| Abstract: |
In January of 2008, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs started working on a "Climate Roadmap" - a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the 2020 and 2050 time frames. In support of this initiative, MassGIS has developed a model to analyze the relationship between land use patterns, population distributions, and GHG from private vehicles. With the following inputs:
- a sample survey of the most common household trip types,
- a series of geocoded points representing those trip destinations,
- a more geographically accurate population/households map (constrained by areas identified as primarily residential land use)
the model has produced an estimate of average daily Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMTs) in a 250 meter resolution grid for all of Massachusetts. While the statewide statistics produced compare favorably to more traditional large-scale models currently in use, the MassGIS model continues to undergo refinement and validation via comparisons against vehicle inspection data compiled by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. |