We are coming up fast on the early bird registration deadline! Be sure to register by April 2 to get the early bird rate and to secure your spot in the workshop of your choice before they fill up. This year, we are also offering a full-day workshop for elected officials and government leaders in addition to a series of engaging and interactive half-day workshops! Check out the schedule page for full workshop descriptions.
We are also excited to be hosting a lightning talks event in conjunction with the conference on Tuesday, May 7 in partnership with the Portland Chapter of Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT)! We are accepting submissions for lightning talk proposals through April 2, and speakers at any level of professional experience are welcome to apply.
Visit the Urbanism Next website for schedule details, registration information, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, accommodations, and more. We hope to see you in Portland in May!
CityLab recently reported on Berlin’s Frauenticket promotion, which offered discounted transit tickets specifically for women. It’s not a coincidence that this one-day promotion happened 77 days into the calendar year on March 18th. This is the same number of extra days that a German woman would need to work to take home the same annual earnings as a German man. The Frauenticket price reduction of 21% is also equivalent to the average reduction in pay that German women receive for comparable work by their male counterparts.
Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash
While the Frauenticket promotion only lasted one day, it raises the important point of gender-based inequities in transit access and travel experiences. On top of earning less to begin with, women and female-presenting people face threats to their safety—both real and perceived—when taking transit that translate to additional transportation costs that men don’t incur. Researchers at NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation recently published a report called The Pink Tax on Transportation that highlights the additional costs women pay for accessing safe transportation.
Of the women surveyed for the report, 42% felt that for-hire vehicles were the safest choice for late night travel. This translates to an additional monthly cost of $26-$50 for women seeking safer forms of travel whereas men pay $0 for the same reason. Women who are also caregivers for children or the elderly can spend double that in order to ensure safe transportation options for the people they are responsible for as well. But paying these extra costs is only an option for those who can afford them, making women of lower incomes even more vulnerable when using transit.
With transportation accessibility linked to many benefits, including economic, health, employment, and community growth and stability, it’s critical that we consider the unique needs of all transit riders. Creating transit experiences that address the concerns of the riders with the most barriers equates to transit experiences that benefit all. Resources such as The Greenlining Institute’s Mobility Equity Framework can help translate these concepts into transportation planning in meaningful and effective ways. (PS – fans of The Greenlining Institute’s work can come hear this report’s co-author, Hana Creger, as a plenary speaker at the Urbanism Next Conference in May.)
Especially as we begin to introduce new forms of mobility into our transportation networks, ensuring that these modes are serving existing needs and goals will be key to making sure these innovations help us work towards transportation equity for all.
New Reports Urbanism Next is pleased to share a new report: New Mobility in the Right-of-Way (Howell, Larco, Lewis, and Steckler), which explores the ways in which demand for the right-of-way, broadly, but the curb, more specifically, is changing. The curb has long been in high demand with multiple users vying for limited space, especially for the purposes of parking personal vehicles. However, TNCs and other services have helped to usher in a new age that involves an increased demand for short-term loading and micromobility device parking. AVs will likely exacerbate existing issues with the right-of-way and the curb, which is why it is important that cities tackle curb management in new ways. This report categorizes and summarizes efforts that are already underway in cities across the world to rethink curb management and identifies major research gaps.
We are also pleased to share the accompanying Policy Brief: AVs in the Pacific Northwest that summarizes the key takeaways from both phases of research related to this project. This policy brief outlines our main findings and includes a series of process/procedural and policy recommendations for cities to consider as they adopt new mobility plans and enable automated vehicles.
New Podcasts and Videos Urbanism Next Program Director Becky Steckler was featured on the NACS Convenience Matters podcast this week. Convenience Matters is hosted by NACS and the Fuels Institute. You can check out the full podcast here. Becky also gave a presentation at TEDx McMinnville in January and the video is now up!
Urbanism Next Conference We are in high gear preparing for the Urbanism Next Conference, and we hope you’ll be able to join us in May! Check out the schedule page for details about the sessions and workshops that will be offered and stay tuned for an announcement about our plenary speakers next week! Early registration ends April 2!
Registration is underway for the 2019 National Urbanism Next Conference and we already have a great mix of people representing a variety of professions from across the nation and globe who will be joining us May 7th-9th!
One of the many highlights for last year’s conference attendees was our Lightning Talks event where a dozen established and emerging professionals talked about how technology will shape the built environment. These fast and fun presentations typically consist of 20 slides which are only up for 20 seconds each, however we’ll be doing 20 slides for 19 seconds each in honor of the year 2019!
We are currently seeking presenters for this year’s Lightning Talks, which will be held Tuesday, May 7th from 5:30-8pm in Portland. Our topic is How do we harness emerging technologies to reach desired outcomes? Your presentation can explore any aspect of this question that you want, although we suggest using the Urbanism Next Framework as a guide for the types of outcomes to consider. We also encourage presenters to get creative and embrace the fast-paced nature of these talks.
Whether you are presenting or attending, our 2019 Lightning Talks are a great way to learn something new in a relaxed environment while networking with other professionals over appetizers and beverages. The Lightning Talks event is included with your 2019 National Urbanism Next Conference registration. To apply to present, please visit our Lightning Talks page and complete the application form. Speakers at any level of professional experience, from student to seasoned practitioner, are encouraged to submit a proposal! Applications are due April 2nd. (And just a reminder that April 2 is the early bird registration deadline too!)
Last year, we discussed how technology is changing cities. This year, we will focus on the ways that technological innovations can be harnessed to achieve desired outcomes. Experts from the public, private, and academic sectors will come together to discuss recent innovations, research findings, pilot projects, collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors, and much more!
