Understanding Transportation Investment Priorities in Suburban Communities

Term Start:

June 1, 2025

Term End:

May 31, 2026

Budget:

$100,000

Keywords:

Suburban Communities, Transportation Infrastructure, Travel Behavior

Thrust Area(s):

Understanding User Needs

University Lead:

Arizona State University

Researcher(s):

Ram Pendyala; Irfan Batur

Over the past several decades, suburbs have become home to a majority of Americans, experiencing significant growth, especially in Sun Belt metropolitan regions. Characterized by low-density land use and separated residential and commercial zones, suburban communities face substantial transportation challenges due to heavy reliance on private automobiles. This auto-dependency has led to increased congestion, safety concerns, and limited mobility options, especially for individuals with constrained transportation access.

Despite these challenges, there is limited empirical evidence about the transportation investments that suburban residents value most and how the ranking of transportation priorities varies among suburban residents. This project aims to examine the heterogeneity of transportation investment priorities among suburban residents to inform community-level infrastructure planning and policy development.

The project will utilize a unique dataset collected in 2024 through a detailed survey of more than 800 residents in a rapidly growing suburban community in the southwestern United States. Using these data, the project will conduct a comprehensive descriptive analysis to examine patterns of variability in suburban residents’ prioritization of transportation investments. The study will then employ a Rank-Ordered Probit (ROP) model within a Generalized Heterogeneous Data Model (GHDM) framework to jointly account for observed and unobserved attitudinal factors influencing transportation priorities.

By revealing the behavioral mechanisms underlying transportation investment preferences in suburban contexts, the project will generate robust empirical evidence to support more informed suburban transportation planning, investment evaluation, and demand forecasting.

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