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Transportation and Environment

Ongoing Project

Institute for Quiet and Sustainable Air Mobility (IQSAM)

❋ Role: Co-Investigator
❋ Project Period: 1/1/2026-12/31/2028
❋ Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
❋ Brief description: Analyzing the urban environmental and socioeconomic impacts of aviation noise (in collaboration with UIC Mechanical and Industrial Engineering).
Highlights

  • Examines the system-impact of shifting long-haul waste transport services destined for a central landfill location to local, short, and time-sensitive pick-up and delivery trips

  • Demonstrates how the preferred method and local impacts of delivery vehicle trips may vary by neighborhood characteristics (e.g., restaurant density and service areas, customer demand, and delivery driver availability) for the rapidly growing industry

  • Explores EV Park-Charge-Ride (PCR) approach that integrates EV infrastructure development with transit systems and shopping centers and evaluates the location suitability by balancing equity and efficiency goals

  • Aims to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of environmental impact assessment of rail infrastructure by developing an online one-stop database for sustainable rail planning

  • Examines driving-alone commuting as an important, but oft-overlooked, element of environmentally unsustainable practices related to the healthcare sector, which is projected to grow significantly in terms of both workforce and infrastructure

Selected Publications

Junjun Zheng and Ning Ai. 2021. Evaluating the Sustainability of Urban Food Recovery Programs: An Economic and Environmental Assessment in Chicago. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981211035763

Ning Ai, Junjun Zheng, and Xiaochen Chen. 2018. “Electric Vehicle Park-Charge-Ride Programs: A Planning Framework and Case Study in Chicago.” Transportation Research Part D: Transportation and Environment, 59: 433-450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2018.01.021

Ning Ai, Marcella Bondie, Anthony Grande, Shuo Ma, and Shi Yin. “Environmental Impact Assessment of Rail Infrastructure in Illinois.” Project report submitted to the US Department of Transportation – National University Rail (NURail) Center. June 2015.

Ning Ai, Susan Kaplan, Peter Orris, and P. S. Sriraj. “Exploring Commuting-Related Environmental Impacts in the Healthcare Sector.” Project report submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation – METSI Program. June 2015. https://utc.uic.edu/research/reducing-commuting-related-environmental-impacts-in-the-healthcare-sector-an-exploratory-study/

Ning Ai, Junjun Zheng, Xiaochen Chen, and Kazuya Kawamura. 2021. Neighborhood-Specific Traffic Impact Analysis of Restaurant Meal Delivery Trips: Planning Implications and Case Studies in Chicago. Journal of Urban Planning and Development. 147 (2). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000682

Ning Ai, Junjun Zheng, and Xiaochen Chen. “Integrated Approaches to EV Charging Infrastructure and Transit System Planning.” Project report submitted to the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida and the UIC Urban Transportation Center. July 2016.https://utc.uic.edu/research/integrated-approaches-to-ev-charging-infrastructure-and-transit-system-planning-2/

Susan Kaplan, Ning Ai, Peter Orris, and P. S. Sriraj. 2016. “Green Commuting in the Health Care Sector: Obstacles and Best Practices.” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(2): e34-38. DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000636

Ning Ai, Susan Kaplan, Peter Orris, and P. S. Sriraj. “Reducing Commuting-Related Environmental Impacts in the Healthcare Sector: An Exploratory Study.” The 94th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting Compendium, Washington, DC, January 13, 2015. Paper ID: 15-6057.