Janelle Lee

Janelle graduated with a BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences from the University of Alberta. Her research studies the impacts of informal transportation services on urban development in developing countries. As a graduate student, she has been a teaching assistant for ENVS 201 (Introduction to Canadian Environmental Law) and is part of the Muay Thai club. Off campus, she enjoys reading, travelling, and exploring public transit systems in other cities.

Janelle is being co-supervised by Jeff Casello and Carrie Mitchell.

Project

Investigating the relationship between informal transportation and socioeconomic inequity in developing countries

Formal (i.e. regulated) transportation systems in developing countries have been constrained by limited financial resources and institutional capacity, resulting in low quantity and quality of transportation services. Informal transportation systems — characterized by unregulated operations, unstandardized fares, flexible routes, low-skilled drivers, and uninsured, uncertified vehicles — have been filling this transportation supply gap. Although informal transportation has been effective in providing cheaper mobility options to low-income populations, it is criticized for its associated externalities, namely traffic congestion, pollution, traffic accidents, and corruption.

Because of its illicit nature, informal transportation has largely been ignored by government authorities and there is little information on its operations and impact to communities. Janelle's research will investigate informal transportation's impacts on urban development particularly regarding its relationship with socioeconomic inequities in developing countries.