InstructionsAssignment Directions: Focusing on the Shift/Maintain pillar of the Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I) Framework, describe and depict approaches to improve transportation efficiency. This is a lo

Week 4 Assignment

Allen Stimson

American Public University

4/25/2026

Abstract

The Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I) approach offers a systematic tool to improve transport efficiency and sustainability. Here, we examine the first element - Avoid/Reduce - in relation to Kansas City, Missouri. With its role as a key national freight transportation hub, Kansas City's urban sprawl, low-density zoning and dominance of single-occupancy vehicles and trucks has resulted in excess vehicle miles traveled (VMT), congestion and environmental injustices. This paper details the need to make the transport system as a whole more efficient, by avoiding the need to travel in the first place. This paper examines major issues with urban sprawl, freight movement, and environmental justice using data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Statistics Annual Report, and academic research. Fostering telework, freight consolidation, Smart Growth and regional consolidation facilities are explored. The paper finds that targeted strategies in the Avoid/Reduce pillar can reduce emissions, congestion, health impacts, and progress Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 13, while maintaining Kansas City’s status as a logistics hub.

Keywords: Avoid-Shift-Improve, Kansas City, vehicle miles traveled, urban sprawl, freight consolidation, sustainable transportation

How the Avoid/Reduce Pillar of the A-S-I Framework Can be Applied to Kansas City, Missouri

Introduction

The Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I) approach is a well-known approach to minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of transport. While the "Shift" and "Improve" pillars deal with a transition to more sustainable modes and the improvement of technologies, the Avoid (or reduce) pillar offers a solution to the question, "How can we avoid travel altogether?" The TUMI Mobilize Minds project (2024) suggests that avoiding unnecessary travel is the most sustainable way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, congestion and enhancing the urban living environment. In the case of a major transport hub - freight and passenger - like Kansas City, Missouri, the implementation of the Avoid pillar needs to be done via a critical assessment of land-use, commuting, freight and policy settings. This paper outlines the need to enhance transport system efficiency by prioritizing Avoid/Reduce strategies, with a case study on Kansas City, and backing up the analysis with data, illustrations, and references.

The Problem of Unnecessary Travel in Kansas City

With its position at the heart of Interstates 35, 70 and 435 and the home of BNSF and Union Pacific rail yards, Kansas City has emerged as a national freight hub (Bureau of Transportation Statistics [BTS], 2023). Yet, its central location has also promoted low-density, sprawling urban development, requiring people and products to travel further. As described in the Transportation Statistics Annual Report (2023b), low-density metropolitan areas generally have much higher per-capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) than dense, transit-friendly urban areas. In the case of Kansas City, this translates into longer commutes, transportation routes, and service trips, which contribute to higher fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, and pavement wear.

Urban sprawl also exacerbates environmental injustice. In Kansas City, many freight corridors are located near low-income areas and communities of color, subjecting residents to greater levels of diesel particulate matter and noise pollution (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2023). From an Avoid standpoint, avoiding the need for trucks to navigate these corridors via improved logistics can help to improve environmental equity.

Key Data and Trends

The Kansas City metro area is in the top 20% of U.S. cities with the highest VMT per capita (BTS, 2023a), with average VMT per capita of over 12,000 miles per year.

The American Community Survey (2023) finds that more than 80% of Kansas City commuters travel alone by car to from work, with an average commute time of 23 minutes - short enough to be substituted by active transport or telecommuting in many instances, but long enough to produce significant emissions over time.

Trucks comprise almost 30% of traffic on major corridors such as I-70 and I-435 during the day, but many trips involve partially filled trucks or inefficient last-mile deliveries (Hu, 2022).

Avoid Strategies for Passenger Travel
Kansas City can adopt several strategies to decrease unessential passenger traffic.

Remote Work and Flexible Working Hours

COVID-19 showed many jobs can be done from home without a drop in productivity. For Kansas City with its increasing technology and services industry, promoting ongoing telecommuting or flexible scheduling can limit peak period travel. Kolawole Omoyajowo (2024) estimates a 10% reduction in commuting trips can reduce VMT across the region by 3-5%, and further reduce congestion and pollution. City policies such as tax breaks for companies with telework options or broadband investments can facilitate the shift.

Land Use and Zoning Reforms

Eliminating the need to travel includes making destinations closer to each other. Kansas City's legacy of single-use zoning (separate residential, commercial and industrial zones) requires cross-town trips. Areas for mixed-use development, increased density along transportation routes, and urban redevelopment can shorten travel distances and allow for more active transport options (Transportation Geography of the United States, 2023c). For instance, promoting groceries, schools, and doctors’ offices within walking distance of homes reduces thousands of short trips by car each year.

