Tara Ramani

A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies

Transportation agencies such as state departments of transportation often struggle to understand, measure, and apply sustainability concepts in their core activities. This paper describes research performed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program entitled, “Sustainability Performance Measures for State Departments of Transportation and Other Transportation Agencies,” which developed guidance for transportation agencies to understand, quantify and apply concepts of sustainability through performance measurement. A flexible, generally applicable framework was developed to provide transportation agencies with the tools required to apply sustainability in a holistic manner through performance measurement. The framework assists an agency in the understanding of sustainability, directs an agency toward the practical implementation of sustainability through performance measurement, and encourages the coordination with partner agencies and stakeholders. The research also covered the various types of applications of sustainability performance measures, and identifies specific examples and case studies, tools, and approaches to applying sustainability. It details how transportation agencies can take a practical, phased approach to implementing performance measurement for sustainability, taking into account the resources available. The authors also provide a “sustainability checklist” to ensure that the framework application is consistent with the basic principles of sustainability. This research culminated in a guidebook to give transportation agencies the information and resources needed to successfully tailor and implement a sustainability performance measurement system to meet their specific needs.

Framework for Sustainability Assessment by Transportation Agencies

The application of the concept of sustainability by transportation agencies is often limited by agencies’ understanding of what sustainability means and how it can be integrated into the regular functions of the agencies. This paper presents a flexible approach and framework that can equip transportation agencies with the tools required to understand what sustainability means and incorporate sustainability into the organizational culture. This approach and method can also help agencies lay the groundwork for the use of performance measures so the agencies can progress toward sustainability goals and outcomes. The framework development process was an extension of findings from literature review, case studies, and interviews conducted as part of ongoing research under the NCHRP project Sustainability Performance Measures for State Departments of Transportation and Other Transportation Agencies. The proposed framework can be applied or adapted for use in a range of transportation agencies, including state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations. A key feature of this framework is that it moves away from the traditional sustainable transportation perspective and instead promotes the consideration of transportation from a holistic sustainable development perspective. The framework defines broadly applicable transportation goals that can be broken down into a menu of objectives and performance measures to cover various transportation contexts. The framework is also designed to direct an agencys strategic planning toward the practical implementation of sustainability through performance measurement.

Landfill Gas to Energy Applications in India: Prefeasibility Analysis of Mumbai Landfills

AbstractLandfill gas (LFG) is a useful by-product of landfills, and it has potential to be harnessed as an energy resource instead of being allowed to escape into the atmosphere. Landfills in India are often unengineered systems that have no LFG collection facilities. The aim of the study was to explore the various options available for LFG capture and utilization and conduct a prefeasibility analysis for various options dealing with LFG, including flaring and landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) projects. A closer look was taken at the municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices in Mumbai, India, where three landfills (Mulund, Deonar, and Gorai) were studied. The prefeasibility assessment when applied to the three landfills indicated that the capping costs and the costs for bringing the landfills to sanitary conditions are high. However, preliminary results indicated that LFGTE projects have the potential to generate favorable economic returns.

Using Indicators to Assess Sustainable Transportation and Related Concepts

The overall goal of this study is to assess the concept of sustainability in relation to the related concepts of “health” and “livability” that have emerged in transportation planning discourse. This study achieves the goal using an indicator-based case study, conducted for the El Paso metropolitan area in the United States. Data from the regional travel demand model and other sources were used to quantify a sustainability index, livability index, and health index for individual traffic analysis zones in the region, for four analysis years over a 30-year planning horizon. Each index was comprised of representative indicators, which were normalized and aggregated in accordance with common multi-criteria decision-making methods. The analysis results demonstrated little correlation between the quantified livability, sustainability, and health indices developed for the El Paso region. The indices also showed relatively low levels of change over time for a location. That is, the relative performance of a traffic analysis zone tended to stay the same, despite the modeled changes to the transportation system, demographics, and land use. The main implication of the research findings is that despite overlaps at a theoretical level, concepts such as livability and health cannot necessarily serve as proxies for sustainability when implemented in practice. The study also provides insight into the challenges of making meaningful change in the area of sustainability over time and highlights the influence of factors beyond transportation, such as land use and socio-economic issues.