes. Through the inclusion of indicators such as income levels, disability prevalence, and accessibility during extreme events, the Coastal Category within VAST enables a nuanced understanding of vulnerability within coastal communities. Ultimately, by addressing coastal disparities head-on, this methodology not only enhances the accuracy and effectiveness of vulnerability assessments but also advances broader goals of resilience in coastal transportation planning.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:37:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431338</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Capacity Building and Workforce Development for Coastal Transportation Infrastructure Subjected to Multi-hazards (Phase 2)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431336</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project aims to develop a decision-making tool to assess and enhance the durability of transportation corridors in coastal communities, crucial for supporting the blue economy. By focusing on the specific needs of these communities, the research will address the challenges posed by natural hazards and the importance of durable infrastructure in fostering economic growth. The initiative also seeks to advance transportation workforce development by integrating blue and green economy principles, emphasizing the need for collaboration among stakeholders, and providing education on designing infrastructure that withstands natural disasters. The project will identify key lessons and recommendations to help educators engage with this critical engineering field, ultimately driving regional economic growth and improving coastal transportation infrastructure durability..]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:34:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431336</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Framework for participatory evaluation of greenery screens in
environmental justice communities
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2420067</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A growing strategy to mitigate environmental harms is the implementation of green infrastructure in
high-pollution zones, such as greenery screens, vegetation barriers, and living walls. This study
synthesizes the outcomes of existing projects and proposes an evaluation framework that centers
community participation. Greenery screens and sound walls are intended to mitigate noise and air
pollution, which can reduce health disparities and improve quality of life in surrounding communities.
Additional co-benefits may be observed when considering the role of this infrastructure during
extreme weather events, such as flooding, extreme heat, and poor air quality from wildfires.
Within the sustainability framework known as the triple bottom line, some studies have begun to
examine the environmental, social, and financial benefits of green infrastructure, but initial findings
on the effectiveness of greenery screens remain inconclusive. Expanding this framework to include
the principles of equitable evaluation, methodological advancements are needed to account not only
for distributional equity, but structural and procedural equity, as well. For example, integrating the
cumulative impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act into the infrastructure evaluation process could be one means of addressing structural equity, and practicing
living labs where community members collect and interpret data from sensors tracking environmental
determinants of health could be a technique to incorporate procedural equity into the evaluation
process. The proposed systematic literature review will result in actionable strategies for working in
collaboration with low-income communities of color who have been disproportionally harmed by
freeway infrastructure to advance environmental justice. Findings from this study will provide
recommendations to policymakers and analysts committed to advancing distributional, structural,
and procedural equity.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Aug 2024 16:05:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2420067</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Assessing Condition of Rehabilitated Concrete Pavement with Slab Fracturing and Asphalt Overlay Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2373771</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The United States is experiencing a significant increase in registered motor vehicles, resulting in increasing traffic loads on transportation infrastructure, particularly on roads prone to cracking. Asphalt overlay is commonly used to rehabilitate concrete pavements. However, asphalt overlay often results in reflective cracking, leading to expensive repairs. To address this issue, slab fracturing and asphalt overlay has been popularly applied to rehabilitate cracked concrete pavements in recently years. To investigate the effectiveness of the slab fracturing and asphalt overlay for concrete pavement rehabilitation, his research focuses on understanding how crack propagate through the asphalt overlay. While current crack detection methods struggle to assess bottom-up cracking effectively, posing safety hazards and financial burdens, this project proposes to use distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) to monitor bottom-up cracking of the rehabilitated concrete pavements using slab fracturing and asphalt overlay in real time. Through a comprehensive approach combining numerical simulations and laboratory experiments, this research aims to expand our understanding of crack formation mechanisms while assessing the effectiveness of DFOS for monitoring bottom-up cracks in pavements. Numerical simulations using finite element analysis replicate real-world pavement conditions and consider factors such as traffic loading and material properties. Laboratory experiments entail constructing pavement specimens with different layers, installing DFOS sensors to measure strain during crack emergence, and subjecting specimens to controlled loading conditions resembling real-world scenarios. Anticipated outcomes include providing effective pavement condition monitoring alternatives for rehabilitated concrete pavements using slab fracturing and asphalt overlay, contributing to safer and more sustainable management of transportation systems.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:55:36 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2373771</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Metropolitan Planning Organizations' Long-range Transportation Plans: Best Practices in Sustainability, Equity, and Climate Change</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2359162</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The long-range transportation (LRT) planning process seeks to align an agency’s transportation investment priorities over the next 20 years with the region’s vision and goals which increasingly includes sustainable transportation, climate change and equity targets. Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are regional transportation agencies responsible for the integrated LRT of multiple independent governmental jurisdictions. This research seeks to compile from progressive MPOs lessons learned in implementing sustainable modes of transportation in their LRT that account for climate change and equity in transportation. Twenty MPOs will be chosen. Ten smaller MPOs with populations more than 50,000, but less than 200,000 and 10 MPOs with populations larger than 200,000. Two authors of each of the 20 LRT plans will be interviewed for a total of 40 interviews, and content analysis will be used to develop key themes around best practices in implementing sustainable transportation, climate change and equity targets; implementation challenges; and overall lessons learned.

In reaction to the Biden Administration’s recent executive orders on equity, fairness and justice, this research will identify best practices and inform policy development and implementation of sustainable and equitable transportation planning that is responsive to climate change at the state, regional, and local levels.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:33:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2359162</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Charging Forward: Crafting an Inclusive SMART Roadmap for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Navajo Nation, AZ</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2359161</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project fits well within the US DOT Strategic Goals of Equity and Climate and Sustainability. Recognizing the Navajo Nation's pivotal role in environmental conservation and its distinct challenges and potentials, this project emerges as a pioneering investigation into rural (remote) EV infrastructure. The insights derived will be invaluable for other similar regions and underserved communities aiming for sustainable transitions to clean and sustainable transportation. In the same line, this project contributes to CCST’s Focus Area 5: Smart Cities & Innovative Adaptation and Mitigation Technologies and Focus Area 2: Community-Centered Solutions to Environmental Justice.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:27:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2359161</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Digital Twins as a Catalyst for Sustainable and Smart Cities</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2350747</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project aims to develop an urban digital twin for the city of Austin that assists city planners and managers to build a sustainable and smart city. The proposed urban digital twin will incorporate a data management and visualization platform, a real-time city monitoring system, an integration of predicting models, and a dynamic urban simulation environment to achieve effective city management, better resource allocation, more efficient transportation operation, and more proactive responses to risks. The data management and visualization platform will store and publish static and real-time urban data. The platform will enable API access and data download to facilitate third-party use. The real-time city monitoring system will access and process multiple data sources, including public real-time dataset, camera, and road sensors, for traffic monitoring and accident detecting. The digital twin will incorporate a traffic predicting model and a risk predicting model using graph-based deep learning methods. The project team will also build a dynamic urban simulation environment for the city of Austin, including a 3D city model, a road network model, and a traffic simulator. These digital twin modules will operate cooperatively by interacting with each other to synchronize real-world and virtual information. The expected outputs of this project include online platforms, software, technical reports, and research papers.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 12 Mar 2024 10:57:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2350747</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Green TOD: Concept, Framework, and the Empirical Case Study of Austin, TX</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2350732</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Green TOD is a concept derived from marrying TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) to Green Urbanism. TOD promotes compact development aligning with transit stations and has been widely practiced around the world as an alternative to urban sprawl. The conventional TOD practice, however, may result in poor green performance associated with the promoted development patterns. Increased density and land use mixture as TOD has prescribed may help reduce energy use, waste production, and carbon emissions regionwide. Concentration of people, jobs, and activities (including traffic) on the other hand may led to increased intensity of and exposure to emissions and pollutions locally in TOD districts and corridors. The Green Urbanism practice can potentially help address the conventional TOD’s green inadequacies. Nevertheless, Green TOD has not been widely recognized and adopted, especially in the  US. Lack of Green TOD’s recognition and adoption can be attributed to three factors. First, the concept of Green TOD remains to be further clarified and substantiated going beyond simple juxtaposition of TOD and Green Urbanism terms and attributes. Second, there is lack of operational framework and metrics for Green TOD practice and performance assessment. Third, there are insufficient empirical knowledge and data needed for calibrating Green TOD parameters and performance assessment benchmarks. The proposed project aims to achieve three objectives corresponding to the above described three factors that contribute to limited Green TOD recognition and adoption in the existing research and practice. They include: (1) Clarify and substantiate Green TOD concept; (2) Develop an operational framework of and metrics for Green TOD; and (3) Test empirically Green TOD performance through Austin, Texas case study.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 Mar 2024 21:38:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2350732</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>RES2021-06: A Framework for Quantitative Assessment of the Environmental, Social and Economic Benefits of TDOT Infrastructure Projects</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2338577</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traditional infrastructure planning and design has mostly focused on the economic impacts of a project, while under prioritizing the environmental and social impacts. As state departments of transportation begin to integrate Green Infrastructure (GI) and Low Impact Development strategies into transportation infrastructure—to meet sustainability goals, promote economic growth, and enhance public safety and social objectives—there is a need for a standardized framework that quantifies and considers economic, environmental, and social impacts while also taking public opinion and the hierarchy of importance for these benefits into consideration. This study aims to develop a systematic quantification framework that does just that, with the use of spatially specific and temporally dynamic metrics, objective weights, practical quantification methods, and calculations to value tangential benefits. This framework is meant to be used by practitioners to assess the applicability and quantified benefits of GI practices to be used in transportation projects. To do this, the Analytical Hierarchy Process and Monte Carlo Simulation methods, along with results from two surveys, are employed to build the toolbox, complete with a searchable database of applicable GI measures that can be used for specific field conditions of a project. Additionally, a step-by-step user guide has been developed to facilitate practitioner’s use of the toolbox, and a case study was conducted to demonstrate the toolbox‘ capabilities and benefits.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:19:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2338577</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Center for Multi-Modal Mobility in Urban, Rural and Tribal Areas</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2329797</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The broad goal of the proposed UTC will be to conduct research related to the statutory research priority area “Improving the Mobility of People and Goods.” Within this framework, it will focus on three Strategic Goals identified by USDOT in its FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, namely: Economic Strength and Global Competitiveness, Equity, and Climate and Sustainability. Specific objectives of the new center will include:

(1) Developing more refined models of travel behavior and the factors that influence travel demand;
(2) Assessing the potential for unmanned and autonomous vehicles (both ground and air) to streamline the delivery of goods and facilitate the movement of people;
(3) Investigating a wide array of congestion-reduction strategies, including incentivization of public transit, and the use of toll and HOV lanes;
(4) Identifying the key contributors to transportation-related inequity and presenting solutions that support mobility justice, as well as better understanding the equity implications of travel barriers, including constrained access to food, healthcare, and employment;
(5) Evaluating the potential of modalities such as rideshare, vanpool and microtransit to improve mobility while meeting the ever-evolving demand for efficient, reliable transportation;
(6) Exploring the feasibility and impact of infrastructure-based solutions such as “complete streets” in reducing congestion and addressing inequity;
(7) Exploring innovative approaches to project finance and delivery and providing technical assistance to stakeholders.

The consortium brings specific skills and expertise to the pursuit of these goals, including transportation data analytics, behavior and demand modeling, economic and environmental analysis, simulation and optimization, networks, traffic control and management, autonomy research and the modeling of complex urban traffic environments, equity studies, and urban mobility research. 

The proposed UTC will pursue the following specific performance objectives: (1) the delivery of concrete, actionable policy guidance for adoption by state agencies; (2) technology transfer resulting in new, impactful products and services; (3) increased public awareness of transportation options and emerging modalities; (4) a continued supply of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who will form the next generation of transportation experts; and (5) measurable improvements in diversity within the field. Through its work, the proposed UTC will foster the evolution of U.S. transportation networks and promote effective, sustainable approaches to meeting the nation’s mobility needs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:37:28 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2329797</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Water quality monitoring network to assess downstream efficacy of green infrastructure and provenance of non-point source pollutants</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264209</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team proposes to establish a water quantity and water quality monitoring network that can be leveraged to evaluate the efficacy of green infrastructure to reduce runoff volumes and identify the provenance of non-point source pollutants in downstream water bodies.
In urban settings, rivers and streams are frequently afflicted by the so-called “urban stream syndrome,” which results from hydraulic alteration of stream channels, increased runoff from impervious areas, non-point source pollution, and modification to the lateral connectivity of the stream to its hillslopes. Urban streams are frequently classified as “flashy,” meaning that transport of water, sediment, other non-point source pollutants occur in brief, yet powerful pulses. This results in a stream system that simultaneously delivers increased discharge and non-point source pollutants during storms, but rapidly dries during recession periods. This has implications for both freshwater ecosystems and water-related infrastructure. 

One approach to combat the urban stream syndrome includes the application of green infrastructure in disturbed landscapes and investigation of the provenance of non-point source pollutants. To evaluate the performance of green infrastructure, extensive in situ monitoring equipment is commonly used on site. While such monitoring indicates that green infrastructure indeed improves on-site water quantity and water quality, a pressing need exists to evaluate the efficacy of green infrastructure to mediate water quantity (including streamflow permanence) and water quality in downstream waterways. Furthermore, the extent to which the effects of green infrastructure perpetuate to downstream water bodies is currently unknown.
The team proposes to establish a water quality and water quantity monitoring network to evaluate the downstream impacts of green infrastructure on water bodies and identify the provenance of non-point source pollutants. The monitoring network will consist of state-of-the-art, multi-parameter water quality and water quantity platforms. Parameters monitored at the platforms will include discharge, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature, turbidity, NO3-, and streamflow presence/absence. Readings will be recorded every 15-minutes. 
The Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek, located within Louisville, KY, will be the testbed to evaluate downstream impacts of green infrastructure. 84% of the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek is classified as “developed”, and a federal consent decree to reduce combined sewer overflows in Beargrass Creek is currently enacted.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 19:11:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264209</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Sustainability through Development of Life Cycle Information Models for Pavements in Louisiana</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2256344</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The overall goal of this study is to improve sustainability through development of life cycle information models for pavements in Louisiana. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:31:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2256344</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4812:  The Business Case for Sustainable Road Infrastructure Development</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2238809</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study will identify sustainable development (SD) opportunities at each phase of infrastructure development; identify/demonstrate exposure metrics for sustainability assessment; document/evaluate trends in SD metrics in Indiana’s transportation; identify carbon credit markets that Indiana could partake; develop SD business-case framework; assess SD impacts on other sectors; and identify ways to integrate SD into INDOT’s culture.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:41:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2238809</guid>
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