InterActions LA discussed the opportunities to improve safety for women, girls, and other vulnerable populations as they travel throughout the Los Angeles region. Too often, people in these groups feel unsafe in public and this inhibits their freedom, independence and quality of life. This event presented new research by UCLA professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris on public transit safety from LA and around the world, along with real-world examples and thoughts for advancing safety for everyone. Participants had an opportunity to exchange their best ideas with each other and engage deeply on solutions to advance mobility justice for women, girls, and everyone.

The COVID-19 public health emergency has drastically changed every aspect of California life, including reducing personal travel by as much as half in many regions. As a result, transportation revenues are plummeting because user fees produce a large share of resources needed to operate California’s transportation system. Research by the Mineta Transportation Institute used simple spreadsheet models to estimate the impact of different scenarios for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic on state-generated transportation revenues.

The role and usage of public transit in America has changed much over the past century, past decade, and even past few months in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. This session of the UCLA Luskin Virtual Summit series brought faculty affiliated with the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies to discuss the evolution of transit and its implications for the weeks, months, and years ahead.

The 2020 UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium found that smart policy and planning choices made as part of COVID-19 response and recovery can lead to more just, equitable, and sustainable transportation systems. Over the course of nine sessions, transportation practitioners and advocates looked at the economic, social, and racial dimensions of transportation in the pandemic along with new political opportunities for environmental justice and climate action in transportation. 

The 2021 UCLA Arrowhead Symposium Series: Transit in Transition considers the current state of public transit in the United States and transit’s options for the future. The pandemic accelerated the pre-existing trend of declining ridership. Transit agencies have built fixed route and rapid transit infrastructure to serve commercial centers and downtowns, but expanding remote work brings uncertainty to recovery of demand in these areas.

Transit in Transition reconvenes at UCLA following a successful online series. This daylong event will continue to look at the challenges facing public transit in a time of intense uncertainty – with a focus on Los Angeles.

For better than a half-century, Professor Martin Wachs was a leading educator, researcher, and influencer of transportation policy and planning at UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the RAND Corporation. This afternoon event will bring together some of his many former students, colleagues, and friends to reflect on his influence and legacy as a teacher and mentor, as a planning and transportation scholar, as well as his dedication to influencing policy and practice for the better. UCLA DeCafe Perloff Hall 365 Portolo Plaza Schedule of Events This event will include a programmed portion with speakers, followed by a reception. 1:30 p.m. :: Welcoming Remarks & Reflection Brian D. Taylor, Professor and Director, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies 1:45 p.m. :: Marty’s Influence as Teacher and Mentor Cornelius Nuworsoo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Megan Ryerson, University of Pennsylvania Paul Sorenson, Cambridge Systematics Gian-Claudia Sciara, University of Texas, Austin Moderator: Asha Weinstein Agrawal, San José State University 2:30 p.m. :: Marty’s Influence on Transportation and Planning Scholarship Evelyn Blumenberg, UCLA Genevieve Giuliano, University of Southern California Jonathan Levine, University of Michigan Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, UCLA Moderator: Brian Taylor, UCLA 3:45 p.m. :: Marty’s Influence on Policy and Practice Maria Mehranian, Cordoba Corporation Ryan Russo, [...]

California's Housing Crossroads The 32nd Annual UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium High land costs, a shortage of homes, and income inequality have led to a cost-burdened population facing one of the nation’s worst housing crises, which is acutely felt in coastal job centers and near public transportation infrastructure. Housing policy is complex, but the solutions to the housing crisis don’t need to be. At this year's UCLA Arrowhead Symposium, we’ll focus on how to make these solutions happen in California. This invitation-only symposium is the go-to event for an in-depth examination of the interconnected planning and policy issues around transportation, land use, and the environment. Regular registration fee of $1,195 includes access to programming, 2 nights lodging, all meals and receptions, use of venue facilities. For more information about the event, along with scholarship opportunities to attend, please visit www.uclaarrowheadsymposium.org.

Biking while Black - Documentary Screening and Discussion Tuesday, Feb. 7, 20236:30 - 8:15 p.m. PSTJames Bridges Theater In a 30-minute documentary, BIKING WHILE BLACK: CONTINUING TO RIDE THROUGH DECRIMINALIZATION, DISENFRANCHISEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION incorporates narratives to dig deeper into solution-based storytelling and features the actions being taken by some of our leading Black bicyclists and BIPOC community-based organizations. Cast members are paving new roads to tackle the myths, the community safety conditions in Los Angeles, and celebrating Black joy on two wheels. Black and BIPOC lives continue to have an unseen connection to the realms of hope and resilience. Some of the key revelations that were spoken of during our interviews were on uplifting and educating our youth to become leaders and navigators in bicycling education and mechanics, safety education, and engagement, paired with mobility justice advocacy. The film connects these perspectives to transportation planning through speaking with agencies on the need to acknowledge, hire, and collaborate with community leaders who have been doing the work to help keep their multi-generational community members safe and informed. This second episode expands on the nine-minute short film, BIKING WHILE BLACK: HOW SAFE ARE BLACK LIVES BICYCLING? Post-screening discussion with director Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, [...]

This in-person event showcased new research, analysis, and future research plans in TRACton: A Research Agenda For Just and Sustainable Transportation, a research and policy agenda that is a product of collaborative agenda-setting between UCLA researchers and members of community-based and advocacy organizations. Speakers and attendees pondered some of the pressing questions affecting transportation and land use in California: How does a research agenda developed in collaboration by researchers and community advocates differ from the status quo for transportation research? With an impending fiscal cliff and the continuing slog of post-pandemic ridership recovery, how will California transform public transit to achieve the state's strategic vision of transit oriented development with less reliance on personal automobiles. Climate change, housing affordability, unsafe roads, and the impending Olympic games all motivate the need to advance the pace and scale of transportation change. But achieving scale and agility require significant changes in public sector managerial approaches. What can transportation professionals do differently to transform transportation? How can transit agencies overcome labor shortages that impair services and ridership? What is known about racial injustices in siting freeways? What can communities do to repair the resultant harms? [...]

Join us to celebrate the revised edition of Jarrett Walker's Human Transit, Revised Edition: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives. The new edition will deepen its explanations about the basic principles of public transit, informed by his work as a network planning consultant. New topics include the problem with specialization; the role of flexible or “demand response” services; how to know when to redesign your network; and responding to tech-industry claims that transit will soon be obsolete.  Finally, he added a major new section exploring the idea of access to opportunity as a core measure of transit’s success. RSVP HERE