Transportation systems connect people to work, school, activities and each other. The USC Price School examines the role of transportation in the growth and formation of cities, public transit congestion patterns, and goods movement in metro areas. Research seeks to improve transportation options for all people; reduce pollution and GHG from transportation; and contribute to making more livable cities.
USC Price School of Public Policy Professor Genevieve Giuliano and two recent Ph.D. students were awarded the 2017 Chester Rapkin Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) for their work analyzing the LA Metro Expo Line’s impact on transit ridership and traffic. The annual award is given in recognition of the best paper in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER).
Professor Genevieve Giuliano was named the 2017 recipient of the Walter Isard Award for Scholarly Achievement from the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC). Giuliano – who directs the METRANS Transportation Center – has dedicated her academic career to studying Los Angeles and many other metropolitan regions around the world.
The METRANS Transportation Center has been selected to lead a multi-state effort to study and solve a range of transportation concerns, from issues with mobility to challenges that affect public access, under a new $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In honor of her outstanding efforts to advance women in the field of planning, USC Price School of Public Policy Professor Lisa Schweitzer has been unanimously selected as the recipient of the 2016 Margarita McCoy Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) and its Faculty Women’s Interest Group. The award recognizes contributions toward the advancement of women in planning at institutions of higher education through service, teaching, and/or research.
“I’ve always been interested in what I’d call the spatial structure of cities, and in how transportation relates to the way cities are structured or organized.”
“Many U.S. cities are investing heavily in light rail, and Los Angeles Metro has embarked on a massive rail expansion program. I hope our findings will help transit planners design better projects that increase transit patronage and meet objectives or expectations.”
| Name | Position | Expertise | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tridib Banerjee | Professor James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning | Urban design, comparative urbanism, urban sprawl, developing world urbanization, planning theory |
 | Antonio M. Bento | Professor Director, USC Center for Sustainability Solutions | Environmental and energy economics, urban economics, public economics, transportation policy, climate policy, environmental regulation |
 | Marlon Boarnet | Professor Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis | Transportation, travel behavior, urban growth patterns, regional science, urban economics |
 | Genevieve Giuliano | Professor Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government Director, METRANS Transportation Center | Transportation policy, metropolitan spatial structure, travel demand, urban transportation |
 | Richard K. Green | Professor Director and Chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Chair, Department of Policy Analysis and Real Estate | Economics, housing markets, housing policy, tax policy, transportation, mortgage finance, urban growth |
 | Geraldine Knatz | Professor of the Practice of Policy and Engineering | Seaport policy and management, maritime transportation, international trade, seaport sustainability, environmental impact analysis |
 | LaVonna B. Lewis | Teaching Professor of Public Policy Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | American politics, public policy (most notably health policy), interest groups, and federal programs |
 | James Elliott Moore, II | Professor | Economic impact analysis, engineering economics, transportation engineering, urban transportation, infrastructure performance |
 | Dowell Myers | Professor Director, Population Dynamics Research Group | Demographic change, future of California, housing impacts, workforce and education, immigration and assimilation, communication for consensus about change |
 | Gary Dean Painter | Professor Director, USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation Director, Homelessness Policy Research Institute | Social Innovation, Housing economics, Urban economics, education policy, program evaluation |
 | Adam Rose | Research Professor | Energy and environmental economics, public policy, natural hazards and terrorism, regional science, applied general equilibrium modeling |
| Lisa Schweitzer | Professor | Environmental justice, Sustainable transportation, Hazardous materials in urban environments, Community environmental quality |
 | David Sloane | Professor | Urban history, community health planning, health disparaties, cultural landscapes |
 | Dan Wei | Research Associate Professor | Energy and Climate Policy, Energy and Environmental Economics, Economics of Natural and Man-made Disasters |
Plenty of space, loads of parking, and proximity to population centers. Could traditional shopping malls be reborn as transit-oriented developments? TODs are highly desirable, pedestrian-oriented spaces for living, working, shopping, and playing, centered around high-quality transit options. This is one of the questions Principal Investigator Hilda Blanco researches through her work at METRANS.
The METRANS Transportation Center is a joint partnership of the University of Southern California and Long Beach State University, and was the first University Transportation Center in Southern California. Researchers come from many disciplines to solve transportation problems through research, education and outreach.
