Michael Smart


Associate Professor
Director, PhD Program in Planning and Public Policy
B.A. Yale; M.C.R.P. University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. UCLA
Contact
Research Interests
  • Transportation
  • Immigrant neighborhoods
  • LGBT neighborhoods
  • Urban modeling
  • GIS


Dr. Michael Smart is an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. His research interests include the influence of social and spatial phenomena on individuals’ transportation decisions, with a particular interest in built-environment effects on alternative modes of travel, such as biking and walking. Dr. Smart’s current research explores the ways in which social networks embedded in particular neighborhoods of affinity—such as immigrant neighborhoods and gay and lesbian neighborhoods—influence the activity patterns of those who live in those neighborhoods. His work has examined the extent to which immigrant neighborhoods across the country function as “cities-within-cities,” and developed novel techniques for describing the inward- or outward-focus of neighborhoods. He received his PhD from the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA in 2011, as well as a Master’s degree in planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and a Bachelor’s degree in German from Yale in 2000.

Complete Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)

View all course offerings and related syllabi
Undergraduate
  • Transportation Planning
Graduate
  • Introduction to GIS for Planning and Public Policy
  • Methods of Planning Analysis II
  • Urban Transportation Planning

View All Publications on Google Scholar
Recent Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

  • 2023: Nicholas J. Klein, Rounaq Basu, Michael J. Smart, In the driver’s seat: Pathways to automobile ownership for lower-income households in the United States, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 18, 2023, 100787, ISSN 2590-1982, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2023.100787.
  • 2018: Klein, Nicholas, Erick Guerra, and Michael J. Smart. (2018) “The Philadelphia story: Age, race, gender and changing travel trends.” Journal of Transport Geography 69: 19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.04.009
  • 2018: Smart, Michael J. (2018) “Walkability, transit, and body mass index: A panel approach” Journal of Transport and Health 8:193-201. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2017.12.012
  • 2018: Smart, Michael and Nicholas Klein. (2018) “Complicating the Story of Location Affordability” Housing Policy Debate. 28:3: 393-410. doi: 10.1080/10511482.2017.1371784
  • 2018: Smart, Michael J. and Nicholas J. Klein. (2018) “Remembrance of Cars and Buses Past: How Prior Life Experiences Influence Travel” Journal of Planning Education and Research. 38:2: 139-151. doi: 10.1177/0739456X17695774
  • 2018: Turley Voulgaris, Carole, Michael J. Smart, and Brian D. Taylor. (2018) “Tired of Commuting? Relationships among Journeys to School, Sleep, and Exercise among American Teenagers” Journal of Planning Education and Research. doi: 10.1177/0739456X17725148.
  • 2017: Manville, Michael K., David A. King, and Michael J. Smart. (2017) “The driving downturn: A preliminary assessment” Journal of the American Planning Association 83:1, 42-55. doi: 10.1080/01944363.2016.1247653
  • 2017: Klein, Nicholas J., and Michael J. Smart. (2017) “Millennials and car ownership: Less money, fewer cars” Transport Policy 53: 20-29. doi: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.08.010
  • 2017: Noland, Robert B., Michael J. Smart, and Ziye Guo. (2016) “Bikeshare trip generation in New York City” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 94: 164-181. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2016.08.030
  • 2017: Smart, Michael J. and Andrew Whittemore (2017) “There goes the gaybourhood? Dispersion and clustering in a gay and lesbian real estate market in Dallas TX, 1986–2012” Urban Studies. 54(3): 600-615. doi: 10.1177/0042098016650154
  • 2017: Blumenberg, Evelyn, Kelcie M. Ralph, Michael J. Smart, and Brian D. Taylor. (2016). “Who knows about kids these days? Analyzing the determinants of youth and adult mobility in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 93: 39-54. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2016.08.010
  • 2016: Taylor, Brian, Kelcie Ralph, and Michael Smart. “What explains the gender gap in schlepping? Testing various explanations for gender differences in household-serving travel,” Social Science Quarterly.
  • 2016: Smart, Michael J., Anne Brown, and Brian D. Taylor. (2017) “Sex or sexuality? Analyzing the division of labor and travel in gay, lesbian, and straight households” Travel Behaviour and Society. 6: 75-82. doi: 10.1016/j.tbs.2016.07.001
  • 2016: Klein, Nicholas J. and Michael J. Smart (2016). “Travel mode choice among same-sex couples” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 90: 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2016.05.009
  • 2016: Whittemore, Andrew and Michael J. Smart. (2016) “Mapping LGBTQ neighborhoods using home advertisements: Change and continuity in the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA over three decades” Environment and Planning Part A, DOI: 10.1177/0308518X15605095.
  • 2016: Klein, Nicholas and Michael Smart. (2016) “Car Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Ephemeral Car in Low-Income, Immigrant and Minority Families,” Transportation. DOI: 10.1007/s11116-015-9664-4.
  • 2015: Smart, Michael. (2015) “A Nationwide Look at the Immigrant Neighborhood Effect on Travel Mode Choice,”
    Transportation. 42(1): 189209. DOI: 10.1007/s11116-014-9543-4
  • 2014: Smart, Michael. (2014) “A Volatile Relationship: The Effect of Changing Gasoline Prices on Public Support for Mass Transit,” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 61: 178-185.
  • 2014: Smart, Michael. (forthcoming, 2014) “A Nationwide Look at the Immigrant Neighborhood Effect on Travel Mode Choice,” Transportation. DOI: 10.1007/s11116-014-9543-4
  • 2014: Blumenberg, Evelyn, and Michael Smart. (2014) “Brother Can You Spare a Ride? Carpooling in Immigrant Neighborhoods,” Urban Studies, 51(9): 1871-1890
  • 2013: Smart, Michael and Nicholas Klein. (2013) “Neighborhoods of Affinity: Social Forces and Travel in Gay and Lesbian Neighborhoods,” Journal of the American Planning Association, 79(2): 110-124.
  • 2012: Yoh, Allison, Hiroyuki Iseki, Michael Smart, and Brian D. Taylor. (2012) “Hate to Wait: Effects of Wait Time on Public Transit Travelers’ Perceptions.” Transportation Research Record: 2216: 116-124.
  • 2012: Morris, Eric A. and Michael J. Smart. (2012) “Expert versus Lay Perception of the Risks of Motor Vehicle-Generated Air Pollution” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 17(1): 78-85.
  • 2012: Iseki, Hiroyuki and Michael J. Smart. (2012) “How Do People Perceive Service Attributes at Transit Facilities?” Transportation Research Record, 2274: 164-174.

