Urban Transit for Livable Cities (edX)

This course will cover examples from different cities and countries; comparing their physical characteristics, transportation policies, and evaluations of their strengths and weaknesses. Learners interested in transportation engineering and city planning will gain expert insight into the critical role transit services have on the character of the city and quality of life.

Urban Transit is designed for transportation engineers, city planners, and general city planning enthusiasts. It’s also well-suited for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of transportation, civil, environmental, mechanical, electrical and systems engineering, business administration, economics, and architecture.

The course is taught by Vukan R. Vuchic, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Transportation Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Vuchic has consulted on cities for government agencies and locations around the world.

What you'll learn

- Understand technical and operational characteristics of transit systems

- Review efficient operations of bus and rail transit modes

- Explore role and impact of bus, transit, and rail on a city’s livability

- Describe policies to create balance between transit, cars, and pedestrians and other modes

Syllabus

Week 1 - Cities and Transportation: Evolution of Transport Modes

Week 2 - Highway Transit: Buses, Trolleybuses, BRT/BHLS and Paratransit

Week 3 - Rail Transit: Tramways/Streetcars, LRT, Metro, Regional Rail

Week 4 - Rail Transit Infrastructure, Operations and Roles

Week 5 - Rail Transit Network, Scheduling and Performance

Week 6 - Fares, Financing, Ownership and Regulation

Week 7 - Transit Planning, Mode Selection and Design

Week 8 - Transportation for Livable Cities: Policies and Implementation Measures