Pioneer Institute is hosting a case competition open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at a college or university in Massachusetts during winter semester 2020, focucing on housing policy improvements.
Pioneer Institute is pleased to announce that Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)’s program, “Operation Farm Team: Global Transportation Infrastructure Workforce Initiative” is the winner of the 29th annual Better Government Competition. The theme of the 2019 contest was, “Moving People, Moving Goods, Moving Forward,” focusing on innovations that prepare America for the future of transportation.
OPERATION FARM TEAM Global Transportation Infrastructure Workforce Initiative by Phillip A. Washington PROBLEM STATEMENT Growing up in Altgeld Gardens, a public housing complex on the south side of Chicago, Phillip Washington, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), saw people who did not look like him building infrastructure—transportation, utilities, streets […]
ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTING METHOD PERFORMANCE IN U.S. HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION by Arthur L. C. Antoine, PhD, PE, Assoc. DBIA and Professor Keith Molenaar PROBLEM STATEMENT There are three primary contracting methods for federally funded highways: design–bid– build (D-B-B)1 , design–build (D-B)2, and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC)3. The vast majority of the U.S. highway system was built employing […]
BETTER MANAGING THE I-93 NORTHERN EXPRESSWAY HOV LANE by Conrad Crawford PROBLEM STATEMENT Greater Boston has the worst traffic congestion in the United States.1 The typical driver wastes more than $2,200 each year stuck in traffic. Traffic is holding back our economy and hurting our quality of life.2 According to recent polling from the MassINC […]
BRINGING THE PROVIDENCE LINE IN TO THE 21ST CENTURY by Ari Ofsevit PROBLEM STATEMENT Providence is only 40 miles from Boston, but at rush hour, driving between the cities can take up to two hours, and the rail line between them hosts outdated commuter trains that are slow at peak hours and infrequent the rest […]
FREIGHT DEMAND MANAGEMENT Experiences, Research Results, and Potential to Help Address Climate Change and Foster Economic Productivity by Dr. José Holguín-Veras PROBLEM STATEMENT The transportation sector consumes 27.8% of the total energy and 70% of the petroleum used in the United States; it produces 53% of the carbon monoxide, 31.3% of the nitrogen oxide, 24.2% […]
NORTH STATION SEAPORT FERRY by Erin Anderson PROBLEM STATEMENT The Seaport District has in the last two decades been one of Boston’s fastest growing neighborhoods. However, development has generated an acute need for more transportation. In the South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan (“the Plan”), released in 2015, access to the Seaport District from North […]
INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO IMPROVING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY by Wendy Landman WALKBOSTON In 2018, 72 pedestrians were hit and killed in Massachusetts. In Boston alone, almost 700 pedestrians were injured as a result of traffic crashes. In addition to these alarming statistics, a robust body of research documents walking’s benefits for personal, economic, environmental, and civic health, […]