Person
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Portrait of Jason Cao
Details
Jason
Cao
Professor
295G Humphrey School
Currently reviewing Ph.D. applicants
Currently reviewing PhD applicants
Expertise
Department
Urban and Regional Planning Area
Areas of Expertise
Sustainable development; transportation planning; urban and regional planning
    About

    Biography

    Jason specializes in land use and transportation interaction, the effects of ICT on travel behavior, and planning for quality of life. He is internationally well-known for his research on residential self-selection in the relationships between the built environment and travel behavior. His recent work focuses on using machine learning to address the nonlinear relationship in the land use-transportation research.

    Jason has been oriented toward international collaboration. He works closely with scholars from the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and China. Jason was the Chair of International Association for China Planning. He has been promoting urban planning scholarship in China by collaborating with Chinese researchers, uniting Chinese scholars, bridging Chinese and international scholars, and organizing international conferences and workshops.

    Jason leads research development in the fields of planning and transportation by editing journals and special issues. He is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of
    Transportation Research Part D, a leading journal in transportation research, and an associate editor of Transport Policy. He guest edited eight issues for six journals, including Journal of Regional Science, Journal of Transport and Land Use, Transport Policy, Transportation Letters, Transportation Research Part D, and Travel Behavior and Society.

    Education

    PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (University of California, Davis, 2006)

    MS in Statistics (University of California, Davis, 2005)

    MS in Management Science and Engineering (Tsinghua University, 2001)

    BS in Civil engineering (Tsinghua University, 1998)

    Cao, J. and Tao, T. (2025). Can an identified environmental correlate of car ownership serve as a practical planning tool? Transportation Research Part A, 191, 104304. 

    Dong, W., Wang, N., Dong, Y., and Cao, J. (2025). Examining the nonlinear and interactive effects of built environment characteristics on travel satisfaction. Journal of Transport Geography, 123, 104111. 

    Li, W., Cao, J., Hou, Q., and Wei, Y. (2025). Which matters to commuting-related CO2 emissions? Parking, population suburbanization, or employment decentralization? Transportation Research Part D, 139, 104461. 

    Ding, C., Wang, Y., Cao, X., Chen, Y., Yang, J., and Yu, B. (2024). Revisiting residential self-selection and travel behavior connection using a double machine learning approach. Transportation Research Part D, 128, 104089. 

    Huang, Y., Ma, L., and Cao, J. (2024). Exploring the relationship between the neighborhood environment and transport disadvantage during the COVID-19 lockdown. Travel Behaviour and Society, 34, 100696. 

    Sun, S., Guo, L., Yang, S., and Cao, J. (2024). Exploring the contributions of Ebike ownership, transit access, and the built environment to car ownership in a developing city. Journal of Transport Geography, 116, 103834. 

    Sun, S., Yang, S., Guo, L., and Cao, J. (2024). Individual and synergistic associations among transit allowance, land use, and transit commuting. Transportation Research Part D, 128, 104110.

    Tang, Q., Cao, J., Yin, C., and Cheng, J. (2024). Examining the nonlinear relationships between park attributes and satisfaction with pocket parks in Chengdu. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 101, 128548. 

    Tao, T. and Cao, J. (2024). Ineffective built environment interventions: how to reduce driving in American suburbs? Transportation Research Part A, 179, 103924. 

    Tao, T., Cao, J., and Wu, X. (2024). The road less traveled: Does rail transit matter? Journal of Planning Education and Research, 44 (2), 923-937. 

    Wu, X., Cao, X., Fan, Y., and Ramaswami, A. (2024). How do neighborhood attributes relate to life satisfaction and neighborhood satisfaction differently? Findings, March, 1-7. 

    Yang, L., Cao, X. J., Wang, Y., Lian, Y., and Guo, Z. (2024). Does metro expansion matter? Metro network enhances metro mode share of commuters living away from stations, but not those near station. Travel Behaviour and Society, 34, 100664.