Articles in Non-refereed or General Journals

  • 2015: Pendall, Rolf, Christopher Hayes, Arthur (Taz) George, Casey Dawkins, Jae Sik Jeon, Elijah Knaap, Evelyn
    Blumenberg, Gregory Pierce, and Michael J. Smart. (2015) “Driving to Opportunities: Voucher Users, Cars, and Movement
    to Sustainable Neighborhoods,” Cityscape. 17(2): 5787.
  • 2015: Blumenberg, Evelyn, Gregory Pierce, and Michael J. Smart. (2015) “Transportation Access, Residential Location,
    and Economic Opportunity: Evidence from Two Housing Voucher Experiments,” Cityscape. 17(2): 89111.
  • 2015: Smart, Michael. (2015, May 4) OpEd, “Why can’t America have highspeed trains?” CNN.com, available at:
    cnn.it/1JK2Wcq
  • 2015: Smart, Michael and Nicholas Klein (2015) “The Social Context of Travel” Access 46: 27.
  • 2014: King, David, Michael Manville and Michael Smart (2014, March 20) Op-Ed; “Use of Public Transit Isn’t Surging,” Washington Post.
  • 2012: Iseki, Hiroyuki, Michael Smart, Brian D. Taylor, and Allison Yoh (2012) “Thinking Outside the Bus.” Access 40: 9-15

Other Publications

  • 2015: Smart, Michael and Nicholas Klein. (2015) “A Longitudinal Analysis of Cars, Transit, and Employment Outcomes,”
    Mineta Transportation Research Consortium Report #1249, final report, available at
    http://transweb.sjsu.edu/mntrc/research/Longitudinal-Analysis-Cars-Transit-and-Employment-Outcomes
  • 2014: Smart, Michael J, Kelcie M. Ralph, Brian D. Taylor, Carole Turley, and Anne E. Brown. (2014) Honey, Can You Pick-Up Groceries on Your Way Home? Analyzing activities and travel among students and in non-traditional households. Final Report UCTC-FR-2014-07, University of California Transportation Center: 90 pages.
  • 2014: Pendall, Rolf, Christopher Hayes, Arthur George, Zach McDade, Casey Dawkins, Jae Sik Jeon, Eli Knaap, Evelyn Blumenberg, Gregory Pierce, and Michael Smart. (2014) Driving to Opportunity: Understanding the Links among Transportation Access, Residential Outcomes, and Economic Opportunity for Housing Voucher Recipients. Final Report, Washington, DC: The Urban Institute: 67 pages.
  • 2013: Smart, Michael (2013) “Shared Wheels in the Auto City: Evaluating Los Angeles’ Bicycle Sharing Program,” final
    report to the John Randolph Haynes Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.
  • 2012: Blumenberg, Evelyn, Brian D. Taylor, Michael J. Smart, Kelcie Ralph, Madeline Wander, and Stephen Brumbaugh. (2012). What’s Youth Got to Do with It? Exploring the Travel Behavior of Teens and Young Adults. Final Report, Los Angeles, CA: Institute of Transportation Studies.152 pages.
  • 2012: Yoh, Allison, Michael Smart, Norman Wong, Hiroyuki Iseki, and Brian D. Taylor. Tool Development to Evaluate the Performance of Intermodal Connectivity (EPIC) to Improve Public Transportation – Phase 2B. Final Report, Los Angeles, CA: Institute of Transportation Studies: 68 pages.

Areas of Expertise: Computer Simulation Modeling, GIS, Informatics, Statistical Research Methods, Transportation