Billy Fields

Factors Associated with Federal Transportation Funding for Local Pedestrian and Bicycle Programming and Facilities

Providing safe, convenient places for walking and bicycling can reduce barriers to participating in regular physical activity. We examined bicycle- and pedestrian-related investments authorized by federal transportation legislation in 3,140 counties in the United States by region, population size and urbanization, social and economic characteristics, and indicators of travel-related walking and bicycling. From 1992 to 2004, states and counties implemented 10,012 bicycle- and pedestrian-related projects representing

From Green Dots to Greenways: Planning in the Age of Climate Change in Post-Katrina New Orleans

3.17 billion in federal expenditures. We found disparities in implementation and system-building outcomes according to population size and location and social and economic indicators. Counties characterized by persistent poverty (odds ratio=0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.91) or low educational status (odds ratio=0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.52–0.84) were less likely to implement projects. Three key policy recommendations for improving public health outcomes are drawn from this research: Improved data tracking, more explicit linkages between transportation projects and public health, and improved planning assistance to underserved communities are all seen as essential steps.

Program practices and demographic factors associated with federal funding for the Safe Routes to School program in the United States

This paper examines the role of density and open space as sustainable design strategies in the age of climate change. These issues are addressed through a case study of the Lafitte Greenway, a post-Katrina recovery project in New Orleans. Applying sustainability concepts within the contentious post-disaster environment has underscored tensions around the issues of green space and density. While the New Orleans case is currently an outlier, waterfront communities around the globe will begin to face similar issues as sea levels rise and climate change management becomes an increasingly important issue.

From Potential to Practice

In 2005, the United States Congress authorized

Federal Active Transportation Policy in Transition: From ISTEA to Complete Streets

612 million for use in implementing the US Safe Routes to School program to address physical inactivity, air quality, safety and traffic near schools. Each US state developed administrative practices to implement the program. Based on state-specific annual obligations, on average, states have obligated 44% of available funds. State project obligations were directly associated with programmatic factors, including broader adherence to federal agency administrative guidance objectives and the number of years for which the states obligated new projects and indirectly associated with student enrollment and state child poverty. Research and policy recommendations are discussed.

Living with Water in the Era of Climate Change: Lessons from the Lafitte Greenway in Post-Katrina New Orleans

The underlying argument of this book is that we currently have the technical capacity to significantly decrease transportation oil consumption by creating a multimodal transportation system. The broadly ranging set of chapters has laid out the significant negative impacts of the current system, the potential of various modes including passenger and freight systems, the need for better connecting transportation with land-use policy, and the potential economic, social, and environmental benefits of moving toward a less auto-and oil-dependent future.

Development of Low-Cost Methodology for Evaluating Pedestrian Safety in Support of Complete Streets Policy Implementation

Active transportation has become an increasingly important policy area over the past 40 years as communities around the country have sought to provide transportation options that improve community quality of life and minimize negative environmental impacts. Federal infrastructure investments supporting walking and bicycling have, however, been contentious. This article explores the underlying tensions created as active transportation has been included in the federal transportation planning process over the past 40 years. Specifically, the article tracks the succession of transportation bill funding levels and changes in policy actors during this period. Structural changes that provided dedicated funding and expanded public participation have been vital to helping to foster the burgeoning active transportation coalition and to increasing usage rates for active transportation around the country.

Introduction Moving from Disaster to Opportunity

The research examines the shift from flood-resistant policies and plans to flood resilience. We use a case study of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina to illustrate this unfolding process and the emergence of a “living with water” approach to green infrastructure. The article highlights the challenges of this shifting policy landscape through the case of the Lafitte Greenway, a green infrastructure project that transformed a three-mile corridor of underutilized public land into a linear park running through flood-prone neighborhoods. Through the experience of creating this greenway, planners in New Orleans learned valuable lessons about US disaster rebuilding policies and how to implement green infrastructure in urban neighborhoods.

Policy Implications of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program

This study provides a framework for a comprehensive, low-cost pedestrian safety analysis incorporating multiple data sources and analysis techniques. Critically, the framework is flexible enough to provide meaningful results and inform recommended safety interventions even if there are gaps in data availability or completeness. The methodology includes an evaluation of available crash records, an audit of current pedestrian facilities, collection of pedestrian count data, and an assessment of relevant contextual factors. Together, these elements provide a holistic view of pedestrian safety and comfort, informing needed interventions. This methodology was used to evaluate three pedestrian crash clusters in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area and revealed serious deficiencies in the pedestrian environment. The methodology uncovered critical systemic data gaps that needed to be addressed to draw clearer relationships between infrastructure and crash patterns. The methodology was also found to be an effective tool for comparing and prioritizing proposed investments and a means to demonstrate clearly to policy makers the need for continued attention to the improvement of pedestrian safety in the context of Complete Streets policy implementation.

Building Local Capacity: Planning for Local Culture and Neighborhood Recovery in New Orleans

In the spring and summer of 2010, America was transfixed by the image of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from the collapsed remnants of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. Images of majestic pelicans floundering in oil and the personal stories of the eleven crew members who lost their lives when the oil platform exploded were interspersed with camera shots of the seemingly never-ending stream of oil emanating from a broken pipe a mile below the Gulf’s surface. While the Deepwater Horizon disaster became the poster child for corporate greed and neglect, few considered how America’s transportation dependence on oil helped stimulate demand for the oil pouring into the Gulf. Seventy percent of all oil consumed in the United States goes to the transportation sector, mostly powering single-occupant vehicles that Americans use for 82 percent of all trips.1