After a century of car-oriented urban growth, cities around the world are implementing policies and plans that aim to make their neighborhoods and streets more walk-able and transit oriented. Renewed attention to non-auto mobility is driven simultaneously by the impending climate crisis, public health concerns, and inter-city economic competition. This has given rise to increasing demands to shift the dominant research and policy focus from merely electrifying, sharing, or automating the vehicle fleet, to developing city environments that are more conducive to pedestrians and transit riders to begin with. This session invites three active mobility experts to explore what it takes to achieve more walk-able and transit-oriented urban environments from the perspectives of public policy, current research, and history.
