Accelerated vehicle retirement: Toward a conceptualized framework for design and implementation

In the past Accelerated Vehicle Retirement (AVR) programs have been implemented to combat the economic and environmental costs of automobile dependent societies. Seventy-five such programs have been implemented worldwide since 1990. This thesis examines correlations among factors affecting program performance, the relationship of articulated program objectives to program performance, and how factors affecting program performance influence environmental concerns. Employing a mixed methodology, this analysis answers how an accelerated vehicle retirement program can be designed to maximize desired outcomes and minimize undesirable outcomes. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the order and type of objective stipulated by a program will influence a program's performance, and that relationships among factors affecting program performance can dictate how well a program will function. The framework created from the literature review and from program analysis can apprise planners on how to most effectively design future AVR programs.