Re-Programming Mobility 2030: Scenarios of Digital Transformation in Metropolitan America
Anthony Townsend, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, New York University
Fellow, Data and Society Research Institute
Author of Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia
Silicon Valley has set its sights on the transportation system as its next big opportunity for profitable disruption, and its first moves have triggered conflicts with regulators at every level of government. As digital transformation occurs at every scale of the transportation system—from individual trip planning to the design and management of regional mass transit systems—how will mobility and land use patterns shift in U.S. metropolitan areas over the coming decades?
In this talk, Anthony Townsend, PhD, highlighted key findings from an alternative futures scenario exercise conducted by NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation with support from the Rockefeller Foundation exploring these possibilities, and the ways in which transportation policy and planning organizations may act and react to these shifts.
This event was part of Volpe's newest thought leadership series, Reimagining Transportation.
About the Speaker
Dr. Anthony Townsend is a senior research scientist at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. He investigates the impacts of mobile information services and communications on travel behavior and long-term shifts in mobility demands in megacities, and the impacts of both trends on transportation planning and policy analysis.
Dr. Townsend is also a fellow at the Data & Society Research Institute, a newly launched think/do tank located in New York City. His research focuses on the emerging field of urban informatics and its impact on local government and citizen engagement.
Dr. Townsend was recently named one of Planetizen’s Leading Thinkers in Urban Planning & Technology and one of the Top 100 Thinkers tracking the Internet of Things by Postscapes.
His first book, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia, was published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2013.
Read more about Anthony Townsend.
The views of the presenter do not necessarily reflect those of U.S. DOT.
News and Video
Read the news story and view the video from this event.