Transportation Planning for Beginners(Was Graduate Programs in Planning Abroad)

[gitana]

Because I have just begun the internship two weeks ago, I have spent most of my time learning vocabulary and reviewing transportation reports in German. During the 5 months here, I should get some experience with GIS and am supposed to have a roll (although as of yet unclear) in a plan to expand the traffice network in a region outside of dresden, germany.
Are there any recommendations that you could offer concerning what I should focus on? I understand that the question is quite vague, but I have very little experience in transportation, the closest to planning experience I have is an internship related to community development and land use. Furthermore, I do not have a technical background (i studied econ and spanish). The firm that I am working at is quite flexible and would be willing to offer experience in whatever I am interested. THe problem is that I am rather foreign to the field. (How I ended up in this internship is another story!). I would like, however, this experience to offer as much as possible and make me a competitive applicant for grad school in planning. Any ideas?
Thanks!

 

[Tranplanner]

Well, I expect that your role as an intern will be more of a learning experience so you won't be expected to be a transportation planning expert...

I'd probably try to get a good handle on the transportation planning policy of the region - whatever jurisdictions are involved, to gain an understanding of the directions they wish to take. You mention a project to expand the traffic network in the area - do you mean just roads, or the transportation network as a whole? Just ask lots of questions, and try to get an idea of the process.

btw, you're not working for Wiedleplan (not sure if I spelled that right) are you?