DEPARTMENT OF URBAN PLANNING
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH
UCLA Urban Planning 256 Spring 2000Travel Behavior Analysis
Days: Wednesdays Instructor: Brian Taylor
Time: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Office:5383 Public Policy Building
Room: 1337 Public Policy Building Telephone: 310.825.7442
Email: [email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course in urban transportation planning examines the analysis and prediction of travel
in cities, with a particular emphasis on people's travel behavior.
There are many entry-level planning positions in the transportation sector with local,
county, state, and federal governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and private
consulting firms. The urban transportation policy and planning course sequence is
intended to prepare you to compete successfully for many such positions. This course, in
particular, will familarize you with both patterns of travel behavior and the tools used to
analyze and predict travel behavior in planning practice.
The content of the course can be divided into three parts. The first is an overview of the
patterns, trends, and issues in urban travel behavior. The second part turns to the
analytical tools planners use to examine and predict travel demand. And the final part
examines new directions in travel behavior analysis, traffic impacts and the supply side of
urban travel, and critiques of standard transportation planning practice.
Part One:
Understanding Travel Behavior`
Macro- and micro-dimensions of urban travel;`
Travel demographics (sex, ethnicity, income, age, etc.);`
Commuting and the journey-to-work; and`
Emerging trends in travel behavior.Part Two:
Analyzing Travel Behavior`
Overview of travel modeling and forecasting;`
Sources and types of transportation data;`
Modeling assumptions and inputs;`
The four-step travel demand modeling process; and`
Calibration and validation of travel models.Part Three:
Critiqing Travel Behavior Analyses in the Planning Process`
New directions in travel modeling and forecasting;`
Critiques of traffic impact analyses; and`
Critiques of travel forecasting and decision making.COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The prerequisites for the course are Urban Planning 207 and 220B or Policy Studies 201
and 203, or equivelent. There are five parts to the course: (1) lectures and class
discussion, (2) reading assignments, (3) analytical exercises, (4) a written assignment, and
(5) a final examination. These five parts are intended to reinforce, but not duplicate, one
another.