Re-Programming Mobility: How the Tech Industry Is Driving Us Towards A Crisis in Transportation Planning

Today, the New Cities Foundation published our essay that lays out the thinking behind an ongoing research project at the Rudin Center called "Re-Programming Mobility".  It is the third in a series of essays being published in the run-up to a major confab of transportation and technology geeks at Google on March 6.

New digital technologies are transforming why, where, when, and how people travel to their destinations. In recent years, these technologies have turned transportation from a physical infrastructure business into an information and informatics-based activity. Despite solving issues in some regards, this shift is introducing a number of new challenges for transportation planners, who need a comprehensive understanding on how they can accommodate the potential of these services while mitigating their unintended consequences.

This is the first of a series of essays, research articles and future metropolitan transportation and land use scenarios that will explore how transportation planning and management will adapt to the changing nature of mobility in the United States. This research is made possible by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

link to full essay