Avoid Strategies for Freight Transport

The Avoid principle also applies to freight. The city can avoid trips, rather than limiting the goods movement itself, an integral part of the economy.

Consolidated Deliveries and Urban Consolidation Centers

Trucks currently enter Kansas City with low load factors for final destination delivery to restaurants, offices, and stores. By setting up urban consolidation centers outside the Central City (at the junction of I-435 and I-470, for example), smaller loads from different destinations can be consolidated for delivery to end users. This will decrease the number of trucks on the road, emissions and interactions between heavy trucks and cars (F. Transportation Statistics Annual Report, 2023). The city can encourage consolidation through discounts, priority curbside access or partnering with private companies.

Optimized Routing and Delivery Windows

Avoiding extra travel can also be achieved by ensuring that freight trips take place during less congested times or across optimal routes. This concept also falls under the "Improve" pillar, but the Avoid pillar is about avoiding trips that are entirely unnecessary, such as through the implementation of inventory management systems that reduce such expedited trips (Kwon, 2022).

The Big Picture Need for System Efficiency

The application of the Avoid/Reduce pillar is not just about shifting individual behaviors; it's about thinking about the transport system from a different perspective. Without careful consideration of Avoid strategies, gains made from mode shift and vehicle efficiency improvements will be swamped by increases in VMT. As Mikalai Filonchyk (2024) explains, even with a complete switch to electric vehicles, poor air quality will persist if VMT continues to grow, because of non-exhaust particulate emissions (brake and tire wear) and congestion.

In Kansas City, efficiency improvement (Avoid) implies:

Economic benefits: Congestion reduction saves billions each year in lost productivity and fuel wasted.

Health benefits: Reduced emissions reduce asthma, heart disease and premature mortality in impacted areas.

Equality: Residents in low-income communities along freight routes observe improved air quality and quality of life.

Climate benefits: Miles avoided reduce greenhouse gas emissions, affecting SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) (United Nations)

Policy Recommendations

To implement the Avoid/Reduce principle, Kansas City could begin by pursuing these recommendations:

Set a target for reducing VMT (e.g., 10% by 2030) as part of the regional transportation plan.
Rezone to permit by-right mixed-use development along all major transportation corridors.
Establish a telework grants program for companies with more than 50 office employees.
Provide grants for pilot urban consolidation facilities in conjunction with delivery companies such as BNSF and Union Pacific.
Provide environmental justice reviews for new freight corridors or expansions to ensure that the poor are not disproportionately affected.

Conclusion

The "Avoid/Reduce" strategies in the A-S-I framework are the most basic and valuable ways to increase the efficiency of a transportation system. Avoid strategies promise a way for Kansas City, a city built on its freight hub status but suffering from sprawl and congestion, to avoid more environmental degradation and social impacts while still remaining economically productive. By embracing telecommuting, urban compactness, consolidation, and policy reform, Kansas City can be a pioneer in the Midwest for sustainable transportation - not by getting the same number of vehicles cleaner but ensuring fewer vehicles on the road.

References

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2023a). Transportation statistics annual report 2023. U.S. Department of Transportation. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/72943

Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Near-roadway air pollution and health: Freight corridors and environmental justice. U.S. EPA.

F. Transportation Statistics Annual Report. (2023). Transportation statistics annual report 2023 (United States Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Ed.). ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/72943

Hu, P. (2022). Transportation statistics annual report 2022. ROSA P. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/65841

Kolawole Omoyajowo. (2024). Balancing regulation and innovation: The future of greenhouse gas emissions management in U.S. heavy-duty transportation. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4950185

Kwon, T. (2022). Annual report transportation data research laboratory 2004. University of Minnesota Duluth. https://www.d.umn.edu/natsrl/documents/FY2004reports/TDRL_2004.pdf

Mikalai Filonchyk. (2024). Analysis of air pollution from vehicle emissions for the contiguous United States. Journal of Geovisualization and Spatial Analysis, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41651-024-00180-6

Transportation Geography of the United States. (2023c). Land use, sprawl, and transportation demand. U.S. Department of Transportation.

TUMI Mobilize Minds. (2024, August). Avoid-Shift-Improve: A framework for sustainable urban transport [Video]. TUMI.

United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals. Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved May 4, 2026, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals