Reducing Energy Use and Emissions through Innovative Technologies and Community Designs: Methodology and Application in Virginia
Project Title
Reducing Energy Use and Emissions through Innovative Technologies and Community Designs: Methodology and Application in Virginia
University
Old Dominion
Principal Investigator
Asad Khattak, Ph.D.
Affiliate Faculty, Old Dominion University
Mecit Cetin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University
Mike Robinson, Ph.D.
Transportation Research Lead, Old Dominion University
PI Contact Information
Funding Sources and Amounts Provided
US Department of Transportation — $240,000
Old Dominion University — $240,000
Total Project Cost
$480,000
Agency ID or Contract Number
DTRT12GUTC17
Start Date
05/1/12
End Date
1/31/16
Description of Research Project
This project aims to quantify the impacts of growth and technology strategies at the regional level by using modeling, simulation, and visualization tools, with the overall goal of enhancing livability and sustainability. The most important research outcome is the creation of a modeling and simulation system capable of addressing interactions between land use, transportation, and emissions as the foundation for research on sustainable urban development strategies, e.g., compact growth and eco-friendly transportation information delivery. It is clear that such systems will be of interest to state and regional planning agencies as they attempt to reduce gasoline consumption and emissions. The noticeable outcomes of the project will thus include the development of a modeling framework for evaluation of strategies that encourage alternative mode usage and provide eco-information to travelers. The framework will be applied to a test-case (Hampton Roads region in Virginia), and the results will be documented in a technical report, academic papers, and presentations at transportation conferences. The outcomes of the project include planning tools that encourage the consideration, evaluation and implementation of more robust growth and eco-friendly transportation strategies.
Implementation of Research Outcomes
- We have prepared and tested a regional travel demand model for the Hampton Roads Area, VA (with a population of 1.6 million) using Caliper’s TransCAD. Scenarios have been designed to reflect two different land use strategies (business-as-usual vs. smart growth). The difference between the two scenarios is based on density of the population and employment. The potential change in regional VMT due to relocating population and employment was compared and evaluated.
- We are developing a basis for driver warnings and alerts when they drive aggressively. In this regard, we have taken advantage of large-scale GPS travel survey data (containing more than 90 million seconds) from Atlanta, and major metropolitan areas in California to study instantaneous driving decisions, which are essential to energy consumption and tailpipe emissions.
- We introduced a new regional index based on “driving volatility” to describe drivers’ instantaneous decisions during driving. By comparing the GPS data in different metropolitan areas, we have found different driving profiles in these metropolitan areas given their different development density, road network structures, and socio-economics. We have created a regional index for comparing how people drive across different regions.
- Vehicle trajectory data have also been used to model hierarchies in travel to understand the role of alternative fuel vehicles. We have embarked on developing a case-based reasoning tool that can provide better information about fuel economy to consumers and compare alternative fuel vehicles with conventional vehicles.
- We assessed the impacts of TODs by comparing travel behavior of people who live in TODs vs. traditional communities. These comparisons include residents’ travel behavior, geographical travel time reliability as well as activity sequencing behaviors. This information is critical to developing and evaluating smart growth scenarios.
- We studied generation of traveler information for supporting instantaneous driving decisions. Behavioral models were developed; the study explored how to generate emission information for eco-friendly route selection.
Impacts and Benefits of the Project
- In terms of research, this is a banner project that has generated 9 international conference presentations and 6 refereed papers in high-impact journals. The project has generated information that is being presented at national and international forums. Specifically, the work is being disseminated via refereed journals, conference presentations, and invited talks nationally and internationally. The project is making important contributions to the state of the art in energy and emissions.
- In terms of education, this project is contributing by training a post-doc (Dr. X. Wang) and graduate students (G. Amoli, S. Son, and J. Liu) who have worked on modeling and smart growth land use strategies (Transit Oriented Developments), microscopic driving decisions, and energy/emissions issues. Dr. Bandeira worked on the project as an exchange student from Portugal and Dr. Khattak participated as a committee member in his Ph.D. dissertation.
- Various products and applications are being envisioned and developed in order to support more eco-friendly driving decisions and generate appropriate information for travelers to make their decisions. We are also working on tools that will provide better information about fuel economy of conventional and alternative fuel vehicles.
- The study has supported collaboration with academic colleagues in Portugal and it has resulted in several research papers in refereed journals as a result of the collaboration.
