PI
Miguel Jaller
Other Researchers
Lew Fulton, Marshall Miller
Description
During the last 3 years, the UCD team has conducted extensive research to identify changes in the freight infrastructure landscape in California, from facilities to freight flows. Changes in overall demand after the 2008 economic crisis, the fast growth of e-commerce, and other regulatory interventions have prompted changes in the way companies are conducting business todays. The research and knowledge provide a unique opportunity to study the direct impacts of such factors in the spatial distribution of freight activity. More importantly, how these changes affect (positively or negatively) the introduction and widespread use of new vehicle technologies.
This multi-year study will update and enhance the capabilities of the team’s spatial and demand modeling tools to evaluate the impacts of freight flows on communities in the activity area, or identifying the optimal location of refueling/recharging facilities, among other important aspects. This study will be linked to a spatial study being proposed under the “Energy Futures” Center topics, which would then link it with a similar light-duty vehicle modeling effort and allow exploration of joint LDV and HDV refueling infrastructure planning. During this year, the efforts will concentrate on leveraging and expanding the work to model freight flows in Southern California, and exploring the impacts of using different vehicle technologies. Additionally, the work will be built upon ongoing research looking at changes in the spatial distribution of facilities and freight flows in the South East Los Angeles Region. The findings will provide the basis for considering similar applications throughout the U.S.