Dissertation Research: Design for a Pluralistic City: Multimodal Transportation in Oakland, California

本论文研究项目提出研究美国城市多式联运的设计。它将审查旨在使现有交通基础设施多样化的相互依存的技术、组织和文化变革。它包括正式的设计过程和人们的日常经验，以了解如何在行人、自行车、汽车、公交车和铁路模式的设计中协调“街道”和“安全”。多通道设计的组织概念将研究重点放在针对多个和潜在冲突的需求的设计中的多样性协商。本项目将研究这五种模式的不同视角如何应对现有基础设施的技术、组织和文化惰性，以设计满足多元化人口需求的共享基础设施。在美国，多式联运是一个及时的话题，因为《多式联运地面运输效率法》(ISTEA，1991)和《21世纪运输公平法》(TEA-21,1998)提供了改变的可能性。随着艾森豪威尔州际公路系统的建成，这项立法标志着美国的交通运输政策发生了转变，不再把道路建设作为交通问题的主要解决方案。为了回应对以前高速公路政策的政治关切，这项立法还增加了大都市和州一级决策的作用。这项研究将研究多模式设计如何通过在人们的日常生活中提供可行的交通选择来解决对汽车的依赖及其随之而来的空气污染、城市扩张和对石油的依赖等问题。它对于评估非政府组织在交通变革中的作用、更广泛地参与设计的机会以及促进政治稳定和环境可持续性的设计过程、计划和政策的最佳实践具有重要的社会意义。该项目使用加利福尼亚州奥克兰作为研究地点，包括步行、自行车、汽车、公共汽车和铁路运输方式。每一种模式都将通过交通规划者、民选官员、倡导者以及塑造和被这些模式塑造的居民进行审查。为期一年的实地研究将使用以下数据收集方法：1)就多式联运的设计对交通规划者、当选官员和倡导者进行35次集中采访；2)对居民进行15次关于他们城市旅行日常经历的线人摄影和照片启发采访；以及3)参与/观察关于交通项目的公开听证会、宣传会议和教育宣传活动。将对这三个数据集进行分析，以确定协商五种交通方式的街道设计和安全的社会世界。实地研究将在地区、州和联邦政策的背景下进行，以及这些交通方式的文化意义。

This dissertation research project proposes to study the design of urban multimodal transportation in the United States. It will examine interdependent technical, organizational, and cultural changes directed at diversifying existing transportation infrastructures. It includes formal design processes and people's everyday experiences to understand how "the street" and "safety" are negotiated in designing for pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, bus, and rail modes. The organizing concept of multimodal design focuses the research on the negotiation of diversity in designing for multiple and potentially conflicting needs. This project will examine how diverse perspectives on these five modes grapple with the technical, organizational, and cultural inertia of existing infrastructure to design a shared infrastructure that meets the needs of pluralistic populations. In the United States, multimodal transportation is a timely topic because of the possibilities for change afforded by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA, 1991) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21, 1998). Following on the completion of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, this legislation marks a shift in United States trans-portation policy away from road construction as the primary solution to transportation problems. In response to political concerns over previous highway policy, this legislation also increases the role of metropolitan- and state-level decision making. This research will examine how multimodal design addresses automobile dependence and its attendant problems of air pollution, urban sprawl, and oil dependency by providing viable transportation alternatives in people's everyday lives. It is socially significant for assessing the role of nongovernmental organizations in transportation change, opportunities for broader participation in design, and best practices in design processes, programs, and policies that foster political stability and environmental sustainability. The project uses the city of Oakland, California as a research site including pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, bus, and rail modes. Each mode will be examined through the transportation planners, elected officials, advocates, and residents who shape and are shaped by these modes. One year of field research will use the following data collection methods: 1) thirty-five focused interviews with transportation planners, elected officials, and advocates on the design of multimodal transportation; 2) fifteen informant photography and photo-elicitation interviews with residents on their everyday experiences of urban travel; and 3) participant/observation in public hearings, advocacy meetings, and educational outreach on transportation projects. These three data sets will be analyzed to identify social worlds that negotiate the design of the street and safety for the five transportation modes. The field research will be situated in the context of regional, state, and federal policy and the cultural significance of these transportation modes.