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Browsing Scholarly Works by Author "Abbott, Stephen"

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    Electric Vehicle Charging Station Infostructure Community Needs Assessment
    (University of Oregon, 2010-11) University of Oregon. Dept. of Planning, Public Policy and Management. Community Planning Workshop; Abbott, Stephen; Havener, Joshua; Khut, Rithy; Promes, Molly; Fertig, Sasha; West, Amanda; Parker, Robert
    Transportation planners, the auto industry, and consumers are seeking alternatives to the internal combustion engine. Electric vehicles (EVs) are an increasingly feasible alternative and may soon be widely available to individual consumers and businesses. EVs, however, represent a nascent technology and their implications for cities and transportation systems have yet to be fully understood. This report identifies and analyzes key issues and opportunities related to the adoption of EVs in the Eugene‐Springfield metropolitan region.
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    The Influence of Urban Forms on Parents' Assessment of Neighborhood Suitability for Active Commuting to School
    (Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management, University of Oregon, 2011-11) Abbott, Stephen
    Rates of active school commuting (ASC) among elementary school age children have declined precipitously over the last three decades. Programs like Safe Routes to School seek to reverse this trend through a variety of interventions, including modifications of existing streetscapes. These costly improvements must be prioritized for maximum effect. However, while parents largely determine their children's modes of school commuting, the relationship between physical barriers to ASC and parents' attitudes toward ASC remains unclear. This study examines the school commuting behavior of students in a mid-sized Oregon City. It seeks to understand the influence that urban forms exert on children's rates of walking or biking to school, on parents' decisions to allow their children to do so, and on the assessments of neighborhood suitability for ASC that inform those parental decisions. Results show that parents' neighborhood assessment is a strong predictor of active school commuting. Moreover, parents' decisions about school commuting modes may be more influenced by environmental characteristics than by family socioeconomic characteristics. Recommendations include future research designs that examine the relationship between specific urban forms and parents' perception of neighborhood safety, with a particular focus on street density and block length.