Why (and How) I Do What I Do
Throughout my career I’ve engaged with cities and technology through roles as a mayoral staffer, venture fund partner, startup advisor, and journalist (my full bio is available here). This mix of vantage points guides my writing, public speaking, and advisory work.
I’ve been fascinated by how cities function since I was a student at Swarthmore College, when I cofounded a non-profit organization in a low-income Philadelphia neighborhood that trained local residents to paint homes. A central challenge was finding ways to transport workers to affluent suburbs full of job opportunities, since the local transportation network was designed to usher suburbanites into Philadelphia—and not vice versa. That was the first time I realized how powerful the ties are between transportation and urban economic development.
Over the past two decades, my urban interests have evolved to focus on mobility—and especially the myriad new technologies that are changing the way we navigate cities. It remains to be seen whether the current explosion of mobility tech devices and data tools will move us closer to achieving societal goals around equity, safety, and sustainability. Whether they do is a critical global question, but technology’s complexity (and jargon) can make it hard to understand what’s at stake. With my writing and public talks, I try to shine a spotlight on underlying tensions in mobility tech. I also maintain a number of consulting clients, consisting of startups, governments, and organizations that have asked me to help them address regulatory and strategic challenges. If I write about a topic that relates to a client, I will disclose it.
A few of my foundational ideas:
The best transportation innovations enhance accessibility. For too long, transportation companies and policymakers have held automobile speed above all other priorities. But technologists and public officials today should ask a different question: how can we make it easier for people to quickly and safely reach the places they want to reach—without necessarily having to drive?
‘Mundane mobility’ investments enable tech opportunities. With so many mobility services available to those traveling within the urban core, commuters will choose from an array of shared modes in addition to transit. This flexibility can foster new ecosystems of data collection tools, curb management systems, and Mobility-as-a-Service solutions. But cities need to first get the basics right, with sidewalks and streets that protect pedestrians, cyclists, and micromobility users, and reliable public transit that gets people where they want to go. Otherwise, the vast majority of urban residents will continue to drive.
Cities should base their mobility innovation strategy around goals of equity, sustainability, safety, and efficiency — not FOMO. Residents care more about improving their daily commutes than whether their city is the first, second, or 30th place to demo a new tech product. The best mobility city leaders and tech companies will focus on strategies to tangibly improving people’s lives, not on splashy media launches.
Transportation policy is environmental policy. It is impossible to fight climate change without fundamentally rethinking transportation, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the United States. Electric vehicles are only part of the solution; we need to build cities that reduce the compulsion to drive.
Mobility technology is a complexifier for cities, as well an agent of change. I try to ensure it is a force for good, not ill, in urban life.