Michael Oden - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Oden

Telecommunications Policy, 2001

This study analyzes the interdependence of telecommunications manufacturing, services, and user i... more This study analyzes the interdependence of telecommunications manufacturing, services, and user industries in the Mississippi Delta region of the US to understand the social and economic prospects of poorer rural areas of the US as advanced technologies rapidly proliferate. An underlying assumption is that telecommunications industries should not be viewed only by the employment they directly support; they should also

Journal of Planning Education and Research

We analyze rationales for inter-metropolitan collaboration and barriers to systematic planning at... more We analyze rationales for inter-metropolitan collaboration and barriers to systematic planning at larger spatial scales. To understand whether multiple planning challenges are generating meaningful forms of collaboration across metro areas, we detail findings from a survey of U.S. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Our results suggest that inter-MPO joint planning activities are widespread and substantive in light of potential barriers to such collaborations. A majority of MPO leaders see inter-metro planning activities as an important priority and effective in the context of their overall mission. However, the survey results suggest that transportation planning at the megaregional scale is at a nascent stage.

University of Texas at Austin. Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions, Jun 1, 2020

2020PDFTech ReportOden, MichaelSciara, Gian-ClaudiaScott, EvanUniversity of Texas at Austin. Scho... more 2020PDFTech ReportOden, MichaelSciara, Gian-ClaudiaScott, EvanUniversity of Texas at Austin. School of Architecture. Urban Information LabUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Transit AdministrationUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramUnited States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and TechnologyUniversity of Texas at Austin. Cooperative Mobility for Competitive MegaregionsUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Transit AdministrationTexasUnited StatesCooperationLiterature reviewsMetropolitan areasMetropolitan planning organizationsRegional planningTransportation planningMegaregionsInterregional collaborationsCollaboration between MetropolitanPlanning organizationsMegaregional planning and project activitiesCM2 -15USDOT 69A3551747135January 2018 \u2013 July 2019Megaregions are defined as connected networks or clusters of metropolitan areas where the U.S. population and employment growth is increasingly concentrating. Fashioning strategies and new institutional arrangements to better manage growth in these tightly connected metropolitan areas has been identified a crucial challenge calling for new thinking and policies at national and subnational scales. This research explores the conceptual issues and policy salience of planning and project activities at the megaregional scale. This project has two main components: a literature and case study review of planning across metropolitan regions; and a survey of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) on inter-regional and megaregional collaboration. The review of the literature and case studies suggests that the megaregional scale does have some resonance, particularly in the area of transit infrastructure planning. However, in only a handful of cases did the partners in these initiatives strongly frame their activities around a megaregional space. Analyzing the results of a 2018 survey of 382 designated MPOs, we find support for the notion that MPO partnerships operating at the megaregional scale are somewhat widespread and involve MPOs along with other partners. A subset of common concerns\u2014especially multi-modal freight, major transportation corridors, economic development, intercity rail service, and air quality\u2014appears to motivate megaregional partnerships. MPOs were most likely to engage in megaregion-scale collaborations requiring relatively modest levels of organizational resources versus more substantive collaborative efforts to develop joint plans or coordinated project investments. At the same time, a minority of MPO respondents viewed megaregional scale collaborations as a high priority or as highly effective. For the majority of MPOs, it appears likely that the costs of such collaborations currently outweigh prospective benefits. Survey respondents identified increased staff funding, requiring state DOTs to address megaregional issues in statewide plans and facilitating and enabling inter-local agreements for megaregional planning as actions that would increase the effectiveness of megaregional planning. These actions will likely occur only if planning at the megaregional scale is embraced as a priority by federal and state policymakers.104

Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2020

Researchers have argued that megaregions are a crucial spatial scale to address infrastructure mo... more Researchers have argued that megaregions are a crucial spatial scale to address infrastructure modernization, growth management, economic development and environmental impacts because processes affecting these domains are highly concentrated within megaregional spaces. This paper evaluates the conceptual issues and policy salience of megaregional planning in the U.S. by analyzing the results of a 2018 survey of 382 designated MPOs. Drawing upon the survey results, we find support for the notion that MPO partnerships operating at the megaregional scale are somewhat widespread and involve MPOs along with other partners, like state DOTs and councils of governments. A subset of common concerns-especially multi-modal freight, major transportation corridors, economic development, intercity rail service, and air quality-appear to motivate megaregional partnerships. MPOs were most likely to engage in megaregion-scale collaborations requiring relatively low levels organizational time and resources versus more substantive collaborative efforts to develop joint plans or coordinated project investments. At the same time, few MPO respondents viewed megaregional scale planning collaborations as a high priority or as highly effective. For the majority of MPOs, it appears likely that the costs of such collaborations currently outweigh prospective benefits. Survey respondents identified increasing staff funding, requiring state DOTs' statewide plans to address megaregional issues, and facilitating and enabling inter-local agreements for megaregional planning as actions that would enhance the salience and effectiveness of megaregional planning. These actions will likely occur only if planning at this scale is embraced as an important priority by federal and state policy makers.

