A team of four students–Camille Boggan, Emily Kennedy, David Seunglee Park, and Kate Sutton–from Weitzman’s Department of City and Regional Planning has been selected as the winner of ITS America’s Emerging Leaders Program Global Challenge for the Americas region. Their project, Move, Philadelphia!, an inclusive mobility plan for Philadelphia, includes multiple strategies to limit private vehicle use within the city using the latest technologies and direct diverted funds to the city’s flailing public transit system.
Move, Philadelphia! explores the ways that Philadelphia, one of the poorest large cities in the country, has seen increased congestion due to recent growth. “Introducing innovative curbside management tools can help Philadelphia regulate its limited roadway space and keep traffic flowing,” reads the report. Their equity-centered transformative agenda has a focus on implementation, providing a useful pathway to achieve equitable transportation goals. For example, the report continues that “increasing fees for car usage, such as rideshare fees and parking permits, will more accurately price the cost of driving, discourage car use in our most congested areas, and create additional revenues for SEPTA. Furthermore, an overhaul in SEPTA’s fare structure and collection will increase financial accessibility of transit and make it a more attractive mode to all Philadelphians.” Read the full report here.
The team of students worked under the guidance of Weitzman’s Erick Guerra, associate professor of city and regional planning, and Megan S. Ryerson, UPS Chair of Transportation, associate dean for research, and associate professor of city and regional planning and electrical and systems engineering.
The Weitzman team was one of 13 submissions from across the United States and Canada. Regional winners from Europe and Asia-Pacific will be announced later this summer.
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