White papers were prepared by academic authors for each of the conferences and published in a book by the University of Illinois Press. The books are available for purchase through the links below.
White Papers
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2021
Advancing Equity and Mobility Justice In and Through Public Transit
Author: Kate Lowe, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Urban Planning and Policy, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, UIC
Abstract:
Public transit connects millions of U.S. residents daily to essential economic, civic, health and social opportunities, even during the covid-19 pandemic. Significant but widely divergent pandemic drops in ridership have dramatized that riders have different work and transportation choices and demonstrated that services do not universally generate the same contributions to addressing inequity. These differential patterns of transit ridership and new attention to the contributions of essential workers have helped prompt new discourse around mass transit’s contributions to individuals, cities, and society. This paper examines transit spending and how transit ridership varies by rail and bus, as well as during the pandemic in the Chicago metropolitan area. By doing show, the paper explains how transit investment does not uniformly address historic and current inequities. It then discusses different types of riders and goals for transit and finally concludes with strategies for different levels of government to better achieve mobility justice in and through public transit.
Power Building and Community Change Work with Youth in the Chicago Freedom School
Authors: Keisha Farmer-Smith, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Urban Planning and Policy, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, UIC
Stephanie Posey, M.Ed
Yasmine Tadross, MUPP
Kaya Massey, CFS Youth Organizer
Abstract:
This essay explores power building and youth development best practices via a case study exploring youth-led work and actions at the Chicago Freedom School (CFS) during the Spring and Summer of 2020. The purpose of this project is first to review the unique mix of community development, organizing, and action built into the CFS organizational structure through a hybrid approach to popular education, power building, and participatory action. Next, the authors examine the nature of power in rational planning discourse, exploring why such past approaches to power building fail to offer strategies that support youth doing grassroots community work before highlighting recent practices. In conclusion, we explore potential lessons learned from the work of this unique Chicagoland youth space, highlighting strategies for organizers and planners to consider applying toward practice.
Disability Rights in Urban Communities: Are Constituents with Disabilities Getting Equitable Access to Full Participation?
Authors: Joy Hammel, PhD, OTR/L, Professor & Wade Meyer Endowed Chair, Occupational Therapy & Disability and Human Development Depts., College of Applied Health Sciences, UIC
Jacqueline Kish, OTR/L, PhD in Disability Studies candidate, UIC
Janet Smith, PhD, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy, Director of the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, UIC
Robin Jones, MPA, COTA, Instructor and Director of the Great Lakes ADA Center, Disability and Human Development Dept., UIC.
Brian Tomkins, Project Manager, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Chicago, IL
Lyndsay Sullivan, Disability Rights Activist and Community Member, Chicago IL
Tom Wilson, Disability Rights Activist and Community Member, Health Care Policy Expert, Chicago IL
Abstract:
We recently celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act which mandates the right to full participation in society for people with disabilities. Yet, a large number of people with disabilities continue to experience disparities in community living, community participation and economic equity. These disparities have been exacerbated and brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic response, especially among people with disabilities who are living in poverty and who identify as Black and/or Latinx. This paper explores the intersection of disability, race and ethnicity, and economic status in the urban context. We highlight a participatory action research (PAR) project that involved ADA PARC (Americans with Disabilities Act Participation Action Research Consortium housed at UIC), the Great Lakes ADA Center, and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus that represents over 275 cities, villages and communities throughout Chicagoland. Together with participants from the disability rights community, a series of community forums were held to identify the needs and issues constituents with disabilities experienced in urban communities, and to action plan strategies to respond to these disparities and build community capacity related to disability rights and empowerment. The authors present issues prioritized by disabled people and organizations, participatory strategies to actively engage the disability community in decision making and action planning, and actions prioritized by this consortium as most needed if constituents with disabilities are to realize their civil rights and able to fully participate in communities of choice.
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2019
Overview-Autonomous Vehicles and the Impact on Transit and Freight
P.S. Sriraj
Director of the Urban Transportation Center
University of Illinois at Chicago
Technology, and data are fueling a rapid change in the world in which many advances are becoming obsolete with every passing day. This change is beginning to impact transportation and mobility for not just passengers, but also for freight. Autonomous vehicles are not only going to affect how people move around, but also impact the delivery of goods and services. The introduction of a new mode of transportation brings about a paradigm shift that will need absolute synchronization between government (laws, regulations, labor, infrastructure, funding, and equity) and the industry. The end users are recipients of the transactions between these two worlds. Their behavior and attitude will in turn affect market penetration and technology absorption.
This paper will focus on the roles of government, and industry from the user and societal perspective while also addressing the various issues that will need to be addressed by everyone in society in order to prepare for the introduction of this new way of providing mobility.
Demanding a Better Transportation Future through Automation
Austin Brown
Executive Director, Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy
Daniel Sperling
Distinguished Professor, Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy
Director, Institute of Transportation Studies
University of California, Davis
The Reality: we need to choose the future that automated vehicles bring, whenever they are ready. That means stopping asking the wrong questions – like “when will automated vehicles be here” and asking the right question – what do we do now? Answering this question will required coordination between the research community and local, state, and federal policy makers. Fortunately, we already know many of the changes that are likely to lead us to beneficial outcomes: policies that that steer automated vehicles to also be pooled and electrified. These are the paths to help ensure that automation also improves equity, economic, traffic, and environmental outcomes. These research-informed policies can turn the myth that “automated vehicles are our savior” into a reality.
Are we there Yet? Myths and Realities of Connected and Automated Vehicles
Stan Caldwell
Executive Director, Traffic21 Institute and Mobility21 National University Transportation Center
Chris Hendrickson
Hammerschlag University Professor of Engineering Emeritus, Director, Traffic 21 Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Transformational technologies are profoundly affecting mobility and transportation services throughout the world (NASEM 2018). Vehicle automation, pervasive communications connectivity, the shared economy, data analytics and alternative fuels are combining to create major changes in mobility services, vehicle performance, and infrastructure operations. In this paper, we will survey the state of changes and anticipated impacts for connected and automated roadway vehicles (CAV), focusing upon the United States.
