Preliminary analysis framework for state sustainable transportation system

Sustainable practices have become the cornerstone of the transportation sector, and widely adopted by many states' transportation agencies. The nerve center of the economic development today circles around resource utilization and energy use. The transportation sector is the bloodline of the U.S economy and sustainability of this sector affects the growth of the economy. Even though sustainable practices have now become the edifice of transportation sectors, the adoption of such practices cannot be quick enough to overcome the ever-increasing demand of resources from the global population. Benchmarking sustainability is the most appropriate method to determine the sustainability of transportation practices. There are numerous rating and benchmarking systems, and most of them follow similar approach and format that outline the sustainability factors (namely, energy, water, land use, air quality, pollution etc.). Such approaches and formats can be found on many sustainable standards and tools such as the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The purpose of this research is to develop a framework that includes an alternative approach to benchmark the sustainable performances of state transportation systems. The framework focuses on measuring the actual sustainability rather than to develop standard compliance approach similar to LEED rating system. It also focuses on utilizing modified/adjusted quantitative data to determine the sustainability of transportation practices. Such an approach would allow transportation agencies and states to compare and compete with one another.