Mobility
As Economic Recovery Falters, More Americans Stay Put
According to Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist, recent census mobility figures reveal the mixed nature of America’s economic recovery.
Improving Mobility Requires a Multimodal Consideration of Congestion
As urban populations increase and drivers seek to escape crowded commutes, America's urban transit systems are becoming increasingly congested. For TDM professionals to improve mobility for all, they must first change how they conceive of congestion.
Forgotten Freight Demands Frighten Transportation Planners
While much of the current discussion in planning centers on decreasing road capacity to promote greater pedestrian mobility, Eric Jaffe wonders if we are thinking enough about the critical and complex task of moving freight.
Applying the Brakes to the Streetcar Revival
With Los Angeles, Charlotte, Washington D.C. and many more cities hoping on board, seats are filling up quickly on America's streetcar bandwagon. However, experts caution gung ho cities about unreal expectations for improving mobility.
Critiquing the "Urban Mobility Report"
The "Urban Mobility Report" produces widely-cited congestion cost estimates. It is biased in various ways that exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits. Few users of these cost estimates seem aware of these problems.
Why are Americans Preferring to Stay Put?
Americans are less mobile than they were decades ago and it's unclear why. Possible explanations include the recession, habits based on family make-up, as well as telecommuting and job trends, but none of these proposed reasons can be easily proven.
Toward More Comprehensive Understanding of Traffic Congestion
Conventional planning tends to consider traffic congestion asignificant cost and roadway expansion the preferred solution. It evaluates transport system performance based on indicators such as roadway Level of Service (LOS) and peak-period traffic
Considering A Car-Free L.A.
New ideas are emerging to address the mobility issues faced by cities. One specific project focuses on the epicenter of congested America: Los Angeles.
Mobility Lacking in Toronto
Toronto's lack of focus on transportation planning and the absence of a national strategy for mobility is turning the city into a messy gridlock, according to this column.
Urban Mobility, 2025
This post from This Big City looks at how transportation needs to evolve, and some of the ways it could in the near future.
TTI's Urban Mobility Report Flawed, Says Critic
The Texas Transportation Institute just released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which is a standard reference in the road-building industry -- and is seriously flawed, says Joe Cortright.
Better Transportation Options to Relieve Inequality in Latin America
Safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable public transport options could be integral in addressing inequality in Latin America.
Investing in Brazil's Urban Mobility Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics
As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, its cities are trying to improve their public transit systems.
Redesigning Cities for Better Mobility
A new project aimed at reducing car reliance in world cities has paired ten architects with ten cities to create a redesigned public space that encourages a mix of transit modes.
Confusing Access and Mobility
Transportation planner Jarrett Walker, on why transportation planners can't stop applying freeway concepts to transit and the important difference between access and mobility.
The Car Reconsidered
When most people use their cars in urban settings, what sort of vehicle is optimal? MIT's Media Lab asks the question, in their quest to invent the next generation of personal mobility.
Accessibility, Mobility and Automobile Dependency
Let me wade into an ongoing debate among fellow Planetizen bloggers Samuel Staley and Michael Lewyn concerning the meanings of accessibility and mobility, and their implications for transportation and land use policy.
Americans Moving Less, Getting Rooted
In the 1950s, nearly 1/5 of Americans moved each year. That trend is quickly reversing. Americans are now staying put in greater numbers than at any time since World War II, and experts have plenty of opinions on why that is.
Portland Learning from Los Angeles
An interdisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, and analysts have proposed a neo-retro-futurist scenario for making downtown Portland nearly car-free by 2050.
Report from TRB
Last week I attended the Transportation Research Boards (TRB) 89th annual meeting, which attracted approximately 10,000 transportation professionals from around the globe to Washington DC. More than 2,000 papers were presented at more than 700 sessions, plus several hundred committee meetings took place. Let me share some highlights.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
