Recent and Current Projects on
Transportation System Finance
Below are some recent relevant projects.
Related projects can also be found under research in transportation energy use and
greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustaining Mass Transit through Land Value Taxation: A
Case Study of
Undertaken with a David C. Lincoln
Fellowship in Land Value Taxation from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, this project examines the
feasibility of using land value capture methods for financing public
transportation in
MIT students involved: Shan Jiang (MCP/MST09, PhD Student, DUSP), Jingsi Xu (MCP10)
Metropolitan Transportation Finance: Policy and
Institutional Frameworks
This is a research sub-topic, undertaken as part of the MIT
Portugal Program project, Strategic Options for Integrating Transportation Innovations
and Urban Revitalization (SOTUR).
The aim is to develop a deeper understanding of the political,
institutional, and financial frameworks within which land use and
transportation planning, policy-development, and investments take place and to
ultimately improve the relevant decision-making structures and processes. A resulting
thesis can be found here,
and working paper here.
MIT students involved: Christopher Grillo (MCP/MST11), Joshua Nelson (MCP/MST08)
Faculty collaborators: Rosário Macário (IST,
Paying for Public Transportation Operations in
Undertaken as part of the MIT/Transit Professional
Development Program’s ongoing
collaboration with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), this research developed
a framework for reforming public transportation operations finance by
quantifying public transportation’s social benefits. Resulting thesis can be found here.
MIT students involved: Justin Antos (MCP07)
Faculty collaborators: Fred Salvucci (CEE-MIT)
Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Transportation Infrastructure
Carried out for the German overseas development agency
(GTZ), this research examined
the possibilities and challenges for utilizing private sector concessions to
develop urban transportation infrastructure in developing countries, as part of
the GTZ’s Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in
Developing Cities. Chapter can be
downloaded here.
MIT students involved: Joshua Nelson (MCP/MST08)