2023 SDA Capstone Seminar Student Projects
This year the SDA 490 students addressed Vancouver's traffic concerns and the future of transportation in the city.
The Future is Walkable
by Timon Glaesser, Annelyse Ross, Riya Sakhrani, and Rachel Way
As Vancouver’s population continues to grow, the city is facing new challenges to meet the demands and needs of the diverse population. Vancouver’s Transportation 2040 Plan seeks to create accessible options of urban mobility for all. The city hopes to do this by reducing its dependency on cars by empowering residents to seek mobility options of walking, biking and transiting before choosing to drive a car. But how can we best address reducing the number of cars on the road while also promoting healthy, vibrant communities throughout the city? Our answer is increasing walkability.
Visualizing Vancouver: Meeting the City’s 2040 Traffic Goals
by Matthew Horstead, Dustin Poon, Amir Al Kowshik
As the population of Vancouver continues to grow, so too does the number of vehicles on our roads. This increase in traffic not only contributes to congestion and delays but also has significant implications for the environment and public health. To ensure a sustainable future for our city, we need to consider how we can shift towards more sustainable modes of transportation, such as biking, walking, and public transit. In this data visualization, we will explore the current state of traffic in Vancouver, predict what traffic might look like in 2040, and propose strategies for achieving a more sustainable transportation system.
Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Vancouver Streets
by Adan Ghori, Victoria Leung, Sava Savkovic, Betty Zhou
The City of Vancouver has proposed a goal to make 33% of all trips to be either walking, biking, or transit by the year 2040. In doing so, the aim is to reduce the amount of congestion on the roads in the city, and ultimately create an urban design that supports and encourages environmentally friendly planning and safe travel for all people in the city. In projecting into the future, the City of Vancouver must also consider the impact that Autonomous Vehicles (AVs or also known as Self-Driving Cars) will have on the roads. Our project’s goal is to consider how Autonomous Vehicles will impact the future landscape of roads and travel within the City of Vancouver. AVs have the potential to allow for streets that are less wide and safer, while also freeing up parking spots for personal and commercial use in downtown, heavy traffic corridors.
Increasing Ridership: Quality of Transit
by Colton Krieger, Esam Al-Mohamadi, Nick Nekouei, Ruth Qiao
In order to pave the way for the sustainable future that Vancouver hopes to embody by 2040, looking towards alternative modes of transportation to cars is imperative. Public transportation is the main contender – however, despite the many benefits of using public transportation, it appears that many Vancouverites perceive the quality of transit to be lacking, especially in terms of accessibility, reliability, and safety. Our project examines these hurdles to increasing ridership in Metro Vancouver.
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