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Thomas Hartmann May 1, 2014 “Greenroads: A Sustainability Rating System for Roadways”

Muench, S. T., Anderson, J., & Bevan, T. (2010). Greenroads: A Sustainability Rating System for Roadways. //International Journal of Pavement Research & Technology//, //3//(5), 270–279.
 * 1.) Full Citation**

Stephen Muench is a professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Washington, where he received his BS, MS, and PhD in Construction Engineering. He was once an officer in the U.S. Navy and worked as a transportation design engineer. He currently does research on transportation infrastructure and sustainability, which has led him to work on the Greenroads standard, which he describes as, “a sustainability performance metric for roadway design and construction.”
 * 2.) Where does the author work, what else has s/he written about, and what are her/his credentials?**

Muench, S. (2011, March 15). Stephen T. Muench. //Civil & Environmental Engineering –// //University of Washington//. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from []

The article proposes the Greenroads standard, which quantifies how sustainable a road is in its design and construction. This makes it easier for road design and construction organizations to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Overall, the goal of the standard is to benefit both humans and the environment through improving safety, durability, and accessibility and reducing emissions and resource consumption. The article describes the many aspects of roads including stakeholders such as road users, road construction companies, tax payers, sustainability organizations and trade organizations. Other aspects include the road planning, design, construction, and operation.
 * 3.) What is the main topic or argument of the text?**

First, the article describes the ways in which the Greenroads standard will help to promote environmental sustainability. It makes it easier to build more sustainable and environmentally friendly roads because it gives a quantitative measure of environmental sustainability. This increased knowledge also helps organizations make the better decision in the case of a trade-off. It also allows organizations to be rewarded for building roads that meet the Greenroads standards, which further motivates environmentally sustainable roads.
 * 4.) Describe at least three ways that the main topic or argument is fleshed out.**

Second, the article describes how the stakeholders are involved in the standard. For example, the article uses the Portland Cement Association and American Concrete Pavement Association as examples of trade organizations that would be significantly affected by changes in demand for certain types of concrete and asphalt which may result from the Greenroads standard. Another group of stakeholders that the article describes are the owners of the roads. This includes local, state, and federal governments, the public, and businesses that use the roads for transportation.

Third, the article gives details on the Greenroads standard and how effort can be put into areas such as road planning, design, construction, and operation to improve the environmental sustainability of the road. For example, the materials used, the supply of these materials, the way these materials are used, the way obstacles are surmounted (such as bridges and tunnels), and the way maintenance is performed on the road (either through construction, preservation, or a more durable road design) all affect the sustainability and environmentally friendliness of a road.

The article summarizes the Greenroads standard when it states, “Greenroads is a proposed standard for quantifying sustainable practices associated with the design and construction of roadways. It is a performance metric that awards points for approved sustainable choices/practices and can be used to certify roadway projects based on the achievement of a list of project requirements and the total points earned.”
 * 5.) What three quotes capture the critical import of the text?**

The article describes how the Greenroads standard is meant to improve the sustainability of roads when it says, “Greenroads is designed to influence decisions regarding sustainability options where they are not precluded by regulation or where regulation allows a choice between options that could have sustainability impacts. Greenroads is also meant to encourage organizations to include sustainable practices in their company-wide strategy and daily work practices.”

The article describes the rating system when it says, “Roadways can be certified by achieving all 11 Project Requirements and a minimum number of points associated with Voluntary Credits. More points earn higher certification levels. Greenroads can be implemented in a number of ways, including voluntary consultant use, voluntary agency use, agency requirements, and as a general monitoring system for roadway sustainability.”

My research is focused on ways in which roads can be changed to improve their environmental sustainability in a wide range of areas such as road planning, design, construction, use, maintenance, and deconstruction. This article proposes a standard that describes many of the ways roads can be improved in each of these areas (except for deconstruction) and describes how a standard is one way of implementing these ideas.
 * 6.) Explain how the argument and evidence in the text supports your research focus.**

First, I used the arguments that the article makes in convincing the reader that the Greenroads standard has the potential to change the way roads are designed, planned, constructed, and used. For example, I used the argument that educating organizations and the public about the standard will provide motivation and rewards for road design and construction companies to follow the standard.
 * 7.) List at least two details or references from the text that you have used in your presentation and wiki post**.

Second, I used many of the specific changes to roads to improve their environmental sustainability that are in the standard. For example, this included recycling material to be used in asphalt, using warm-mix asphalt instead of hot-mix asphalt in order to save energy, and making roads friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians to promote these more sustainable and environmentally friendly forms of transportation.