Ayden Simpson ’25 in more relaxed times. L-R: Stella Sanko ’27, Jack Mullen ’26, Ayden Simpson ’25, Tucker McPartlin ’27, Professor Peter Klepeis and Jenna Galla ’27
Senior Ayden Simpson presented his honors project on May 7, 2025.
Ayden Simpson's thesis was titled "Tracks Through Town and Country: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Rail-Trail Proposals" and was rooted in his Upstate Institute project from the summer of 2024.
Abstract
Within the relatively small body of literature on rail-trails, many studies have focused on established rail-trail projects with little to no emphasis on the proposal process. This paper begins to fill this gap by comparing rail-trail proposals based on differing rural and urban contexts. The Chenango Heritage Rail Trail (CHRT) is used as a case study to provide insight into distinctly rural considerations, supplemented by interviews with community stakeholders. For both the interview and literature review sections, I use a framework defined by social considerations, community impacts, and economic opportunity to identify differences in rural and urban proposals. Key debates around privacy, compatibility with agriculture and the environment, local commerce and green gentrification are discussed. I find that rail-trails offer a unique opportunity for community benefit by expanding active transportation infrastructure in urban environments and providing a rural amenity for tourism and revitalization, all while repurposing an existing resource with historic value. These debates reveal the context-dependent issues which must be addressed effectively through tailored and community-based planning within the proposal process.