Texas Urban Triangle: Creating a Spatial Decision Support System for Mobility Policy and Investments that Shape the Sustainable Growth of Texas

Project Description

This project will develop a GIS-based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to help local, metropolitan, and state jurisdictions and authorities in Texas plan appropriately for the future by understanding the implications of transportation planning and investment decisions. Researchers will create an Internet-based spatial decision support system—an easily accessible, graphically represented, interactive database—that enables users to identify and visualize geographically those critical issues related to locating single mode or multimodal surface transportation corridors for freight and passengers. Decision makers will be able to compare multiple transportation corridor scenarios for optimal mobility based on the decision parameters. Jurisdictions and transportation authorities could use this tool to guide future decisions on transportation and its impacts on urban growth in a sustainable manner so that the need for economic development is balanced with environmental protection and human health, safety, and welfare. The system will also help address important research questions about growth in the Texas Urban Triangle and selected impacts of this growth. Finally, the SDSS can demonstrate the usefulness of WebGIS in facilitating sustainable transportation planning, policy making, and investment decisions.

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