research report

Benchmarking “Smart City” Technology Adoption in California: An Innovative Web Platform for Exploring New Data and Tracking Adoption

Publication Date

January 1, 2022

Associated Project(s)

Author(s)

Alison Post, Amy Huang, Bingyu Zhao, Ishana Rafan, Kenichi Soga, Mary Hill

Areas of Expertise

Intelligent Transportation Systems, Emerging Technologies, & Big Data

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Abstract

In recent years, “smart city” technologies have emerged that allow cities, counties, and other agencies to manage their infrastructure assets more effectively, make their services more accessible to the public, and allow citizens to interface with new web-and mobile-based alternative service providers. This project developed an innovative user-friendly web interface for local and state policymakers that tracks and displays information on the adoption of such technologies in California across the policing, transportation, and water and wastewater sectors for a comprehensive set of local service providers: connectedgov.berkeley.edu. Contrary to conventional smart city indices, the platform allows users to view rates of adoption in maps that attribute adoption to the local public agencies or service providers actually procuring or regulating the technologies in question. Users can construct indices or view technologies one by one. Users can also explore the relationship between technology adoption and local service area conditions and demographics, or download the raw data and scripts used to collect it. This report illustrates the utility of the data that was collected, and the analytics one can perform using the web interface through an analysis of the rollout of three technologies in the transportation sector: electric vehicle (EV) chargers, transportation network company (TNC) service areas, and micro-mobility services across California.

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policy brief

Where are Private “Smart City” Transportation Technologies Concentrated in California?

research report

Brace for Impact: The Environmental and Economic Effects of Shifting Passenger Travel from Airplanes to High-Speed Rail

Publication Date

January 1, 2022

Associated Project(s)

Brace for Impact: The Environmental and Economic Effects of Shifting Passenger Travel from Airplanes to High-Speed Rail

Author(s)

Jason Karpman

Areas of Expertise

Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

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Abstract

This research synthesis surveys recent literature from 2011 to 2020 on the environmental and economic effects of high-speed rail (HSR) projects from across the globe, with relevant lessons for implementation of the California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) project. Recent literature shows that—under the right conditions—HSR can lead to both environmental and economic gains across a variety of metrics. To maximize environmental gains, HSR ridership needs to be high, energy propulsion must be powered largely by renewables, and displaced demand for intrastate air travel must not be replaced by longer-haul flights. For there to be economic gains, cities connected by HSR must play complementary roles, rather than competitive ones, within the economy. Otherwise, economic benefits will be consolidated in core cities along HSR routes at the expense of intermediate cities, and efficiencies from agglomeration may lead to an overall decline in employment and economic value added. This synthesis closes with some recommendations for future research questions that can inform the development or refinement of policies that support the successful implementation of CAHSR.

Related Publications

policy brief

Cutting Emissions from Aviation: Is High-Speed Rail the Answer?

published journal article

What travel modes do shared e-scooters displace? A review of recent research findings

Publication Date

January 1, 2022

Associated Project(s)

What travel modes do shared e-scooters displace? A review of recent research findings

Areas of Expertise

Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

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Abstract

The impacts of shared e-scooters on modal shifts have received increased attention in recent years. This study provides a review of the literature for modal shifts in the US and other countries. The profile of shared e-scooter users is rather similar to that of station-based and free-floating bikeshare programs. The empirical data reveal that people use shared e-scooters in place of cars at substantial rates, especially in many US cities, which suggests that in many locations shared e-scooters may be a good strategy for reducing car dependence. The use of shared e-scooters as a complement to public transit varies highly by city, highlighting how technology, regulations, and incentives may be needed in some cities to ensure modal integration and harvest the potential societal benefits from the introduction of shared e-scooters.

published journal article

Decoding climate adaptation governance: A sociotechnical perspective of U.S. airports

Publication Date

December 15, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Guidance for Developing More Resilient Airport Infrastructure in California

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience

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Abstract

Inadequate governance is considered a major barrier to implementing policy, particularly those concerning global and complex challenges such as climate change adaptation. Literature in adaptation policy points to the lack of methods that monitor and assess how decision-making takes place and by whom. Based on a review of over 200 policy documents, this article benchmarks for the first time, the current airport climate adaptation regime in the United States and applies a sociotechnical system framework to scrutinize institutional capacity to address climate change impacts. An innovative policy review system is designed to decode how airport policies create conditions to use climate data as decision-relevant information and produce adaptation actions. Potential climate-cognizant policies are identified and characterized based on their target, timescale, and governance mode. Review results show that the assumption of climate stationarity is widespread. However, there is high potential for technical and, especially, organizational airport policies to incorporate climate science and adaptation pathways. Results also uncover governance barriers related to institutional path-dependence that include: (1) conflicting rationales between adaptation and reliability values, and (2) overpowering technical policies and market governance. These barriers perpetuate scale mismatch between airport policies and the expected impacts of climate change. Finally, we highlight the latent capacity for collaborative governance to advance adaptation regimes in airports and other multiscalar complex infrastructure systems. Our proposed methods and review results identify pathways to enhance institutional capacity for designing and operationalizing transformative adaptation policies.

