Designing Tools for Assessing Readiness of Rural Communities for New Technologies

Rural communities present unique infrastructural, cultural, institutional, and social challenges that must be integrated into transportation planning and the implementation of emerging transportation technologies. These technologies confer many benefits on rural and underserved communities by improving access and connectivity to needs and opportunities. However, little effort has been made to develop a systematic evaluation tool for analyzing the technology readiness level of disparate geographic regions. The objective of this project is to develop a novel classification system that can comprehensively assess the readiness of different geographical regions for technological transportation innovations. The novelty of this project lies in accounting for the unique attitudes, equity issues, and challenges of rural communities when developing the assessment tool. The outcome of this project is the development of a tool for assessing the readiness of small/rural communities for new transportation technologies. Building from engagement with Region 4 stakeholders, researchers in this project will first review classification systems developed for similar applications, document potential interactions between emerging technologies, and investigate key issues regarding classification criteria. Then, the developed tool will be tested and refined through pilot studies conducted jointly with DOTs.

• Record URL:
  https://www.cr2c2.com/research/major-research-initiatives/mri-1/project-1-1
• Supplemental Notes:
  • To facilitate technology transfer, the Tennessee LTAP program will develop (through separate CR2C2 funding) a training course based in part on this research. The course will focus on the gap between the current transportation infrastructure in rural communities and requirements for implementing technology oriented transportation solutions.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $321847
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348304

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities

  North Carolina A&T State University
  Greensboro, NC  United States  27411

  University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  Center for Transportation Research (CTR)
  Knoxville, TN  United States  37996
• Project Managers:

  Everett, Jerry

• Performing Organizations:

  Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

  Boca Raton, FL  United States  33431

  University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  Center for Transportation Research
  Conference Center Building
  Knoxville, TN  United States  37996-4133
• Principal Investigators:

  Everett, Jerry

  Khattak, Asad

  Nagarajan, Sudhagar

  Pandey, Venktesh

• Start Date: 20230801
• Expected Completion Date: 20250731
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Rural areas; Technological innovations; Transportation planning
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01892159
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348304
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 31 2023 9:24PM