Background: In California, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is increasing at a rate that far outpaces its
population growth. Since transportation sector accounts for nearly 38% of California’s GHG emission,
innovative smart growth strategies in the areas of transportation and land use can play a vital role in
tackling climate change in California. SB 375 – a regional transportation and land use planning statute
and The California Global Warming Solutions Act, 2006 (AB 32) are two recent initiatives that are
expected to set the direction of GHG mitigation strategies for the future. While SB 375 has a direct
focus on identifying and implementing smart growth strategies to reduce transportation-related GHG
emissions, AB 32 aims to achieve this goal indirectly through its innovative carbon offset policies linked
to the cap-and-trade program. Identifying economically viable alternative smart growth strategies,
measuring the relative quantitative impact of implementing those strategies on vehicle usage and
energy consumption in the transportation sector, and assessing their economic benefits can go a long
way in ensuring success of SB 375 and AB 32. This project intends to give you a thorough exposure to
the aforementioned policy debate on the role of smart growth strategies in urban development on
households’ use of private transportation.
Two data files will be used for this lab assignment
– one with 7696 observations (VMT‐2001‐Data‐7696‐Observations.dta)
– the other with 5474 observations (VMT‐2001‐Data‐5474‐Observations.dta).
The dataset with 5474 observations will only be used to answer question 9 below
write as much as you can. Please ask me for clarification if needed.
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