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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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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>
    <image>
      <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>Beyond Pedestrian Flow: Evaluating Urban Sidewalk Friction and Accessibility via Efficient State Space Models</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2775059</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traditional sidewalk performance evaluation has primarily relied on flow metrics that treat pedestrians as uniform units. These methods typically rely on basic pedestrian counts which capture pedestrians at a single point location. Walkability metrics typically assess the suitability of a street environment for pedestrian activity based on the presence or absence of specific neighborhood or street characteristics. While useful to capture high-level neighborhood pedestrian activity, these approaches fail to capture the complex, micro-level dynamics that occur in pedestrian spaces.

To address this gap, this project introduces a comprehensive framework for evaluating sidewalk performance by developing novel friction metrics. By moving beyond simple counting, the research team aims to quantify how different pedestrian groups and infrastructural elements interact in real-world scenarios. The architecture leverages the combined strengths of Visual Language Models (VLMs) and highly efficient State Space Models (SSMs). The project is structured around three primary objectives: (1) Semantic Categorization via Visual Language Models — processing CCTV camera feeds to categorize pedestrians into distinct behavioral groups and identify infrastructural hurdles; (2) Development of SSM-Based Friction Metrics — using the semantic data generated by the VLMs, utilizing SSMs operating on anomaly detection principles to analyze specific pedestrian interactions over time; and (3) Walkability and Accessibility Evaluation — synthesizing the outputs of the pipeline to evaluate large-scale urban walkability and accessibility by creating and utilizing benchmark data.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:18:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2775059</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Innovating TOD Operationalization: A Safety-Oriented, Technology-Based Framework Leveraging Street-Level Imagery and Computer Vision</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2762042</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traditional transit-oriented development (TOD) metrics rely on coarse, static datasets that overlook street-level safety elements such as lighting, visibility, and natural surveillance, limiting planners' ability to assess how the built environment influences transit use and perceived safety. This project closes that gap by developing and operationalizing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based TOD measurement framework that integrates Google Street View (GSV) imagery with machine-learning image segmentation to extract fine-grained, pedestrian-experience-oriented indicators of walkability and safety around transit stations.
The methodology is demonstrated for all BART stations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Conventional TOD levels are calculated from established indicators (EPA Smart Location Database, WalkScore, parcel-level land use, and accessibility measures), while a parallel image-based measurement is constructed from GSV imagery within 400–800 meter pedestrian catchment areas using PSPNet semantic segmentation to classify streetscape elements. A SafeTOD typology is then developed to classify stations based on measurable safety-related features including lighting, pedestrian and cyclist presence, visibility, and natural surveillance. Traditional and image-based measures are compared using descriptive statistics and spatial analysis (Moran's I, hotspot analysis), and both are incorporated into mode choice and mode shift models to evaluate relationships among SafeTOD scores, crime, and transit ridership.
Expected products include a validated, scalable, station-level image-based TOD and SafeTOD dataset, a documented PSPNet-based segmentation workflow and analytical codebase, a SafeTOD classification framework, and empirical evidence comparing image-based and conventional TOD indicators. Outputs are intended for direct use by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit agencies, and local planning departments to prioritize station-area investments and strengthen first- and last-mile safety strategies.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:50:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2762042</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>VISIAM (Visual Street Index for Active Mobility): An AI-Based Tool for Assessing Bikeability and Walkability of Streets</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2680127</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project proposes the Visual Street Index for Active Mobility (VISIAM)—an AI-driven framework that integrates computer vision, self-supervised deep learning, and human-perception data to systematically assess bikeability and walkability at the street segment level. Current tools for assessing bikeability and walkability are limited because they rely on subjective audits or basic metrics. VISIAM addresses this gap through a multi-stage framework: computer vision models extract and classify streetscape features from Google Street View imagery, human-perception evaluations from diverse stakeholder groups rate street imagery across multiple dimensions, and the AI-derived classifications and human ratings are integrated to produce a composite bikeability and walkability score for each street segment. The final output is a citywide, street-level index visualized through interactive maps and dashboards, enabling policymakers to identify gaps, prioritize investments, and explore how infrastructure improvements could improve street quality.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:15:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2680127</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>State Preference Survey of Pedestrian Street Crossing and Big Data Analysis of Suppressed Pedestrian Trips</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394416</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this research is to develop a pedestrian accessibility index that reflects the disutility posed by walking in uncomfortable settings or spending significant time waiting for the opportunity to cross. This index can help the Design Office better understand what designs and conditions result in greater use and attract more individuals to walk versus drive and utilize the designated facilities. This index will then be compared against a review of Replica big data of walking trips and the demographic information of those making those trips and the routes taken. Without this study, FDOT will miss an opportunity to understand which facility design and conditions create the largest benefit in terms of pedestrian use.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:21:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2394416</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Updated Graphics and Report for “Urban Applications of Innovative Intersection Design”</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2362120</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Across North Carolina, communities are increasingly anxious to foster walkable mixed-use development at urban-level densities. This is partly because older suburban land uses adjacent to many NCDOT highways are languishing and communities see Complete Streets and Form-Based Codes as a means of rejuvenating economic development and creating the “great places” that they feel like they lack. It’s not
just “languishing suburban” aiming for walkable, urban densities – many greenfield locations are aiming for “urban town centers” right from the beginning, and still other locations already are fully urban, and need traffic management solutions that respect and enhance their multimodal appeal. NCDOT has a new Complete Streets policy, but the department is better-known for “Stroads” than for delivering projects that are viewed by stakeholders as walkable and livable, and thereby helping catalyze the “suburban to urban” transformation communities are seeking. This is not a critique of NCDOT – it is
the common reality all over America, and it is born out of the conundrum of highways pulling double duty, serving local economic access needs and attempting to manage high traffic levels over relatively long distances at the same time. If anything, NCDOT is to be commended for national leadership in aiming to discover how to deliver a different product to existing and aspiring urban activity centers.