Related Publications

published journal article

Cross-sectoral and multiscalar exposure assessment to advance climate adaptation policy: The case of future coastal flooding of California’s airports

policy brief

Climate Adaptation Strategies for California Airports will Require a Holistic Approach, Including New Governance Models

published journal article

An L.A. story: The impact of housing costs on commuting

Publication Date

December 14, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Understanding the Impact of Housing Costs in California on Commute Length in Terms of Travel Time and Distance

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

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Abstract

The empirical impact of housing costs on commuting is still relatively poorly understood. This impact is especially salient in California given the state’s notoriously high housing costs, which have forced many lower- and middle-class households to move inland in search of affordable housing at the cost of longer commutes. To investigate this linkage, we relied on Generalized Structural Equation Modeling and analyzed 2012 CHTS data for Los Angeles County – the most populous county in the U.S. Our model, which jointly explains commuting distance and time, accounts for residential self-selection and car use endogeneity, while controlling for household characteristics and land use around residences and workplaces. We find that households who can afford more expensive neighborhoods have shorter commute distances (−2.3% and − 3.1% per additional $100 k to median home values around workplaces and residences respectively). Job density, distance to the CBD, and land-use diversity around workplaces have a relatively greater impact on commuting than the corresponding variables around commuters’ residences. Compared to non-Hispanics, Hispanic workers commute longer distances (+3.5%), and so do African American (+5.1%) and Asian (+2.0%) workers compared to Caucasians, while college-educated workers have shorter (−2.6% to −3.6%) commutes. Furthermore, commuters in the top income brackets tend to have faster commutes than lower-income workers. Finally, women’s commutes are ~41% shorter than men’s, possibly because they are balancing work with domestic responsibilities. A better understanding of the determinants of commuting is critical to inform housing and transportation policy, improve the health of commuters, reduce air pollution, and achieve climate goals.

Related Publications

policy brief

An L.A. Story: The Impact of Housing Costs on Commuting

policy brief

How Can California Transit Agencies Build Rail Cheaper and Faster?

Publication Date

December 1, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Addressing High Capital Costs and Delays for California’s Major Transportation Projects

Author(s)

Ethan Elkind, Katie Segal, Michael Maroulis, Ted Lamm

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation

View policy brief

Abstract

Increasing Californians’ access to and use of public transit is a key component of the state’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from transportation, which is the single largest source of statewide emissions. To achieve state targets of 40 percent GHG emission reduction below 1990 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045, California leaders will need to support a range of affordable, efficient, and riderfriendly transit options—including local and regional rail networks—to replace personal vehicle use. However, rail transit projects in California and the U.S. are costly and slow to build. Most initial project budget estimates are expensive to begin with, and they often increase significantly after delays and cost overruns occur. This high-cost, slowdeployment pattern of rail transit investment risks depleting public funds available for new transit projects and the public trust necessary to ensure successful projects. With climate and urban design and livability goals demanding greater and more efficient public transit investment, what can state and local leaders do to improve project delivery in terms of cost and time? Researchers at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law recently combined a cost baseline analysis with five California project case studies to identify the key sources of poor project delivery performance and strategies to overcome them.

Related Publications

research report

Getting Back on Track: Policy Solutions to Improve California Rail Transit Projects

research report

Environmental Design for Micromobility and Public Transit

Publication Date

December 1, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Environmental Design for Micromobility and Public Transit

Author(s)

Angela Sanguinetti, Beth Ferguson

Areas of Expertise

Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation

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Abstract

Micromobility has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, traffic congestion, and air pollution, particularly when replacing private vehicle use and working in conjunction with public transit for first- and last-mile travel. The design of the built environment in and around public transit stations plays a key role in the integration of public transit and micro-mobility. This research presents a case study of rail stations in the San Francisco Bay Area, which are in the operation zone of seven shared micro-mobility operators. Nineteen stations and their surroundings were surveyed to inventory design features that could enable or constrain the use of micromobility for first- and last-mile access. Shared mobility service characteristics, crime records, and connections to underserved communities were also documented. An interactive Bay Area Micromobility Transit ArcGIS map tool was created to aid analysis and provide a useful resource to stakeholders. The map shows layers such as train stations, bike lanes, bike share kiosks, and micromobility operation zones that vary between Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Jose. Key design solutions were identified based on the findings, including protected bike lanes, increased shared bike and scooter fleet size and service area, and clear signage indicating bike rack parking corral and docking points.

