Lecture Notes

LEC # LECTURE NOTES SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES Part I - Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering Projects 1 Introduction (PDF) Notes resulting from class discussion on Issues in Large Civil Engineering Projects. (PDF) 2 19th Century Transportation (PDF) 3 Panama Canal Case Study (PDF) Handwritten notes on the Panama Canal Case Study. (PDF) Supporting material about Henry Longfellow, whose poem we hijacked to describe the view from the Panama Canal. (PDF) Part II - Life Cycle Costs 4 Cost Terminology (PDF) 5 Cost and Revenue Functions (PDF) 7 Principle of Equivalence (PDF) Handwritten notes and viewgraphs were used in Lecture 7 to illustrate where we're going. Contains hints on Assignment 3. (PDF) 8 Converting Between a Series of Cash Flows, Present Value, Annuities, and Future Value Notes and viewgraphs were used in Lecture 8 to clarify conversion between present values, future values and annuities. Contains materials summarized from tutorial. (PDF) 9 Choosing a Discount Rate (PDF) Quiz 1 Part III - Comparing Benefits and Costs 12 Comparing Costs and Benefits (PDF) 13 Comparing Alternatives (PDF) Notes containing some hints on Assignment 5, in case you missed the lecture. (PDF) 16 Prices and Inflation (PDF) 18 Taxes and Depreciation (PDF) Additional viewgraphs were used to illustrate taxes and depreciation. (PDF) Quiz 2 Part IV - Evaluating CEE Projects 22 Case Studies in Accessibility (PDF) Slides discussing the "Rule of a Half" for measuring benefits of transportation projects, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and Bay Area Rapid Transit. (PDF) 23 Case Studies in Quality of Life (PDF)

An informative view of Project Evaluation and Life Cycle Costs from a policy perspective:

Lee, Douglass. "Fundamentals of Life Cycle Cost Analysis." In Transportation Research Record 1812, Paper No. 02-3121. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2002.

LEC # LECTURE NOTES SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES 25 Viewing of PBS documentary "Mulholland's Dream" and assessment of the Los Angeles Water Project in light of the Pinchot four-pronged framework. 26 Part A: Environmental Values and Environmental Impact Assessment. Part B: Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System's EIA. 27 Review of the book Cadillac Desert and discussion of the issues in the Mulholland project. 28 Part A: Sustainability Assessment of OCGRS. Part B: Seven Questions Methodology Applied to OCGRS. Reading: Seven Questions to Sustainability, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Canada.

For this part of the course:

Ortolano, Leonard. "Historical Perspectives on Environmentalism." Chap. 1 in Environmental Planning and Decision Making. New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, 1983.

Orange County Sanitation and Water District. Executive Summary, from Draft Program EIR/Tier I EIS for Groundwater Replenishment System, OCSD/OCWD, Orange County, Calif., 2001.

Easter, K. William, et al. "Benefit-Cost Analysis and Its Use in Regulatory Decisions." Chap. 8 in Better Environmental Decisions. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1999.

Bishop, Richard C., et al. "Contigent Valuation -- Incorporating Nonmarket Values." Chap. 9 in Better Environmental Decisions. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1999.

Reisner, Marc. "The Red Queen." Chap. 2 in Cadillac Desert. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1993.

LEC # LECTURE NOTES SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES Part IV - Evaluating CEE Projects (continued) 29 Dealing with Risks and Uncertainty (PDF) Additional notes discussing the South Boston Convention Center, and how you do sensitivity analyses intelligently. (PDF) 30 Choosing Mutually Exclusive Alternatives, Review Notes covering a review of choosing between mutually exclusive alternatives. (PDF) Quiz 3

The ScotRail Electric Express Case Study -- optional case material developed for recitation use. (PDF)

Note: This is a hypothetical case intended for the purposes of classroom discussion, and was not based on any actual events. Any plans and opinions expressed herein do not represent the plans or views of any of the parties concerned.

Optional reading is on the Hancock Tower (from The Boston Globe, 29 April 2003, Section E1). This project is somewhat similar to the Skyscraper problem set (Assignment 5), and you could do your own analyses based on the figures available in this article.