This continuation effort from NCDOT RP 2021-22 aims to update visuals to be used in presentations for NCDOT when making cases for alternative designs in urban and suburban settings. It is well known that conveying these concepts to practitioners, municipal staff, or citizens is extremely challenging. Aerial and “street level” scenes of various alternative designs help convey the benefits to other modalities by freeing up right-of-way. In addition, other benefits such as revitalization can be more easily discussed once the scene is better understood.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2024 10:07:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2362120</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Neighborhood Walkability and Cardiometabolic Disease in Central TX</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264298</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The term walkability refers to a measure of how conducive the built environment is to walking and can be used to predict levels of human physical activity and active travel (Frank et al., 2006) Walkability is increasingly valued for two major reasons. Firstly, walking substantially benefits the physical and mental health of people, as research has shown that walking can reduce rates of obesity (Frank et al., 2004; Giles-Corti, Macintyre, Clarkson, Pikora, & Donovan, 2003; Pucher, Buehler, Bassett, & Dannenberg, 2010), diabetes (Pucher et al., 2010), and other chronic diseases and limit the rising costs of health care (Lee & Buchner, 2008). Secondly, a walkable city promotes the balanced development of urban areas and public services, provides people with better places to live, and improves levels of neighborhood satisfaction (Lee et al., 2017).

Neighborhood walkability is also significantly related to the risk for cardiometabolic disease including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Meline, Chaix, Pannieret, et al, 2017; Chandrabose, Cerin, Mavoa, et al. 2019). A growing body of research demonstrates that the physical environment plays an important role in supporting an active lifestyle through the collective availability of activity-friendly neighborhood characteristics (i.e., walkability). Furthermore, cardiometabolic disease is more serious in vulnerable populations, while there are over 430,000 vulnerable populations in Austin, TX. Therefore, improving walkability in the Austin area can contribute to a reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic diseases within this population. The research question is whether there is an association between walkability and the rate of cardiometabolic disease in central Texas? 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 06 Oct 2023 19:15:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2264298</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Building Active Communities Technical Support '23-'24</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2221865</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity (NAPA) Program’s Building Active Communities Initiative (BACI) was a project of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services in cooperation with Montana State University’s Office of Rural Health. With in-depth, interactive training, mentoring and ongoing technical assistance, BACI supported community-led approaches to develop active and healthy communities.  The overarching goal of the Initiative was to provide communities the tools and technical assistance they need to develop policies, plans, and projects that support more safe, connected and walkable communities.  Western Transportation Institute's (WTI’s) Small Urban and Rural Livability Center provided funding support for several of BACI’s Action Institutes. This project will build on the momentum created by the Building Active Communities Initiative Program by extending WTI’s technical support efforts.

Many of the small rural communities that have participated over the years have an ongoing need for technical assistance. At the BACI Action Institutes, these communities gathered information and developed ideas for policies, programs and projects to implement in their communities. Many of these communities lack the technical knowledge to fully implement their ideas. WTI’s Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM) staff have been involved with the BACI program from the beginning and have long standing relationships with NAPA, DPHHS, MDT, and Department of Commerce staff that have also been involved with providing technical assistance to BACI Action Institute and the BACI communities. In addition, WTI’ SURTCOM staff have the expertise and experience in rural bicycle and pedestrian best practices and experience working with these communities through the Safe Routes to School program.  These factors combine to make WTI’s SURTCOM ideally positioned to provide the additional technical support that these communities need to bring the policies, programs, and projects to reality.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Jul 2023 13:07:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2221865</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Supporting an Active and Healthy Motherhood via
Mobile Health Technology
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1878048</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team proposes to conduct a prospective study where they will recruit women to validate and extend these retrospective findings on the association of clinical, social, and environmental factors with pregnancy. Findings will be used to develop a mobile application freely distributed to provide individually risk-tiered information on community resources on accessibility and mobility to promote healthier pregnancy. 
