The UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center has launched a Visiting Practitioner Program

VISITING PRACTITIONER PROGRAM: Weaving Together Research, Education and Outreach

The UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center is launching its Visiting Practitioner Program with the arrival this month of Ellen Greenberg.

Greenberg has been a city planning and urban design consultant in both large and small firms for 25 years. She currently maintains a specialized consulting practice focusing on implementing the goals of smart growth, sustainability and livable communities through an integrated approach to land use, transportation and urban design.

“Ellen’s lifelong work and passion to make communities more livable for people and sustainable for the planet match the mission of STC,” said STC Director Susan Handy.

The goal of the Visiting Practitioner Program is to strengthen ties between the research and education elements of the STC and ITS-Davis and transportation practice. Each year, the program will support one visitor who will work on an applied research project, conduct seminars for ITS-Davis students, and organize workshops on selected topics for the transportation planning community.

During her six-month term with STC, Greenberg will launch an effort to document urban planning designs that support transit-oriented development and non-motorized travel modes. Currently, such design measures are not recognized in state and municipal design manuals—even though they are being used. The lack of documentation results in sometimes challenging and lengthy local government reviews. Greenberg proposes to develop a standard format for documenting the design, approval and implementation process for an initial set of projects, and track the communities’ experience post-construction. The resulting publication could serve as “Volume I” of a continuing effort and serve as a tool for technology transfer. She plans to engage students in the research and community outreach components of the project.

Established in 2005, the UC Davis STC is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, with matching funds from the California Department of Transportation.