This report documents the status of information, computing, and telecommunications (ICT) technolo... more This report documents the status of information, computing, and telecommunications (ICT) technologies in the Appalachian region, assessing their potential relationship to economic growth and the federal, state, and local policies that influence their development. Key findings include the following. Leading producers of ICT products and services have a relatively weak presence in Appalachia. Substantial infrastructure deficiencies exist in rural Appalachia. Rural Appalachia is highly dependent on incumbent telephone companies for high-speed services and basic telecommunications infrastructure. Competition can produce improved services at better prices. Federal E-rate and various state programs have enabled widespread high-speed connectivity among schools and libraries in Appalachia. However, Appalachian counties have received significantly lower per-capita funding of E-rate and rural health programs than the nation as a whole. Lack of information combined with access barriers limit the effective adoption of ICT and network services across Appalachia. Dissemination of information regarding ICT hardware, software and connectivity integration is under-supplied by the market, especially in rural areas. ICT access and capacity barriers disadvantage economic development in rural Appalachian counties. Limited ICT access and use was found to be a particular problem for the health care sector in rural communities. Appalachian states have adopted a range of policies to enhance access to telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. Case studies in Mississippi and Virginia underscored the significance of the broader economic and demographic context for the relationship between telecommunications and economic development. Policy options are offered. Seven appendices present study information. (Contains 87 references.) (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Research Policy, 2018

There has been considerable media coverage highlighting the lack of gender diversity in Silicon V... more There has been considerable media coverage highlighting the lack of gender diversity in Silicon Valley, stressing the relatively low participation of women in the high-tech economy. Austin offers a unique case for testing whether similar gender issues characterized other hightech regions because the city has historically benefited from the expansion of Silicon Valley's large high-tech firms since the 1980s. The gender-biased business practices identified in Silicon Valley' firms may have been transferred to their branch plants in Austin. Our analysis shows women's losses in middle-skill occupation employment shares were concentrated in the low-tech industry and were partially offset by significantly larger job share gains in high-skill occupations in the same sector between 1980 and 2015. Men's losses in middle-skill occupation job share were also mainly concentrated in the low-tech sector but were partially offset by employment share gains in high-skill occupations only in the high-tech industry during this period. Women made large gains in relative real wages only in high-skill occupations in the high-tech industry while their relative real wages in other skill occupations and in the low-tech industry stagnated around zero during this period. Men's gains in relative wages were also concentrated only in the high-tech industry but were less than half than those of women and were negative (between −10 and −21 percent) in other occupations and the low-tech industry. As noted in previous studies, the impact of job polarization is not well understood across sectors and gender. This study finds the high-tech industry in Austin has had unintended consequences in terms of job polarization across gender, providing relatively fewer job opportunities in highskill occupations to women than men but offering much higher gains in relative real median wages to women than men. Males also found relatively more job opportunities in high-skill occupations in the high-tech industry than women but experienced only half of the women's gains in relative wages in this industry between 1980 and 2015.

TMO has brought together several data sets into our first report on metropolitan Texas, People, L... more TMO has brought together several data sets into our first report on metropolitan Texas, People, Land, and Water: Stories of Metropolitan Growth. In People, we analyze socio-demographic trends on diversity, education, poverty, and more, revealing several trends about the people of metropolitan Texas. In Land, the physical expansion of metros is analyzed against population growth, density, and imperviousness, finding that growth is both more efficient and increasingly intense. In Water, consumption patterns are examined by source and end-use, finding decreasing water use per capita; however, increasing population growth will outpace efficiency improvements.

This report would not have been possible without the dedication of my primary advisor, Dr. Bjorn ... more This report would not have been possible without the dedication of my primary advisor, Dr. Bjorn Sletto. His insight and guidance was invaluable throughout my research and writing process. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Oden, my secondary advisor, who guided me in the economic and theoretical foundation of this report. Lastly, this report would not have come to fruition without my interviewees, Sara Cannon, David

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This report could not have been accomplished without the help and support of many people. Firstly... more This report could not have been accomplished without the help and support of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Michael Oden, whose guidance encouraged me to think more deeply about my topic. My thanks also go to Susan Brennan, who encouraged me to connect my graduate education to my work with the City of Round Rock. I would also like to thank my boss, Joelle Jordan, for being one of the best mentors that I could ask for as a young professional. Finally, I would like to thank my friends-old and new-that have supported me and kept me going even when things got tough. I would especially like to thank

Sustainability, 2019

In Texas and elsewhere, the looming realities of rapid population growth and intensifying effects... more In Texas and elsewhere, the looming realities of rapid population growth and intensifying effects of climate change mean that the things we rely on to live—water, energy, dependable infrastructure, social cohesion, and an ecosystem to support them—are exposed to unprecedented risk. Limited resources will be in ever greater demand and the environmental stress from prolonged droughts, record-breaking heat waves, and destructive floods will increase. Existing long-term trends and behaviors will not be sustainable. That is our current trajectory, but we can still change course. Significant advances in information communication technologies and big data, combined with new frameworks for thinking about urban places as social–ecological–technical systems, and an increasing movement towards transdisciplinary scholarship and practice sets the foundation and framework for a metropolitan observatory. Yet, more is required than an infrastructure for data. Making cities inclusive, safe, resilien...

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2016

This paper attempts to offer new insights into the concept of qualitative growth in an economic r... more This paper attempts to offer new insights into the concept of qualitative growth in an economic regime made sustainable, in part, by restrictions on industrial resource consumption as proposed by Herman Daly and other ecological economists. We argue that product, service, and experience quality is more than an outlying variable in the formula for sustainable growth, and we question whether 'quality' is adequately addressed by studies in product differentiation, consumer preference, and technological innovation in mainstream neoclassical economics. Our core hypothesis is that a general increase in the quality of goods produced by a country can be more sustainable than, and can in large measure substitute for, a general increase in the quantity of goods produced. We propose alternative ways to promote an economy-wide shift from quantitative to qualitative growth, but also to limn what 'quality' consists of at a usefully abstract level. We suggest, finally, a strategy that looks to modest regulatory interventions together with early education in quality discrimination, improved information about quality in the marketplace, and more effective persuasion as to the economic benefits of qualitative growth.

I would also like to thank Dan Harper for helping me organize my diverse credits into a coherent ... more I would also like to thank Dan Harper for helping me organize my diverse credits into a coherent degree plan.

Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World, 2003

Routledge Studies in Defence and Peace Economics, 2003