Aim 1: Explore the relationship among neighborhood walkability, access to resources, and pregnancy outcomes. 
Aim 2: Develop individually customized online feeds to promote a neighborhood support environment for healthier motherhood.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2021 16:58:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1878048</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Building Active Communities Technical Support</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1656367</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity (NAPA) Program’s Building Active Communities Initiative (BACI) is a project of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services in cooperation with Montana State University’s Office of Rural Health. With in-depth, interactive training, mentoring and ongoing technical assistance, NAPA’s Building Active Communities Initiative supports community-led approaches to develop active and healthy communities.  The overarching goal of the Initiative is to provide communities the tools and technical assistance they need to develop policies, plans, and projects that support safer, connected, and walkable communities.  WTI’s Small Urban and Rural Livability Center provided funding support for several of BACI’s Action Institutes. This project will build on the momentum created by the Building Active Communities Initiative Program by extending WTI’s technical support efforts. Many of the small rural communities that have participated over the years have an ongoing need for technical assistance. At the BACI Action Institutes, these communities gathered information and developed ideas for policies, programs, and projects to implement in their communities. Many of these communities lack the technical knowledge to fully implement their ideas. WTI’s Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM) staff have been involved with the BACI program from the beginning and have long standing relationships with NAPA, DPHHS, MDT, and Department of Commerce staff that have also been involved with providing technical assistance to BACI Action Institute and the BACI communities.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 08 Oct 2019 15:01:40 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1656367</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Creating Neighborhood Walkability Metrics that Represent the Needs of Older People: Developing Appropriate Infrastructure and Policy Interventions 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1489170</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed research has three overarching goals; to: 1) synthesize the most useful and powerful metrics in multiple walkability indices that directly address the needs and perceptions of older people; 2) develop a typology of shortened but more focused and powerful walkability metrics that allow planners and communities to effectively identify the barriers that actual impede walkability in a significant ways, and, 3) link the metrics to specific infrastructure and policy alternatives known to directly address or target the barriers identified. The major focus of the work is on distilling the significant and meaningful walkability metrics and indices of direct relevance to older people from a large and unwieldy body of scholarly and professional literature AND to assess what is actually known about infrastructure and policy improvements that target the problems or gaps or barriers that the metrics identify. A key piece of the research involves conducting multiple focus groups with diverse older people in the greater Austin – San Antonio region to understand to which elements they give priority. The research will then link the most crucial metrics of the physical and social environment to specific policy and infrastructure improvements; where there is not enough knowledge to suggest intervention, the research will identify potential options and explain what is known about the situations where they might be effective and how they work to increase both actual and perceived walkability among older residents.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 17 Nov 2017 16:44:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1489170</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Community-Aware Charging Station Network Design for Electrified Vehicles in Urban Areas:  Reducing Congestion, Emissions, Improving Accessibility and Promoting Walking, Bicycling and Use of Public Transportation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1397946</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project aims achieving: 1) improved mobility and accessibility for electric vehicle (EV) users and increased adoption for commuters to urban areas, 2) improved livability of urban areas by reduced pollution and noise levels, and 3) improved walkability in urban areas by reduced traffic flows and congestion. These objectives will be achieved through the strategic planning and deployment of charging stations (over multiple years) as well as the design of dynamic incentive mechanisms to subsidize charging costs to reduce the traffic flows and congestion in urban areas. The underlying premise of this achievement is the leveraging the gradual adoption of EVs as well as incentivizing and guiding traffic flows in and out of the urban areas. Accordingly, the project team will explicitly account for the effect of the charging station network design (e.g., number, type and location of charging stations) on such outcomes as the EV driver's range anxiety, walking distance from the station to their temporary destination (e.g. office and restaurant), cost of charging, urban area traffic flows and congestion, livability metrics (e.g., noise levels, greenhouse emissions, walkability). Given the adoption of EV vehicles and projected dominance of EVs in the future, the project team will evaluate the multi-year impact of the charging station network growth on the livability of the urban areas. With multi-year evaluation capability, the project team will develop optimization models to help characterize superior charging station deployment scenarios along with incentive mechanisms to induce the adoption of these scenarios by independent charging station operators. In the incentive framework, the project team will also account for the effects of charging network design on the existing electric utility distribution system and user preferences.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2016 11:23:57 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1397946</guid>
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