Starting this fall, the annual CTS Transportation Research Conference will be a one-day event on the U of M east bank campus. As in past years, the conference will convene researchers and practitioners from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest to highlight new learning, emerging ideas, and the latest innovations in transportation. Sessions will also touch on implementation efforts and engagement activities.
The conference will be held November 3 at the Commons Hotel. The opening plenary and luncheon presentations are described below; the full program and registration information are available on the conference web page. Contact Maddie Grover at cceconf5@umn.edu or 612-624-4938 with questions.
Please plan to join us for a day of discovery and innovation!
Opening Session: Creating Sustainable, Livable, Forward-Compatible Cities for Economic Resilience
Cities at different stages of development all grapple with managing the traditional challenges of transportation, infrastructure financing, housing, and environmental sustainability. These complexities are compounded by rapidly changing modes of operation, new and disruptive technologies, and changing expectations and demands from citizens and business. What innovations are taking place in cities, and how can government, business, and nonprofit leaders utilize this wave of change to shape a quality of life that is improved and not compromised? How can they work together—instead of at cross-purposes?
Gabe Klein, author of Start-Up City: Inspiring Private and Public Entrepreneurship, Getting Projects Done, and Having Fun (Island Press), will discuss the larger macro trends in society and address process innovation and governance. He will also share how city leaders are reorganizing their urban systems to be synergistic rather than at odds with one another and the cities’ goals. Klein has also led the Chicago and Washington, DC, transportation departments and served as vice president of Zipcar.
Following Klein’s presentation, a panel of experts will share perspectives on the implications for the future of transportation systems in Minnesota cities.
Luncheon: How to Promote and Prepare for Automated Driving
Automated or “self-driving” cars are becoming reality on our roadways—with potentially dramatic impacts on infrastructure, accessibility, land-use patterns, and much more.
Bryant Walker Smith, assistant professor in the School of Law at the University of South Carolina, will present steps that governments can take now to encourage the development, deployment, and use of automated driving systems. These steps build on a solid understanding of the technologies, applications, and existing legal infrastructure—and include key administrative, legal, and community strategies that focus as much on today’s problems as tomorrow’s solutions.
Smith is also an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and chair of the Emerging Technology Law Committee of the Transportation Research Board.
