Integrating Context Sensitive Solutions into University Transportation Education

Civil engineering has long dominated transportation organizations that utilize engineering expertise to plan, design, and construct transportation facilities. In turn, universities have responded successfully to the call to produce graduates who can perform those tasks. In recent times, however, a multi-disciplinary approach to delivering transportation solutions is being advocated to support the planning and environmental objectives of Federal legislation. One clear need is to educate the transportation workforce about the relationship between transportation infrastructure, communities, and the natural environment. Context sensitive solutions (CSS) address the need to consider the community and environmental inputs for successful transportation projects. Introducing CSS principles into university transportation curricula can enhance the skills and abilities of college graduates entering transportation, although challenges exist. The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCE) at North Carolina State University (NCSU) are finding ways to address these challenges. First, the CCE faculty has integrated CSS into undergraduate and graduate courses within the department. Second, CTE and the CCE Department have partnered with the NC Department of Transportation to establish the CSS Academy, an undergraduate internship program, where students experience real-world CSS applications. Third, under Federal Highway Administration sponsorship, CTE and the CCE Department have developed and pilot-tested a CSS graduate course to be distributed nationwide. These efforts provide a classroom model of the multi-disciplinary approach required for successful CSS implementation. This paper summarizes the CSS curriculum efforts at NCSU and offers ideas on future needs for university transportation education.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Martin, James B
  • McDermott, Kathryn
  • D'Ignazio, Janet
  • Hummer, Joseph E
  • Stone, John
• Conference:
  • 3rd Urban Street Symposium: Uptown, Downtown, or Small Town: Designing Urban Streets That Work
  • Location: Seattle WA
  • Date: 2007-6-34 to 2007-6-27
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: 3rd Urban Street Symposium: Uptown, Downtown, or Small Town: Designing Urban Streets That Work, June 24-27, 2007, Seattle, Washington

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Civil engineering; Communities; Context sensitive design; Curricula; Education; Environmental impacts; Multidisciplinary teams; Universities and colleges
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Education and Training; Environment; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01091692
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 23 2008 9:26AM