College of Environmental Design alumnus Jesus Barajas (PhD City & Regional Planning ‘16) was awarded the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) Charley V. Wootan Memorial Award recognizing the best dissertation in policy and planning in transportation for 2016.

Titled “Making Invisible Riders Visible: Motivations for Bicycling and Public Transit Use Among Latino Immigrants,” Barajas’ dissertation investigates the nature of how immigrants travel in the San Francisco Bay Area; a mostly transit and bicycle-friendly metropolitan region. His research looks at travel patterns between low-income immigrants and other population subgroups, what influences cycling among immigrants and non-immigrants and how does its effects differ on each group: what factors contribute to the cycling experience for low-income Latino immigrants. Using a custom-designed intercept survey, Barajas describes the frequency of travel by each mode of transportation, in addition to individual perceptions and personal experiences related to public transit and bicycling.

The award will be presented at the CUTC Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 7, 2017 in Washington D.C. which brings together federal and state transportation officials, university professors, University Transportation Centers directors and awardees.

You can read Barajas’ award-winning dissertation in full here.