By Aniela Kuzon, Ford City Innovations Co-Founder & Global Lead, and Jason Hall, Founder of Slow Roll and RiDetroit
Transportation enables our freedom, whether we’re going to the grocery store or visiting family and friends. But the way we move is changing as technology and necessity drive new transportation services to pop up every day. Cities have to grapple with how their growing populations are using these services alongside traditional modes of mobility, and with making critical decisions that impact their citizens’ health, economic well-being, access to education and more.
For those seeking to improve our collective mobility, it can be difficult to grasp whose needs these new services are meant to serve and how they impact a city’s overall transportation system. To really get that, we need to discuss how our cities’ transportation systems got to where they are today, how past decisions continue to shape them, and how new services might change things as they become part of a city’s mobility ecosystem.
Gaining that type of perspective means talking to a whole host of people, ranging from those pioneering new forms of transit to those whose voices haven’t always been part of the conversation. We believe that addressing mobility issues in our cities requires a collaborative solution — something we can only make possible by exploring our current environment and our history together.
That’s why we’re so excited to announce the launch of our new City Talks podcast series, which provides a space to have exactly these types of conversations. It’s a new way for us to bring people together and create a better, more comprehensive understanding of the issues and new technologies affecting all of us, every day, in the cities we call home.
Each episode features mobility pioneers from around the country. They run the gamut from parents who simply tried to solve a problem at their local school, to startups pushing emerging mobility alternatives, and those addressing racial equity issues in transportation. Our guests aren’t just urban planners and transit department officials, but also regular people doing clever things that make a difference in their communities.
Here’s a rundown of what you can expect to hear about in our first four episodes:
Episode One — Addressing Miami’s School Traffic: We chat with Pat and Chitra Bhava regarding Miami’s tormented traffic and discover how a simple mistake inspired them to create PikMyKid. The first-of-its-kind app offers a fluid solution for parents dropping off and picking up their kids, creating a more tranquil experience for parents and helping ease Miami’s notorious school traffic.
Episode Two — Revolutionizing Urban Transport with E-Scooters: In many cities, e-scooters are now replacing short car and ride-hail journeys, and bridging the last-mile dilemma to and from mass transit points. We speak with Kyle Rowe of SPIN, a subsidiary of Ford, to discuss how the e-scooter company is working with local governments, and how its adoption of technology and human-centered design can help overcome traditional transportation challenges.
Episode Three — Infrastructure, Inclusion and Innovation: As cities anticipate technologies like 5G, connected transport and micro-mobility to improve transit, any solution must also foster innovation and inclusion while building on existing infrastructure. We talk to Raymond Hess, transportation manager for the City of Ann Arbor, about how strategies to address mobility are unique to each city — and how data plays a critical role in informing decisions.
Episode Four — Racial Equity Through Transportation: This examination of racial equity through transportation systems in Austin, Texas, reveals that as a result of legislation from 1928, East Austin still faces the negative impact of racially segregated neighborhoods. We sit down with Kellee Coleman and Christina Willingham, who work in the city’s Equity Office, to discuss this looming issue and how increasing affordable mobility options for all people is necessary to create change.
If you care about mobility — whether you work on cars, are part of growing our biking culture, regulating road use or new transportation services, or if you just want to get to the grocery store without taking two buses — we hope this is the new podcast for you. If anything became clear in the first discussions of our City Talks series, it’s that mobility is an issue for everyone, that people want to work together to make our world a better place, and that there’s ample space for local communities and individuals to make a difference. Join us!
Click here to check out our first four episodes — and let us know what you think.
City Talks: Our New Podcast For People Improving Mobility in Cities was originally published in City of Tomorrow on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.