TRCLC 15-5

Infrastructure and Technology for Sustainable Livable Cities

PIs: Upul Attanayake, Jun-Seok Oh and Valerian Kwigizile (Western Michigan University)

Providing access and mobility for key installations and businesses located in cities has become a challenge. This is mainly due to limited public transport and non-motorized facilities. The challenges are significant in cities that are subjected to severe winter weather conditions. Sixty two percent (62%) of millennials indicated that they prefer to live in urban centers, while 74% prefer to live in small cities with improved mobility. Also, 49% prefer to live in walkable, technology-enabled cities where they have affordable and convenient transportation options regardless of the size of the city. Lack of mobility can significantly affect the small and medium size cities economically due to migration of millennials to larger cities around the country. Understanding the critical need, this research is proposed to synthesize infrastructure and technology that can be used to improve access to non-motorized traffic and mobility within cities while enhancing sustainability. Infrastructure and technology implementation policies, procedure, cost, associated risks, case studies, implementation challenges, and successes and lessons learned will be documented. The ultimate goal is to develop a ‘catalog of infrastructure and technology’ that can be used by city planners to select appropriate infrastructure and technology for a specific city.  

      Presentation

      Final Report