摘要: |
There are few academic studies or professional programs focusing on the development and implementation of megaregional transportation models. It is also a big challenge in the process of building such kind of models because they need to ensure theoretical soundness and methodological validity in academic and professional studies while at the same time to meet the expectation of public agency on the models for reliability, efficiency, and user friendliness. This study intends to fill the gaps to develop a geographic information system (GIS)-based model for megaregion transportation planning. It aims to balance the priorities in both the academic research setting and operational planning setting. The leader of this research team has developed and maintained the Southern California Planning (SCPM), which is a Lowry-type spatial planning model combining the functions for economic impact analysis, spatial allocation, and transportation modeling. The SCPM conducts regional input-output analysis and reports results in considerable spatial detail. This model mainly addresses planning issues within a metropolitan area, i.e. the five-county Los Angeles region or the Greater Houston region. This research will extend the spatial scale of the SCPM from region to megaregion, which accommodate larger areas, more passenger and freight trips, and more complex transportation networks. It will put together transportation models with economic input-output models and spatial allocation models to trace spatial socio-economic impacts and support policy analysis in megaregions. |