- The study contributes to greater awareness of energy and environmental issues in the US and worldwide.
Papers
- Wang, X., & A. Khattak, Is smart growth associated with reductions in CO2 emissions? Published in Transportation Research Record, 2375, 2013, pp. 62-70. Presented at 2013 Transportation Research Board Annual meeting.
- Wang X., A. Khattak, J. Liu, G. Amoli, S. Son, What is the Level of Volatility in Instantaneous Driving Decisions? Forthcoming in Transportation Research-Part C; Presented at the Transportation Research Board 2014 annual meeting (TRB Paper 14-2780); Presented as plenary Session Invited Talk, 13th COTA International Conference of Transportation Professionals, CICTP, Shenzhen, China, August 2013; presented at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and at PacTrans Seminar Series at University of Washington.
- Liu J., A. Khattak, X. Wang, The Role of Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Using Behavioral and Sensor Data to Model Hierarchies in Travel, forthcoming in Transportation Research-part C.
- Bandeira, J., D. Carvalho, P. Fernandes, T. Fontes, S. Pereira, N. Rouphail, A. Khattak, M. Coelho, Empirical Assessment of Route Choice Impact on Emissions Over Different Road Types, Traffic Demands, and Driving Scenarios. Forthcoming in International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2013. 10.1080/15568318.2014.901447 doi.
- Bandeira J., P. Fernandes, T. Fontes, S. Pereira, A. Khattak, & M. Coelho, Assessment of eco-traffic assignment strategies in an urban corridor. Submitted for review in transportation journal.
- Bandeira J., S. Pereira, T. Fontes, P. Fernandes, A. Khattak, M. Coelho, An Eco-Traffic Management Tool, Computer-based Modelling and Optimization in Transportation, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Volume 262, 2014, pp 41-56.
- Bandeira J., T. Almeida, A. Khattak, N. Rouphail, & M. Coelho, Generating emissions information for route selection: Experimental monitoring and routes characterization, Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, 17:1 Taylor & Francis Publishers, 2013, pp. 3-17.
- Son S., A. Khattak & K. Choi, Comparing Travel Behavior Between Transit-Oriented Developments and Automobile-Oriented Developments: Matched Pair Analysis, TRB Paper 14-2327, Presented at the TRB 2014 annual meeting, Washington DC.
- Son S., A. Khattak, Geographical Travel Time Reliability: A Comparative Study of Transit-oriented Development Commuters and Auto-oriented Development Commuters, to be submitted for review in transportation journal.
- Son S., A. Khattak Activity Sequencing Behavior from a Regional Perspective: A Comparative Study of Transit-oriented Development Residents and Auto-oriented Development Residents, to be submitted for review in transportation journal.
Presentations
- Wang, X., & A. Khattak, Is smart growth associated with reductions in CO2 emissions? Published in Transportation Research Record, 2375, 2013, pp. 62-70. Presented at 2013 Transportation Research Board Annual meeting.
- Wang X., A. Khattak, J. Liu, G. Amoli, S. Son, What is the Level of Volatility in Instantaneous Driving Decisions? Forthcoming in Transportation Research-Part C; Presented at the Transportation Research Board 2014 annual meeting (TRB Paper 14-2780); Presented as plenary Session Invited Talk, 13th COTA International Conference of Transportation Professionals, CICTP, Shenzhen, China, August 2013; presented at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and at PacTrans Seminar Series at University of Washington.
- Liu J., X. Wang, A. Khattak, Providing Real-Time Driving Volatility Information, Presented at ITS World Congress 2014 conference (Detroit, Sept 7-11).
- A. Khattak, J. Liu, X. Wang, Supporting instantaneous driving decisions through vehicle trajectory data, to be presented at TRB 2015 annual meeting, Washington DC.
- Liu J., A. Khattak, X. Wang, Creating Indices for How People Drive in a Region: A Comparative Study of Driving Performance, to be presented at TRB 2015 annual meeting, Washington DC.
Web Links
Final Report: TranLIVE_UTK_Reducing Energy Use and Emissions through Innovative Technologies and Community Designs
http://tesp.engr.utk.edu/research21/projects.php
Keywords
- Technological innovations
- Sustainable development
- Livability
- Land use planning
- Urban development
- Fuel consumption
- Pollutants
- Mode choice
- emissions
- sustainable transportation
- smart growth
- driving volatility
- eco-traffic assignment
- transit-oriented developments