This four-hour course will introduce definitions and metrics for assessing and improving the sustainability of pavements across the life cycle, using the concept of life cycle thinking.

Strategies and approaches for different states of the life cycle, different contexts, and differing goals of agencies will be discussed. Cost and social considerations will also be discussed.

Expected future changes in tools, technologies, and policies for improving sustainability, and considerations to help assure that proposed changes have a high probability of improving sustainability will be presented.

This is an introductory-level course offered by the City & County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC) in partnership with the UC Berkeley TechTransfer Center.

Additional course detail is provided in the sections below.

• Course Topics
  • Definitions, issues, metrics of sustainability 
  • Pavement life cycle & life cycle thinking
  • Importance of context 
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA) for environmental quantification
  • Overview of social and financial sustainability indicators & approaches
  • Considerations & strategies for improving environmental sustainability in pavement life cycle stages
    • Design
    • Materials, design & procurement
    • Construction Use
    • Maintenance & rehabilitation, pavement management
    • End of life
  • Use of LCA data to identify and prioritize
  • Use of cost and environmental data to prioritize
  • Expected trends in improving the sustainability of pavement
• Course Outline

  SESSION 1 (2 hours)

  • Definitions, issues, metrics of sustainability
  • Impacts of the pavement life cycle on environment, finite resource use
  • Basics of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
  • How LCA is used; expected expansion, development, implementation
  • Pavement life cycle and life cycle thinking and how to use now
  • Overview of social and financial sustainability indicators; approaches for qualitative & quantitative consideration
  • Summary & questions

  SESSION 2 (2 hours)

  • Specific considerations & strategies for local government for improving environmental sustainability in each stage of the pavement life cycle
  • Use of LCA and life cycle cost information to help quantify and prioritize alternative approaches to improve sustainability
  • Expected trends in improving the sustainability of pavement
  • Questions & discussion
• What you will learn

  Course attendees will learn:

  • How pavement contributes to environmental impacts and finite resource use and magnitudes of contributions How those impacts differ for different contexts
    
    
  • What life cycle thinking involves
    
    
  • How life cycle assessment (LCA) works to define systems and life cycles and quantify impacts International, federal, state, local, and industry initiatives for using LCA
    
    
  • Brief overview of how social and financial sustainability indicators and approaches can be considered with environmental impacts to support decision making
    
    
  • Specific strategies and approaches for improving the environmental sustainability of pavement through design, materials specifications, construction specifications, procurement, pavement management, maintenance and rehabilitation, for different contexts
    
    
  • Use of LCA and life cycle cost analysis to help evaluate and prioritize alternative strategies, and how to do this in a simple way with available resources (applicable to other areas as well)
    
    
  • What is expected to occur over the next several years with respect to government and industry actions to improve the sustainability of pavement
• Who should attend

  Professionals responsible for pavement engineering, specifications, and construction management; pavement management; civil infrastructure materials procurement; policy and planning for streets, roads, and active transportation; and sustainability planning and policy in any area.

• Course Prerequisites

  [no prerequisites identified]

• Course Instructors

  Ali Butt, PhD, Associate Project Scientist and Project Manager for the Pavement Research Center at the University of California, Davis

  Dr. Butt is an Associate Project Scientist working at the University of California Pavement Research Center, UC Davis. Currently, he is doing research and project managing number of federal and state funded sustainable transport infrastructures projects. Some of the projects include pavement structural responsiveness; development of transport infrastructures life cycle assessment (LCA) guidelines, frameworks, and tools; development of LCA frameworks for complete streets and urban metabolism; and several others. 

  John Harvey, PhD, PE, Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis

  Prof. Harvey is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, where he teaches pavement engineering and construction management, Director of the UC Pavement Research Center (UCPRC), and founding Director of the City and County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC). He has worked in the pavement field for 35 years. He has been Principal Investigator for 20 years for projects for research, development and implementation for pavement materials, structural design, asset management, construction, cost, and environmental topics for Caltrans, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, other state and national agencies, and industry. 

• Registration Information

  Registration for this course occurs at the TechTransfer training host site. Use the button to the right to directly access the course page and registration portal. You will be asked to create a user account as part of the registration process.

  A confirmation email will be sent to you within two business days of TechTransfer receiving your paid registration.

  If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the TechTransfer Registrar at (510) 643-4393 or registrar@techtransfer.berkeley.edu.

• For more information

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  To learn more about TechTransfer's cancellation, refund, and substitution policies, see How to Enroll (https://www.techtransfer.berkeley.edu/enrollment/how-enroll).

  Cancellation Policy:

  The cancellation fee for this course is $75. At TechTransfer, there are no refunds for classes with registration fees of $75 or less. For all other classes, you may cancel your enrollment and receive a refund of your registration fee less $75, provided they receive your written request to cancel at least 5 full working days before the class is scheduled to begin. In lieu of canceling your registration, you may (1) transfer your registration to another TechTransfer class, (2) receive a tuition credit for the full amount, useable toward a future class, or (3) send a substitute in your place.

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