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21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies
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Freight and Land Use Travel Demand Evaluation: Final Report

Appendix C: Freight/Land Use Travel Demand Evaluation Literature Review
Section 2: Study Approach

Extensive research on personal travel exists, but there is a relative gap in studies on goods movement. To help better assess these gap areas, this literature review sought to:

  • Explore if available information on context sensitivity could be incorporated in appropriate QRFM sections or chapters.
  • Explore if broader topics such as scenario planning applications, land use/zoning applications, megaregions, and freight resiliency could be incorporated into QRFM.

The intent of the iterative approach was to respond to the needs and interests of stakeholders gleaned through outreach approaches (described below).

Initial Literature Compilation

The initial literature compilation gathered relevant literature from all reasonable sources, including existing works in progress, and both published and unpublished reports. The intent was to prepare a broad synthesis of FTG best practices and guidelines.

Information was also gathered on broader topics beyond the QRFM associated with freight demand. As a result of this information-gathering process, the team found that:

  • While current Federal, State, and metropolitan commodity flow analyses are primarily oriented toward institutional boundaries, a megaregional topology may be a more appropriate scale for contemplating broader economic diversification.
  • The QRFM is primarily oriented toward the same Federal, State, and metropolitan agency audiences, but the concepts of freight-efficient land uses and context-sensitive trip-generation are also valuable to local agencies with land use planning and zoning authority.
  • The information explosion and emphasis on interdisciplinary performance measures make scenario planning an increasingly valuable tool for considering alternative investment approaches.
  • There is a need to better understand how evolving freight logistics—and corresponding development of industry, distribution centers, and delivery of goods and services—needs impacts land use and freight generation.

Summary of Outreach

Several stakeholder/peer outreach and coordination events were conducted involving a range of freight practitioners (these are also described in more detail in the technical report that accompanies this literature review). The goal of these events was to glean more insights on the nuances and situational needs of participants in to help inspire and educate them. In developing and facilitating these events, the study team sought to:

  • Articulate clearly the event’s objectives to ensure that the right participants were invited and engaged.
  • Provide opportunities for participants to discuss topics that supported their own work.
  • Leverage diverse techniques, media, and tools to maximize information gathering.
  • Seek a common understanding of documented gaps and needs as a basis for robust discussion.

Virtual Meeting #1 - April 19, 2017

The first virtual meeting, held as part of the April Talking Freight webinar series hosted by FHWA, explored gaps and challenges that freight practitioners face in many different communities and contexts. These challenges span a variety of disciplines (such as transportation, land use planning, and economics) and have impacts on an array of stakeholders (including freight owners/operators, goods manufacturers/shippers, and freight service providers). The webinar summarized high-level issues identified early in the literature scan and gathered feedback to confirm areas of highest practitioner interest.

Expert Working Session - August 8, 2017

This session was hosted by FHWA at U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) headquarters in Washington, DC. Key objectives were to:

  • Detail and expand upon a collective understanding of the state of the practice for using multimodal approaches to analyze land use and demographic changes and incorporate them into FTG rates.
  • Develop a next steps Action Agenda to identify important technical needs as well as strategies to address gaps.
  • Identify specific enhancements to the QRFM.

Virtual Meeting #2 - December 6, 2017

The second virtual meeting provided an opportunity for practitioners to review the project’s draft final technical report and its findings before finalization.

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