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

FHWA Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation

Jennifer Dill
Nathan McNeil
In 2016, TREC was part of a team, in partnership with ICF and Alta Planning, that developed the Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation, a framework to inform future investments, policies, and partnerships and serves as the update to U.S. DOT’s 1994 National Bicycling and Walking Study. The agenda establishes a strategic, collaborative approach for making walking and rolling viable transportation options for people of all ages and abilities in communities throughout the U.S... Read More

Exploring the positive utility of travel and mode choice

Patrick Singleton
Traditionally, travel is considered a disutility to be minimized, and travel demand is derived from activity demand. Recently, scholars have questioned these axioms, noting that some people may like to travel, use travel time productively, find other benefits in traveling, or travel for non-utilitarian reasons. These are instances of “the positive utility of travel” (PUT). In this dissertation, I conceptually and empirically investigate PUT, its determinants, and its impacts on travel behavio... Read More