The line of research on sustainable development modeling and evaluation has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The work has focused on the development of a conceptual and analytical framework to operationalize and evaluate sustainable development for communities and infrastructure systems. The emergent definition of sustainable development is development of any capital asset(s) (e.g., human capital) within the constraints of other capital assets on which the primary asset(s) of interest is/are dependent, while reducing or minimizing sustainable development risks and opportunity costs.
The Sustainable Development Footprint Model, incorporating both static and dynamic measures, has been applied in various studies including the evaluation of metropolitan highway systems in Atlanta and Chicago, and the evaluation of the sustainable development status and progress of several countries with a range of socioeconomic and environmental constraints, opportunities and risks. The outputs of this research indicate among other things that policies for sustainable development should be sensitive to the marginal costs of capital in different socio-economic contexts; allow for symbiotic relationships among different communities to manage sustainable development risks and capitalize on sustainable development opportunities, and recognize frontiers of efficiency in sustainable development among different regimes of communities.
Selected Publications:
- Amekudzi, A. A., Khisty, C. J., and M. Khayesi. Sustainable Development Footprint: A Framework for Assessing Sustainable Development Risks and Opportunities in Time and Space. International Journal for Sustainable Development, Vol. 18, Nos. 1/2, 2015.
- Amekudzi, A. A. Evaluating Sustainable Development: A Quality –of-Life Focus for Transportation Decision Making. TR News, Issue 288, 2013, pp. 4-9.
- Khisty, J, Mohammadi, J. and Amekudzi A. Systems Engineering with Economics, Probability and Statistics. J. Ross Publishing, Inc., ©2012.
- Amekudzi, A. Placing Carbon Management in the Context of Sustainable Development Priorities: A Global Perspective, Carbon Management, August 2011, Vol. 2, No. 4, 413-423.
- Amekudzi, A., Fischer, J., Khayesi, M., Khisty, C.J., and S. O. Asiama. Risk-Theoretical Foundations for Setting Sustainable Development Priorities: A Global Perspective. Proceedings of the 2011 Annual Transportation Research Board Conference, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 2011.
- Amekudzi, A., Khisty, C. J., and M. Khayesi. Using the Sustainability Footprint Model to Assess Development Impacts of Transportation Systems. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 43, Issue 3, May 2009, pp. 339-348.
Jeon, C.M., and A. Amekudzi. Addressing Sustainability in Transportation Systems: Definitions, Indicators and Metrics. ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 11, No. 10, March 2005, pp. 31-50.*