Faculty:
Jennifer Dill, Aaron Golub (lead), Jenny Liu, Liming Wang
Summary:
Transportation planning focuses on promoting the efficient movement of people and goods, and on maintaining the strong supportive role that transportation can play in achieving other community objectives. The focus includes analysis of transportation problems and policies, travel demand modeling, and the interactions of transportation with other processes and issues in a community such as land use, economy, environment, health, equity and quality of life.
Transportation planners are recommended to have a solid background and familiarity with theories and processes of transportation planning and moderate to high level of capability with quantitative information and statistics.
Where transportation planners work:
| Organization Type |
Examples of Agencies and Organizations |
Local transportation planning agencies:
These careers involve working in or with local transportation agencies to plan, build, and operate the transportation system at the city- or county-level. |
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Washington County Dept of Land Use and Transportation |
Regional and state transportation planning agencies; transit agencies:
These careers involve working in and with regional and state transportation planning agencies to promote an effective and safe transportation system that supports community goals; careers in local and regional transit agencies have a special focus on the transit system |
Metro
Lane Council of Governments
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Oregon DOT
TriMet
|
NGOs:
These careers involve working in non-governmental organizations engaged in transportation related activism, advocacy and research. |
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Transportation for America
OPAL
Go Lloyd TMA
TrailNet |
Transportation planning consulting firms, transportation software companies:
These careers in private sectors provides consulting services, support and tools to local, regional, and state agencies and assist them in decision-making processes. |
Alta Planning + Design
Parsons Brinckerhoff
DKS Associates
Nelson\Nygaard
Resource Systems Group (RSG)
CH2M
Urban Design 4 Health, Inc
PTV Group
Caliper |
Transportation Planning (TPL):
This pathway helps develop the capacity and skills that students need to be a transportation planner. Graduates may work as transportation planners in transportation planning agencies or as consultants in private sector firms.
Courses
USP 537 Economics of Urban Transportation
USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning
USP 587 Travel Demand Modeling
USP 570 Transportation and Land Use
USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning OR USP 548 Public Transportation Planning and Policy
Transportation Analysis & Modeling (TAM):
This pathway helps students develop analytic and modeling capacity and skills. Graduates may work as analysts and modelers in transportation planning and transit agencies and in private sector firms, where analytics and modeling applications are used to support policy- and plan-making, evaluate transportation projects, and optimize operations, etc.
Courses
USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning
USP 587 Travel Demand Modeling
USP 657 Discrete Choice Modeling
USP 543 Geographic Applications to Planning OR USP 592 Geographic Information Systems II: Advanced GIS
CE 598 Travel Survey Methods and Analysis
Transportation & Economic Development (TED):
This pathway connects to the Economic Development pathway, with a focus on transportation investment and policies as one of the tools to promote economic development. In addition to careers in transportation, graduates may also pursue careers in Economic Development.
Courses
USP 537 Economics of Urban Transportation
USP 570 Transportation and Land Use
USP 572 Regional Economic Development
USP 578 Impact Assessment OR USP 583 Transportation Finance
CE 553 Freight Transportation and Logistics
Transportation, Energy & Environment (TEE):
This pathway works on the nexus of transportation, energy, and environment as understanding their intricate connectedness is critical in addressing some of tough challenges in our society (e.g. climate change). Students may work in a variety of settings such as government agencies from the local to the national scale (such as US Department of Energy), nonprofits focused on these issues and consulting firms working in this area.
Courses
USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policies OR USP 518 Energy and Society
USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning
USP 571 Environmental Policy
USP 512 Environmental Planning Methods
CE 588 Air Quality
Transportation & Design (TD):
This pathway connects urban design and transportation planning, as many aspects of the transportation system are affected by urban form, and vice-versa. Students may work across urban design and transportation to promote better built environment and improve the transportation system.
Courses
USP 570 Transportation and Land Use
USP 524 Site Planning
USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning
USP 511 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning Lab
USP 575 Urban Design Workshop
USP 513 Public Space OR ARCH 521 Urban Design Methods OR ARCH 531 Contemporary Urban Design
Transportation & Community Development (TCD):
This pathway connects to the Community Development pathway and focuses on the interplay between transportation and community development. Students in this pathway could work as city staff focused on neighborhood planning issues, housing developers (both for and nonprofit) or other nonprofits working on community issues like health or housing.
Courses
USP 548 Public Transportation Planning and Policy
USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policies
USP 528 Concepts of Community Development
USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning
USP 567 Urban Housing Policies OR SOC 588 Social Sustainability, Theory and Practice
Transportation & Health (TH):
This pathway focuses on the emerging interests on transportation’s impacts on public health. Students of this pathway may consider complementary dual master degree of Public Health and often work as staff in government, private health insurance providers, or nonprofits focused on public health.
Courses
USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policies
USP 565 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning
USP 511 Pedestrian & Bicycle Planning Lab
CE 597 Transportation and Health
CE 550 Transportation Safety Analysis
USP 548 Public Transportation Planning and Policy
Transportation Engineering (TE):
This pathway focuses on the engineering aspect of transportation planning. Students of this pathway may consider complementary dual master degree of Civil Engineering and often work as staff in a engineering department for a city or county department of transportation or in private consulting.
Courses
USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning OR USP 587 Travel Demand Modeling
CE 559 Transportation Operation OR CE 562 Traffic Engineering Applications and Signal Timing
CE 555 Intelligent Transportation Systems
CE 550 Transportation Safety Analysis
CE 593 Design and Operation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure
Transportation Policy (TPO):
This pathway focuses on the policy aspect of transportation planning. Courses in this pathway help students develop capacity and skills on financial and policy analysis of transportation policies. Students often work in private consulting performing policy analysis or in public sector research groups or think tanks.
Courses
USP 556 Urban Transportation: Problems and Policies
USP 587 Travel Demand Modeling
USP 583 Transportation Finance
USP 615 Economic Analysis of Public Policy
ECON 527 Cost-Benefit Analysis
Transportation & Land Use (TLU):
This pathway connects to the Land Use pathway as transportation and land use are innately connected. Graduates may pursue a career working on the intersection between transportation and land use either in the public or private sector.
Courses
USP 570 Transportation and Land Use
USP 542 Land Use Implementation
USP 544 Urban Transportation Planning
USP 567 Urban Housing Policies
USP 579 State and Local Public Finance
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Course
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Key Skills or Knowledge
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Transportation Career Path
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TPL
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TAM
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TED
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TEE
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TD
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TCD
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TH
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TE
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TPO
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TLU
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ARCH 521
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Knowledge of analytical and synthetic methodologies to urban design
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(X)
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ARCH 531
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Contemporary Urban Design
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(X)
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CE 597
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Transportation and Health
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X
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CE 598
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Travel Survey Methods and Analysis |
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X
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CE 550
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Knowledge of incorporating safety in roadway design, operation and maintenance; influence of human factor, traffic control and public policy
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X
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X
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CE 553
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Knowledge of the U.S. freight transportation system and its impact on passenger transportation system and economy
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X
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CE 555
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Knowledge of the Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies, application and evaluation
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X
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X
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CE 559
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Knowledge of operation, modeling, and control of unscheduled and scheduled transportation modes; concepts of traffic flow and network; simulation and optimization
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(X)
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CE 562
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Knowledge of the theory and practice of traffic signal timing
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(X)
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CE 588
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Knowledge of effects of air pollution on public health and environment, as well as technologies and regulatory practices; pollution measurement and modeling techniques
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X
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ECON 527
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Knowledge and skill of cost-benefit analysis
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X
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SOC 588
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Knowledge of theory and practice of social sustainability
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(X)
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USP 548
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Public Transportation Planning and Policy |
(X)
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X
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USP 511
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Skills of bicycle and pedestrian planning and design
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X
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X
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USP 512
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Knowledge and skills of environmental planning
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X
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USP 518
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Knowledge of the role of energy in human society
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X
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USP 524
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Fundamental knowledge of site planning, contemporary urban design theory and practice
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X
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USP 528
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Knowledge of models and perspectives on community development
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X
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USP 537
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Knowledge of economic analysis of urban transportation, evaluation of transportation investments and their effects on land use and location
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X
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X
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USP 542
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Knowledge and skill of implementation of land use plans
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X
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USP 543
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Knowledge and skills of applying spatial data models and advanced analytical and modeling capabilities of GIS in planning applications
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(X)
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USP 544
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Fundamental knowledge and skills of urban transportation planning, the processes and methods of transportation planning
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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USP 556
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Knowledge of urban transportation policy, historical developments and current issues
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X
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X
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X
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X
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USP 565
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Skills and knowledge of planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of bikeways and walkways
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(X)
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X
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X
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X
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USP 567
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Knowledge of the theory and practice of public policy in the housing sector
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(X)
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X
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USP 570
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Knowledge of theory and models of transportation and land use interactions; knowledge of policies in the nexus of land use and transportation and skills for critical evaluation of them
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X
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X
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X
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X
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USP 571
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Knowledge of federal, state, and international environmental policy-making
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X
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USP 572
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Advanced knowledge of regional development theory
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X
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USP 575
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Skills of urban design practice through project-based learning
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X
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USP 578
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Skills of economic and fiscal impact analysis
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(X)
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USP 579
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Knowledge of tax, fiscal resources and expenditure of state and local governments
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X
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USP 583
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Knowledge of public finance for transportation investment
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(X)
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X
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USP 587
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Skills of analyzing travel demand and applying modeling tools in practice
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X
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X
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X
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X
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USP 592
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Advanced skills of Geographic Information Systems
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(X)
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USP 615
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Knowledge and skills of microeconomic analysis for evaluation of public policy
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X
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USP 657
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Advanced data analysis skills
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X
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USP 513
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Knowledge of public space design and history |
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(X)
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