Planning for Smart Growth

How would the California economy react if gas prices go up? What environmental impact would lifting building height restrictions have?

These are among the city planning and policy questions that can be answered confidently and accurately thanks to a project funded through UCRI’s Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives.

The core of the project is a complex computational model of the Los Angeles regional economy, RELU-TRAN L.A., developed by UC Riverside faculty in collaboration with planning departments. The model integrates data from multiple sectors: regional economic indicators, transportation, land use, and the environment.

The model has received international recognition, with the project team adapting their work to a very different metropolitan area: Paris. “The same model can be used for both cities because human and economic behaviors are the same even if the circumstances of each city are different,” the team explains.

Richard Arnott, an economist at UC Riverside and the project’s principal investigator, notes that the program “can show the economic effects of transportation policies, land use policies, and environmental policies.” And, through an intuitive graphical user interface, the team is making it easy for lawmakers to use the information to foster smart, sustainable economic growth.

The model will soon simulate all of California, informing important policy decisions that affect the quality of life for our entire population.

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