GEOGRAPHY 3373

ECONOMICS 3373
SYLLABUS
SPRING 2006

Professor: Kevin M. Curtin, Ph.D.

Email: curtin@utdallas.edu
Office: GR 3.209
Office Hours: Wednesday 2pm – 5pm
Office Phone: (972) 883-6237
Home Page: www.utdallas.edu/~curtin
Class Location: CN 1.304
Class Meetings: Mondays 7-9:45pm

Goals and Objectives:

This class is designed to introduce you to the intersections of theory and applications between
three related disciplines: Transportation Science, Logistics, and Economics. You will learn the
basics of networks and how transportation systems function with them. You will learn about
both the supply of and demand for transportation services and the costs and benefits associated
with those services. You will learn how to economically optimize operations across
transportation networks. You will learn how to compute the shortest path across networks, how
to define flow across networks, and how to structure and solve some of the most common
problems in Transportation Economics.

Required Text:
Black, W. R. (2003) Transportation: A Geographical Analysis. The Guilford Press, New York.

Grading:
Attendance and Participation 50 points 50
Lab Assignments (5) 50 points each 250
First Exam (1) 250 points 250
Review Paper (1) 150 points 150
Second Exam (1) 300 points 300
Total Possible Points: 1000

Make-up Exams:
The Exams may only be made-up if approved by the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
Studies – Euel Elliot. Any make-up exam will cover the same material, but will be
different from the exam given in the class period.

Late Assignments:
Assignments are due by the start of class on the specified due date. Assignments are
accepted up to 4 days late. Each day late incurs a 10 point penalty (including week-end
days). There are NO exceptions to this policy. Assignments may NOT be turned in via
email. Assignments may NOT be turned in by sliding them under my door. If you must
turn in an assignment late you must contact me to set up a mutually convenient time to
meet, so you can HAND me the assignment.

Any suspected instances of Academic Dishonesty will be referred to the Dean of Students.
 DAILY SCHEDULE
DATE TOPICS ASSIGNMENTS
Introduction, Roll Call, Syllabus
Transportation: Define Terms
01/9/06
Economics: Introduction to Transport Economics
Logistics: Kruskal’s and Primm’s Min Spanning Tree
01/16/06 University Holiday – No Class
Transportation: A Brief History of Transportation Assignment 1 Due
01/23/06 Economics: Research Paper Details Chapters 1, 2, 3
Logistics: Measures of Network Connectivity
Transportation: Transportation Network Elements
01/30/06 Economics: The Supply of Transport Chapters 4, 5
Logistics: Shortest Path Algorithms
Transportation: The Location of Transport Routes
02/06/06 Economics: The Demand for Transport Chapter 6
Logistics: Shortest Path Algorithms
Transportation: Trade and Commodity Flows Chapters 7, 8
02/13/06 Economics: Pricing of Transport Services Assignment 2 Due
Logistics: Flow Algorithms – Min Cost/Max Flow
Transportation: Spatial Interaction - the Gravity Model
02/20/06 Economics: Pricing of Transport Services Chapters 9, 10
Logistics: Min Cost / Max Flow; Exam Review
02/27/06 FIRST EXAM
03/06/06 University Holiday – Spring Break – No Class
Transportation: Go Over Midterm Chapter 14
03/13/06 Economics:
Logistics: Gravity Modeling (continued)
Transportation: Congestion and Environmental Impact Chapters 15, 19
03/20/06 Economics: External Costs of Transport
Logistics: The Classic Transportation Problem
Transportation: Transportation Policy and Planning Assignment 3 Due
03/27/06 Economics: The Regulation of Transport Review Draft Due
Logistics: The Classic Transportation Problem Chapters 12, 13
Transportation: Urban Travel Demand Modeling Chapter 11, 18
04/03/06 Economics: Transport Planning and Forecasting
Logistics: Mode Choice and Logit models
Transportation: Transportation and Urban Form Chapter 16, 20
04/10/06 Economics: Transport and Econ Development
Logistics: Transport System Development
Transportation: Second Exam Review Assignment 4 Due
04/17/06 Economics: Second Exam Review Chapter 21
Logistics: Second Exam Review
04/24/06 SECOND EXAM Review Paper Due