Ralph Buehler

Assistant Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning

Ralph Buehler is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Affairs and Planning Program at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Center. His teaching and research interests include transportation policy and planning, land use, energy, and regional governance. Most of Ralph’s research has an international comparative perspective. Over the last five years his research has compared bicycling in Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. Currently, Ralph is comparing bicycling trends and policies in large American cities.

His other research seeks to disentangle the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors, spatial development patterns, land use regulation, and public policies to explain similarities and differences in individual travel behavior between Germany and the U.S. The main goal is to determine what the two countries could learn from each other to improve the sustainability of their urban transportation systems.

His work has appeared in several peer reviewed journals including: Transport Policy; Transport Reviews; the Transportation Research Record; World Transport Policy and Practice; International Planning Studies; Plan Canada; the Journal of Physical Activity and Health; the Journal of the American Planning Association (book review), Sustain, and as a chapter in the Handbook of Transportation Strategy, Policy, and Institutions.

Ralph has received fellowships from the ENO Foundation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). His research has also been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, The Brookings Institution, the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC), and the Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Ralph is a native of Germany and has gained research and work experience in his home country, the U.K., France, and the U.S. Ralph holds a PhD in Planning and Public Policy and a Masters of City and Regional Studies from Rutgers University, as well as a Masters in Politics and Management from the University of Konstanz, Germany.

Ralph may be contacted at 703.706.8104 or by email at: ralphbu@vt.edu.

To download Ralph's CV, click here.

Monographs

• “Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany”, Washington DC: The Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program, 2009, (38 pages plus statistical appendix). (with J. Pucher and U. Kunert)

Peer Reviewed Publications

• "Trends des Verkehrsverhaltens in den USA und in Deutschland," In: Internationales Verkehrswesen, Vol. 61, No. 1+2, 2010 (with U. Kunert)
• “Determinants of Automobile Use: A Comparison of Germany and the U.S.,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2139, 2009, pp. 161-171
• “Promoting Public Transportation: A Comparison of Passengers and Policies in Germany and the U.S.,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2110, 2009, pp. 60-68
• "Integrating Bicycling and Public Transport in North America," Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2009, pp. 79-104 (with John Pucher)
• "Cycling to Sustainability in Amsterdam," Sustain, A Journal of Environmental and Sustainability Issues, Issue 21, Fall/Winter 2010, pp. 36-40 (with John Pucher)
• "Sustainable Transport that Works:  Lessons from Germany," World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 15, No. 1, May 2009, pp. 13-46 (with John Pucher)
• “Cycling for a Few or for Everyone: The Importance of Social Justice in Cycling Policy,” World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 15, No. 1, May 2009, pp. 57-64 (with J. Pucher)
• "Cycling for Everyone: Lessons from Northern Europe." Transportation Research Board: Transportation Research Record, No. 2074, November 2008, pp. 58-65 (with J. Pucher)
• "Walking, Cycling, and Obesity Rates in Europe, North America and Australia." Journal of Physical Activity and Health (JPAH), Vol. 5, No. 6, Fall 2008, pp. 795-814 (with D. Bassett, J. Pucher, D. Thompson, D., and S. Crouter)
• “Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany”, In: Transport Reviews, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2008, pp.495-528 (with J. Pucher)
• “At the Frontiers of Cycling: Policy Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.” In: World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2007, pp. 8-57 (with J. Pucher)
• “The Planning Process in the U.S. and Germany: A Comparative Analysis”, In: International Planning Studies. Volume 12, Issue 1, 2007, pp. 55-75 (with S. Schmidt)
• “Sustainable Transport in Canadian Cities: Cycling Trends and Policies”, In:  Berkeley Planning Journal. Volume 19, 2007, pp. 97-123 (with J. Pucher)
• “Cycling Trends and Policies: Why Canada is so far Ahead”, In: PlanCanada. Volume 47, Issue 1, 2007, pp. 13-19 (with J. Pucher)
• “Why do Canadians Cycle more than Americans?”, In:  Transport Policy. Vol. 13, No. 1, 2006, pp. 265-279 (with J. Pucher)
• “Cycling Trends and Policies in Canadian Cities”, In:  World Transport Policy and Practice. Vol. 11, No. 1, 2006, pp. 43-61 (with J. Pucher)
• “Transport Policy in Post-Communist Europe” In: Hensher, D., A. and Button, D. J. (eds.)  2005. Handbooks in Transportation. London: Elsevier, pp. 725-743 (with J. Pucher) (See also, "Transport Policies in Central and Eastern Europe.")

