Andrew Salzberg ‘20, independent climate change & transportation consultant, will moderate a panel discussion with:

Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation
Dorval Carter, President, Chicago Transit Authority
Rit Aggarwala, executive-in-residence, Closed Loop Partners

Register here

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes to every aspect of urban life, but perhaps none were more dramatic than in urban transportation. Lockdowns in March and April of 2020 brought travel to an almost complete standstill.

As the pandemic wore on, some cities seized on the opportunity to repurpose street space away from cars, enabling a boom in outdoor dining and uptick in travel by biking and walking. These changes made plain how much space is consumed by automobile infrastructure in our everyday cities, and opened the door to a future reimagining of urban street space. But how many of these changes will remain if and when the pandemic is tamed?

At the same time, changes with potentially devastating consequences for public transportation were taking place. Transit ridership plunged by 90%, leaving unprecedented budget holes for transit agencies around the world. A recent McKinsey study estimated ridership on New York's MTA would only return to pre COVID levels after 2025. Residential demand experienced a shift to lower density and dispersed locations, enabled by growing adoption of remote work.

What consequences do these shifts have for the future viability of cities? How will they impact our ability to steer urban transportation towards a zero emissions future we so urgently need? How do the changes wrought by COVID-19 impact the efforts to unwind the legacy of racial discrimation built into our transport systems?

This panel will examine this shift, and provide a lens through which to understand the post-pandemic transport landscape.