The Transportation Transformation and its Policy Implications

Free and open to the public.

Reception to follow.

About the panel:
Bad news: decaying streets, scarce parking, increased congestion make driving to work more and more frustrating. 

On the other hand, more sophisticated hardware and software are opening an age of exciting developments and opportunities for travel and transportation issues: 

    Toll-booth free toll collection

    Driver-less cars

    Parking-meter less parking

    Short-run rentals: from Zipcar to Uber

    Police-less traffic violation enforcement

    Tesla and electricity-powered cars

    Seamless bike/car/train/plane connectivity

What’s ahead at UM, in Ann Arbor, in the US? Will future vehicles be public or private? What policy challenges arise from these transformations? 

Speakers:

University of Michigan perspective:
Peter Sweatman
Director, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)
Director, Michigan Mobility Transformation Center (MTC) and its driverless car testing facility

Ann Arbor perspective:
Matthew Naud
Environmental Coordinator, City of Ann Arbor
(MPP from UM-Ford School)

Global perspective:
Shannon Bouton
Chief Operating Officer, McKinsey Center for Business & Environment
(PhD from UM-SNRE)

Moderator:
Carl Simon
Director, University of Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program
Professor of Mathematics, Complex Systems and Public Policy

About the speakers:

Shannon Bouton is the chief operating officer of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment and a leader of the Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice. Based in Detroit, Shannon has served state and city governments, non-profits, and public-utility clients on energy-efficiency strategy and program design, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and sustainability.  Recent examples of her work include: working with a large North American city to develop a greenhouse gas cost curve to determine how best to reduce its emissions profile; helping a multilateral organization to create a program that measures the sustainability of cities and then works to enhance their environmental performance; and supporting a state government in building a program to encourage residential and small commercial buildings to implement energy-efficiency measures.

Matthew Naud is the Environmental Coordinator and an Assistant Emergency Manager for the City of Ann Arbor. Mr. Naud is a member of the Urban Sustainability Director's Network where he serves on the Planning Committee, Innovation Committee, Rental Housing User Group, and Small Cities User Group. Mr. Naud works closely with the University of Michigan on a number of projects including: working with the Graham Sustainability Institute GLISA project on great lakes cities and climate adaptation; developing Master's projects with student teams; and guest lecturing on sustainability. He was recently appointed to a three-year term on the USEPA Board of Scientific Counselors - Healthy and Sustainable Communities Subcommittee. Mr. Naud holds Master's degrees in Public Policy and Biology from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree from Boston College.

Carl P. Simon is Professor of Mathematics, Complex Systems and Public Policy at The University of Michigan. He was the founding Director of the UM Center for the Study of Complex Systems (1999-2009), and is currently Director of the U-M Science and Technology Policy Program. His research interests center around the theory and applications of dynamical systems. He has applied dynamic modeling to the spread of AIDS (in particular the role of primary infection), staph infection, malaria and gonorrhea, to the spread of crime, and to the evolution of ecological and economic systems.  His research team won the 1995 Howard M. Temin Award in Epidemiology for Scientific Excellence in the Fight against HIV/AIDS and the 2005 Kenneth Rothman Epidemiology Prize for paper of the year in Epidemiology. He was named the U-M LS&A Distinguished Senior Lecturer for 2007 and received the U-M Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 2012.

Peter Sweatman currently serves as the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) director. UMTRI is the focal point for safe and sustainable transportation within the University of Michigan and carries out a large program of transportation systems research spanning drivers, vehicles, communication technology, and the infrastructure. Dr. Sweatman is working to create new research and policy capabilities to address the broader challenges of safety, mobility, energy and greenhouse emissions; he is also helping to develop new research fields assisting the transition from todays automotive industry to the transportation industries of the future. Dr. Sweatmans current research interests include intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and vehicle electrification.  In January 2010 Dr. Sweatman was appointed by Transportation Secretary LaHood to the U.S. Department of Transportations ITS Advisory Committee. Dr. Sweatman currently serves on the ITS America Board of Directors and chairs the ITS America Safety Forum. He is a past president of ITS Michigan. He serves on the SAE Truck and Bus Council, and as editor of the International Journal of Commercial Vehicles. In 2006, he served on the National Academies Review of USDOT Strategic Plan for Transportation Research and Technology. He is a past member of the Ford Global Citizenship Review Committee.

SPONSORSHIP:

University of Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program (STPP)

University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)

• STPP