Principal Investigator: Dr. Austin Troy (Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources)
Funding Agency: US DOT
This project develops, evaluates, calibrates, and validates combinations of integrated frameworks for agent-based land use and transportation models using Chittenden County as a test-bed. The project proposes to implement UrbanSim with TRANSIMS for Chittenden County and to integrate the two models together with an activity model developed by partners at RSG Inc. Future conditions shall be simulated based on alternative scenarios generated in stakeholder meetings and ranging from changed land use policy constraints to construction of new infrastructure. The impacts of the transportation sector on mobile source air pollution will be conducted using data from Vermont UTC Signature Project #2. Researchers in other projects will be providing new model output metrics to consider land cover and carbon; storm water; impacts on plants and soils; network robustness; and commodity transportation. The researchers will develop code for processes to integrate these new output metrics into the combined model in a format that services the MPO context and models. The most important aspect of project 1B is evaluating which of the combined model architecture components are necessary for which set of regional planning and policy questions.