Suggested Citation:
Handy, Susan L., C.-Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell, Deborah Salon (2015) Introduction to the Special Issue on Sustainable Transportation. Research in Transportation Economics 52, 1 - 2

We are pleased to present to you the Research in Transportation Economics Special Issue on Sustainable Transportation, highlighting the work of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation. The National Center for Sustainable Transportation is one of five national centers funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Secretary for Research and Technology under the University Transportation Centers program. The University of California, Davis is the lead university of the consortium, which also includes California State University, Long Beach; University of California, Riverside; University of Southern California; the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Vermont.

The National Center is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation along with the California Department of Transportation, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and through sources in the states of Georgia and Vermont.

The goal of the National Center is to enhance the environmental sustainability of the United States' transportation system through reductions in fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is a game changer for transportation; a serious response requires sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from passenger and freight travel, as well as infrastructure resilience in preparing for extreme weather. Fortunately, many strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation also improve economic efficiency, energy security, social equity, livability and health, and other aspects of environmental sustainability.

The research initiatives of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation are organized in the following four areas, though many projects overlap these boundaries: low-carbon infrastructure and efficient system operation; low-impact travel and sustainable land use; zero-emission vehicle and fuel technologies; and institutional change. This special issue covers topics in all of these areas.