Related Publications

policy brief

Micromobility and Public Transit Environmental Design Integration

conference paper

Facilitating Micromobility for first and Last Mile Connection with Public Transit through Environmental Design: A Case Study of California Bay Area Rapid Transit Stations

policy brief

Electric Vehicle Carsharing is Helping to Fill Transit Gaps and Improve Mobility in Rural California

Publication Date

December 1, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Early Results from an Electric Vehicle Carsharing Service in Rural Disadvantaged Communities in the San Joaquin Valley

Author(s)

Brian Harold, Caroline Rodier

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

View policy brief

Abstract

In rural areas, cost-effective transit service is challenging to provide due to greater travel distances, lower population densities, and longer travel times than in cities. Access to a personal car is often essential to the quality of life for most residents, enabling them to readily access essential services. However, keeping one or two vehicles in reliable working order can be prohibitively expensive for low-income families. To address this issue, multiple organizations partnered to launch an electric vehicle (EV) carsharing pilot called Míocar in 2019. This non-profit service in the rural San Joaquin Valley of California differs from the dominant carsharing model of for-profit businesses serving affluent communities that already have high-quality transit. Míocar seeks to provide carsharing to price-sensitive populations with low transit access at a price point that is more affordable than owning a personal vehicle. The service currently has 27 EVs located at eight hubs throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

Related Publications

research report

Early Results from an Electric Vehicle Carsharing Service in Rural Disadvantaged Communities in the San Joaquin Valley

research report

Mobile Device Data Analytics for Next-Generation Traffic Management

Publication Date

December 1, 2021

Associated Project(s)

Mobile Device Data Analytics for Next-Generation Traffic Management

Author(s)

Anthony David Patire, Colin Lawrence

Areas of Expertise

Infrastructure Delivery, Operations, & Resilience

View research report

Abstract

Quality data is critically important for research and policy-making. The availability of device location data carrying rich, detailed information on travel patterns has increased significantly in recent years with the proliferation of personal GPS-enabled mobile devices and fleet transponders. However, in its raw form, location data can be inaccurate and contain embedded biases that can skew analyses. This report describes the development of a method to process, clean, and enrich location data. Researchers developed a computational framework for processing large-scale location datasets. Using this framework, several hundred days of location data from the San Francisco Bay Area were (a) cleaned, to identify and discard inaccurate or problematic data, (b) enriched, by filtering and annotating the data, and (c) matched to links on the road network. This framework provides researchers with the capability to build link-level metrics across large-scale geographic regions. Various applications for this enriched data are also discussed in this report (including applications related to corridor planning, freight planning, and disaster and emergency management) along with suggestions for further work.

white paper

What Happened and Will Happen with Biofuels? Review and Prospects for Non-Conventional Biofuels in California and the U.S.: Supply, Cost, and Potential GHG Reductions

Publication Date

December 1, 2021

Associated Project(s)

What Happened and Will Happen with Biofuels? Review and Prospects for Non-Conventional Biofuels in California and the U.S.: Supply, Cost, and Potential GHG Reductions

Author(s)

Julie Witcover

Areas of Expertise

Zero-Emission Vehicles & Low-Carbon Fuels

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Abstract

This paper examines past and future trends for non-conventional biofuels in transportation in the next decade and beyond in California and the U.S., drawing on existing literature. It finds policy was geared toward expanding the use of technology-ready biofuels in the 2010s; hydro-processed renewable diesel from lipid feedstocks and biogas were beneficiaries alongside conventional ethanol and biodiesel. Cellulosic ventures largely failed due to a lack of technological readiness, high cost, and an uncertain and insufficient policy environment. Policy goals for competitive cellulosic fuels remain, yet fuels from technologies already in the market may suffice to meet low carbon fuel policy targets, at least in California until 2030, considerably more oilcrop-based biofuels. How much biofuel will be needed there and elsewhere to meet climate targets hinges critically on the pace and scope of zero-emission vehicles, and particularly electric vehicles, rollout. Analysis of unintended market consequences like indirect land use change has evolved over the decade but remains uncertain; current policy structures do not comprehensively safeguard against increased emissions. Market activity for non-conventional fuels has targeted jets. Pioneer plants using new conversion technologies, if successful, will take some time to scale. Technoeconomic analyses (TEAs) for such non-conventional fuels point to no clear biofuel conversion technology winner as yet, given uncertainties. techno-economic analyses are evolving to reduce uncertainty by concentrating more on robust returns in the face of uncertain policies, potential additional cost-cutting for new technologies given what is known about processes involved, and potential revenue-raising through new coproducts or shifting product slates. Policies are needed to make initial financing more secure. Additional policy and societal attention to the appropriate use of biomass, and land more generally, in a low-carbon future is needed to clarify the likely feedstock supply for biofuels that will enhance climate goals with a low risk of unintended consequences.

Related Publications

white paper