A new book by Professor David Levinson, RP Braun/CTS Chair in the U of M’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, is now available on Amazon.
In The End of Traffic and the Future of Transport, Levinson and co-author Kevin J. Krizek at the University of Colorado Boulder propose that traffic—as most people have come to know it—is ending and explain why.
“In this book we unfold a framework to think more broadly about concepts of transport and accessibility,” Levinson says. “In this framework, transport systems are being augmented with a range of information technologies; it invokes fresh flows of goods and information. We discuss large-scale trends that are revolutionizing the transport landscape: electrification, automation, the sharing economy, and big data. Based on all of this, the final chapters offer strategies to shape the future of infrastructure needs and priorities.”
The authors aim for a quick read—and encourage readers to think outside their immediate realm. “By the end of this book, you will appreciate the changing times we live in,” Levinson says. “You will hopefully appreciate what is new about transport discussions and how definitions of accessibility are being reframed. You will be provided with new ways of thinking about the planning of transport infrastructure that coincide with this changing landscape.”
The book is available on Kindle Editions (including Kindle for iPad, Macs, PCs, Android, and so on) for $4.99.
Levinson and Krizek, a former assistant professor in the U of M’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, were the lead researchers in the multi-project Access to Destinations Study and editors of Access to Destinations, a book published in 2005 summarizing research papers from a 2004 academic conference. More recently, they launched the Journal of Transport and Land Use, an open-source journal published by CTS. Levinson also serves as managing director of the U’s Accessibility Observatory.
Researchers contribute to transport handbook
David Levinson and Michael Iacono, a former CEGE research fellow, contributed a chapter to another new book: the Handbook of Transport and Development. The handbook provides an extensive overview of the relationships between transport and development. Their chapter—Methods for Estimating the Economic Impacts of Transportation Improvements: An Interpretive Review—is one of 45 from leading international authors. The book is published by Edward Elgar Press.
