Yiru Wang, a second-year student in the School of Planning and Public Affairs, has been named the 2026 winner of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) student paper competition for the GIS-Transportation Symposium. She received the award for her paper, “Using GIS to Identify the Potential of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in the City of Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.”
Wang was selected from a national pool of undergraduate and graduate students submitting research on current transportation issues. A panel of transportation GIS experts evaluated submissions based on the ability to “develop and document original research” and present findings “in a complete, clear, and well-referenced paper.”
Transit-oriented development (TOD) offers significant economic and social benefits to communities and provides planners and policymakers with a strategy to improve the well-being of all. Wang presents a map identifying areas with the highest potential for TOD in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty, based on factors including transit accessibility, equity, land use, housing development, functional services and employment. She includes a table listing the highest-scoring census blocks. Wang also identifies areas that are most constrained by zoning and building regulations. This analysis identifies large concentrations in downtown Iowa City for both TOD potential and zoning restrictions, reflecting tremendous potential in that area as well as implementation challenges. Wang concludes the paper with a series of recommendations to local governments. She suggests emphasizing transit as the core for development, strengthening the focus on equity, introducing policies around mixed-use development, prioritizing upzoning, and leveraging public land resources.
Wang developed the paper during her GIS internship last summer with the Community Transportation Committee (CTC), a nonprofit in Iowa City. She received invaluable guidance from director Jeremy Endsley, who provided strategic direction and connected her with local officials for data and policy insights. Wang credits Professor Sarah Hofmeyer with providing essential technical support for the GIS components. She also thanks Professor Bogdan Kapatsila for alerting her about the competition and encouraging her to apply. As the winner of the student paper competition, Wang presented at the GIS-Transportation Symposium in Chicago on March 18, 2026. The 20-minute session was followed by a five-minute Q&A. The audience primarily consisted of government officials and professionals from state departments of transportation.
Wang is currently completing a master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in public and nonprofit management. She is part of the team preparing a housing needs assessment for the City of West Branch as her capstone, done in conjunction with the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities. After graduation, Wang plans to continue working at the intersection of transportation planning and GIS analysis.