Sustainability and transportation

Large infrastructure systems provide the foundation for most activities in modern societies and strongly influence their surrounding environment, both in the short- and long-term. As such, infrastructure plays a defining role in the quality of life and environmental sustainability of most individuals and communities. What is built—and how it is built—is a clear indication of the priorities and values of a society, and will be critical in determining the extent to which global societies live up to local and international sustainability needs and commitments. An ever-relevant topic at the crossroads of sustainability and infrastructure provision are transportation systems, which have uniquely long lifetimes, cover a large area, and are networked products.

The Sustainable Systems Research Group works to advance the knowledge and understanding around infrastructure and sustainability generally, with transportation systems as a common application. Our research efforts include:

• Analysis of system-level environmental implications for transportation systems (e.g., vehicle fleets at the national level)
  
• Development of conceptual frameworks for infrastructure system analysis and its connection to sustainability goals
• Data-driven applications (e.g., machine learning, optimization strategies) for design improvements in existing transportation networks

Please find a non-exhaustive list of relevant publications below: