Research | Transportation Research and Education Center

TREC research addresses complex transportation problems by drawing on multiple disciplines, including engineering, planning, economics and design, from across the Portland State University campus. Use the search box at right to search for a specific project.

NOTE: If you're looking for projects from our partner campuses, use the NITC research search.

Research Highlights

Survey of Oregon Electric Vehicle & Hybrid Owners

Principal Investigator: John MacArthur

The market for electric vehicles (EVs) is changing dramatically in the United States. Federal and state policies have been adopted to promote research and development in EV technology and to increase the number of EVs available in order to support increasing rates of EV ownership. The state of Oregon has one of the highest per-capita EV sales markets in the country. However, much is to be done if Oregon is to reach their ambitious goal of complete electrification of the private automobile ind... Read More

Communicating Research through Comics: Transportation and Land Development

Principal Investigator: Kelly Clifton

Co-Investigator: Kristina Currans

This project created a transportation comic, "Moving From Cars To People," which offers a succinct and fun introduction to a complicated topic: namely, how the built environment in the United States came to be designed for cars and what we can do about it. The comic includes a dialogue, taking place in various urban settings, between characters Kelly and Kristi who are based on the two principal investigators, Kelly Clifton and Kristina Currans. The two have a long history of collaboration... Read More