Browsing by Author "Zhao, Zhirong Jerry"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Building Local Agency Capacity for Public Engagement in Local Road Systems Planning and Decision Making
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2014-05) Quick, Kathryn; Narváez, Guillermo; Saunoi-Sandgren, Emily; Zhao, Zhirong Jerry
    Aging infrastructure, changing patterns in road demand, and persistently constrained revenues challenge the sustainability of local road systems. This research is a comparative analysis of public engagement methods for involving stakeholders in decision-making about these complex issues. It is the result of an engaged scholarship project conducted in three Minnesota counties: Beltrami, Dakota, and Jackson. This report analyzes qualitative and quantitative data collected from 91 study participants through observations of policy dialogues, media content analysis, interviews, focus groups, and surveys of attitudes about these policy issues and public engagement methods. In-depth case studies of three counties describe the local road policy issues, the public engagement approaches, and their effects. This research identifies convergences and divergences in information and perspectives among stakeholders. Tools developed for addressing the communication gaps are available at http://tinyurl.com/local-roads. Some public engagement methods allowed study participants to change their perspectives on what road management options were achievable and acceptable. This occurred through active recruitment of diverse stakeholders, focus groups with individuals of similar backgrounds, and a facilitated policy roundtable among all the different stakeholders. An additional finding relates to evaluation measures for public participation, which scholars and practitioners acknowledge are poorly developed. This study documents a fresh perspective by identifying the likes and dislikes of participants in public participation processes about how they are organized.
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    Enhancing Public Engagement in Transportation Policymaking (Research Brief)
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2012-01) Zhao, Zhirong Jerry; Quick, Kathryn S.
    This two-page brief summarizes CTS 11-24, Suggested Design and Management Techniques for Enhancing Public Engagement in Transportation Policymaking, about a four-step framework for public organizations to use in deciding how to design and manage the public engagement process.
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    Introduction to the Special Issue on Value Capture for Transportation Finance
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2012) Zhao, Zhirong Jerry; Levinson, David
    This article introduces vol. 5, no. 1 issue of Journal of Transport and Land Use. This special issue includes 5 articles on value capture strategies used in transportation finance.
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    Joint development as a value capture strategy for public transit finance
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2012) Zhao, Zhirong Jerry; Das, Kirti Vardhan; Larson, Kerstin
    Synthesizing relevant experiences in US and some Asian countries, this article reviews joint development as a value capture strategy for funding public transit. The review starts from the concept of joint development in transportation, its rationale, and the extent of use. We then provide a classification of joint development models with respect to ownerships and transaction methods. These models are illustrated with case examples from multiple countries. After that, we assess the efficacy of joint development with a set of criteria for transportation finance evaluation, including economic efficiency, social equity, revenue adequacy & sustainability, and political & administrative feasibility. Finally, we conclude and provide recommendations for policy consideration.
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    Suggested Design and Management Techniques for Enhancing Public Engagement in Transportation Policymaking
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2011-10) Quick, Kathryn S.; Zhao, Zhirong Jerry
    This report analyzes how the public can be effectively engaged in democratic decision-making and implementation of technically complex transportation policies. Its contribution is to compile and analyze strategies for enhancing public engagement specifically in transportation planning and policy via a review of the literature, identification of key design choices in organizing public engagement, a case study, and recommendations for further research. It incorporates the following sections: 1) Highlights from existing knowledge about the benefits, purposes, and challenges of public engagement. 2) An assessment of the state of public engagement in transportation and an evaluation of participatory designs currently being used in the sector. 3) A framework that we suggest transportation policy-makers utilize in deciding how to design public engagement processes. 4) Description and analysis of two cases of participatory transportation planning efforts in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 5) Recommendations for further research and proposals for how to engage the public in several current transportation policy issues in Minnesota.
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    Transportation Investment and Economic Development in Minnesota Counties
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-04) Zhao, Zhirong Jerry
    This project examines the link between accumulated transportation capital stocks in Minnesota counties and their annual property tax revenues using longitudinal data in the 1995-2011 period. We separated the effects of two different transportation capital stocks, one associated with load roads and the other with trunk highways. In addition, we considered not only the internal effect of transportation investments within a county, but also the spillover effect due to transportation investments made in neighboring counties. Estimations from panel-data regressions show that local-road capital stocks within a county have a positive effect on its property tax revenues, with an elasticity of 0.093, but much of the benefits may be the outcome of a zero-sum game due to inter-local competition of property tax bases. Trunk-highway capital stocks within a county also show a positive effect, with an elasticity of 0.013. The spillover effect of trunk-highway development is even higher: The average level of trunk-highway capital stocks in neighboring counties has a positive elasticity of 0.030 on a county’s property tax revenues. Applying the estimations to the county data in FY2010, we calculated the ROI (return of investment) of additional transportation investments on property tax bases. The average ROI on the growth of EMV (Estimated Market Values) within a county is about 1.254 for local roads, and about 0.871 for trunk highways. The regional impact would be reduced for local roads due to the inter-local competition, but significantly amplified for trunk highways due to spillover benefits.
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    Transportation Investment and Job Creation in Minnesota Counties
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2018-01) Zhao, Zhirong Jerry; Leung, Weiwen
    Numerous studies have been conducted about the impact of transportation investment on economic development. These studies typically use a conventional production function model of economic development augmented by a public capital input, such as highways, rail, or other transportation investments.The findings, in general, confirm a positive elasticity between transportation investment and economic development, but the range of the effects varies widely among studies. In a recent research project, Zhao (2015) quantifies long-term transportation capital stocks in Minnesota counties and finds that these stocks have positive returns on property values. This study extends Zhao(2015)’s methodology to study the link between transportation investment and job creation. We find that long-term transportation investments contribute significantly to employment in Minnesota counties. The results have several policy implications. First, investments on local roads within a county can increase the employment rate in the county. Second, investments on trunk highway surrounding a county can increase the employment rate in the county. Lastly, in the context of Minnesota, it could be more effective to invest in rural areas compared to urban areas, as far as employment growth in concerned.