Other Publications

• “Transport Policies, Travel Behavior, and Sustainability: A Comparison of Germany and the U.S.” Doctoral Dissertation; E.J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University; honored with the “Barclay Gibbs Jones Award for Best Dissertation in Planning 2008” by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
• “Trends und Determinanten des Verkehrsverhaltens in den USA und Deutschland / Trends and Determinants of Travel Behavior in Germany and the USA,” Report to the German Federal Ministry of Transportation and Urban Development. 2008. (173 pages) (with U. Kunert)
• “Determinants of Travel Behavior in Ageing Societies: A Comparison of Germany and the U.S.“ Presented at "Impact of Changing Demographics on the Transportation System Conference", Keck Center of the National Academies, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. Conference Proceedings (based on peer reviewed abstract). 2008. (with C. Nobis)
• “Using National Travel Data in State Energy Master Planning: Gaps and Opportunities in National Transportation Data,” (peer-reviewed conference proceedings). Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Washington, D.C., 2007 (with N. Lovrien)
• “Trends and Determinants of Travel Behavior in Germany and the USA,” Interim report to the German Federal Ministry of Transportation and Urban Development, 2007. (with U. Kunert)
• “Making Urban Transportation Sustainable”, Book Review, In: Journal of the American Planning Association. Vol. 11.3, 2006, pp. 370-371.
• “Urban Development in Mega-Cities in Developing Countries”, Master Thesis, KOPS, Konstanz, 2003.

Selected Presentations

• Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany. Transatlantic Perspectives on Travel Behavior and Sustainable Urban Transportation Reception; co-hosted by the German Embassy, the Brookings Institution, and the Transatlantic Climate Bridge. German Embassy, Washington, D.C., 2009.
• Sustainable Transport that Works: A Comparison of Public Transport in North America and Germany. AMERICANA, International Environmental Sustainability Conference, Montreal, Canada, 2009.
• Determinants of Car Use: A Comparison of Germany and the U.S. Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Washington, D.C. (based on peer-reviewed paper), 2009
• Promoting Public Transportation: A Comparison of Transit Passengers and Policies in Germany and the U.S. Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Washington, D.C. (based on peer-reviewed paper), 2009
• Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe. Bike Walk Twin Cities & Transit for Livable Communities (TLC), Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, December 2008
• Determinants of Travel Behavior in Aging Societies: A Comparison of Germany and the U.S. Presented at "Impact of Changing Demographics on the Transportation System Conference", Keck Center of the National Academies, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., October 27-28 2008.
• Towards More Sustainable Transportation: Do Policies Matter? American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) conference, Chicago, Il. (based on peer-reviewed abstract), 2008
• Using National Travel Data in State Energy Master Planning: Gaps and Opportunities in National Transportation Data. Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Washington, D.C. (based on peer-reviewed paper), 2008 (with N. Lovrien)
• Trends and Determinants of Travel Behavior in Germany and the USA. Given for the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Bonn and Berlin (video-conference), 2007 (with U. Kunert)
• Spatial Development Patterns, Land Use, and Travel Behavior in Germany and the U.S. Urban Affairs Association, 37th Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA. (based on peer-reviewed abstract), 2007
• Behavior-Targeted Taxes in Germany. Poster at the Annual Conference of the American Planning Association (APA), Philadelphia, PA. (based on peer-reviewed abstract), 2007
• Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from Germany and the Netherlands. Given for: City of Ottawa – Department of Demand Management; City of Toronto – The Toronto Cycling Committee; Community Bicycle Network, Toronto; and Transportation Alternatives, New York City, 2004 (with J. Pucher)