Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
Faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning have partnered with the Texas Transportation Institute to study the effectiveness and impact of coordinated transit and human services plans in 24 rural regions in Texas.
The plans were recently adopted in response to changes in federal requirements for rural transit planning.
Working with a $100,000 grant from the TTI’s University Transportation Center for Mobility, the investigators will use grounded theory methods and detailed interviews with regional decision makers and stakeholders to identify the effectiveness of frameworks, planning processes and outcomes of the various regions’ transit service plans.
In addition to examining the plans’ impact in rural economies, researchers will also identify unique or innovative cost-cutting strategies, as well as challenges, opportunities and best practices for coordinating rural transit services.
June Martin, assistant director of the Center for Housing and Urban Development and senior urban planning lecturer, will lead the project with co-principal investigators Eric Dumbaugh and Cecilia Giusti, assistant professors of urban planning, and Linda Cherrington, TTI program manager.
