Mission
The Transportation and Sustainability Committee will serve the Transportation Research Board (TRB) by advancing the state of the science of sustainability as it relates to the transportation sector by providing a forum for the development and implementation of research agendas, and a framework to track the progress of these efforts. The committee’s efforts will result in increased coordination between internal and external stakeholders, and establish the Committee as the clearinghouse for TRB on the issue of sustainability. The Committee strives to inspire and enable transportation agencies and organizations at all levels to adopt and implement strategies and practices that are founded on global Sustainable Development goals and principles as well as the latest advances in sustainability research.
The committee has identified two goals that serve to carry out our mission in the next three years:
- Goal 1 – Advance the understanding of sustainable transportation
- Goal 2 – Develop and promote high-priority sustainable transportation research that helps transportation stakeholders strategically integrate sustainability
Sustainable Transportation
Sustainability is frequently expressed as a triple bottom line concept, or as applying the three Es: Environment, Economy, and Equity. The triple bottom line is exemplified in a transportation system which supports the economy, preserves the environment, and enhances equity in our communities and the quality of life for all. The Transportation and Sustainability Committee defines sustainable transportation in its basic form as a system that meets present needs without compromising the needs of the future. It is an equitable and safe transportation system across land, water, and air. It is an adaptable, integrated, multimodal transportation system.
Within the Transportation Research Board (TRB) environment, the Committee represents the convergence of sustainability research and its practical application leading to reductions in greenhouse gases, increases in system efficiencies returning a fiscal and resource benefit, and improvements in the transportation system’s effect on disproportionately impacted populations.
The Committee views sustainable transportation as an overarching, holistic concept that advances public health and access to destinations, is zero‑emissions based to reduce climate change and air pollution impacts, and responds to changing conditions to improve people’s quality of life.
Scope
The Committee addresses the broad topic of transportation sustainability by connecting and integrating individual sustainability-related issues that are covered by other TRB Committees, such as air-quality, energy, land development, alternative fuels, climate change, resiliency, and equity. The Committee considers not only the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the transportation system, but also focuses on transportation’s key role in serving a sustainable society in a sustainably developing world.
The above material was drawn from our 2016-2019 Triennial Strategic Plan, available here.
Committee Members (2018)
You can also visit the TRB Directory for this committee
- Tim Sexton, Chair, Chief Sustainability Officer at Minnesota Department of Transportation
- Tara Ramani, Vice Chair, Environment and Air Quality Division, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
- John MacArthur, Paper Review Chair, Research Associate, TREC, Portland State University
- Yanzhi “Ann” Xu, Session Planning Chair, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
- Ralph Hall, Committee Research Coordinator (CRC), Associate Professor, Virginia Tech
- Giovanni Circella, Communications Communications Coordinator (CCC), Georgia Tech
- Daniel Hardy, Chair, Sustainability Measurement Subcommittee, ADD40(1), Principal, Renaissance Planning Group.
- Hanjiro Ambrose, PhD Candidate, University of California, Davis
- Jeralee Anderson, Greenroads
- Carol Atkinson-Palombo, University of Connecticut
- Richard Baldauf, Research Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Elise Barrella, Assistant Professor of Engineering at Wake Forest University
- Michelle Oswald Beiler, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bucknell University
- Ariane Burwell, Sustainability Consultant, Environmental Resources Management
- David Carlson, Director of Transportation, Environmental Science Associates, Inc. (ESA)
- Tien-Tien Chan, TDM Program Manager at City of Austin
- T. Donna Chen, University of Virginia
- Mikhail Chester, Associate Professor, Arizona State University
- Josh De Florio, Chief, Resilience & Sustainability at The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
- Damon Fordham, Principal, Sustainable Transportation Practice, Cadmus
- Julia Gold, Chief, Sustainability Autonomous Vehicles Innovation, Rhode Island Department of Transportation
- Ellen Greenberg, Ellen Greenberg, Deputy Director for Sustainability, Caltrans
- Muhammad Habib, Dalhousie University
- Robert Hyman, FHWA
- April Marchese, Director, Office of Natural and Human Environment, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
- Stephen Muench, Associate Professor , University of Washington
- Debra Nelson, Assistant Director, New York Metropolitan Transportation Council
- Lisa Reid, SCJ Alliance
- Melissa Savage, AASHTO
- Shoshanna Saxe, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto
- Ramin Shabanpour, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Seth Stark, Sustainable Transportation Manager, Washington State Department of Transportation